Mike Bowler
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mikebowler.ca
Mike Bowler
@mikebowler.ca
Helping organizations improve how they deliver value for over 25 years. Using a mix of agile technical practices (XP), workflow design, and applied psychology/neuroscience.

When not doing any of that, he can often be found in the woods with a camera.
While I'm promoting things, my Retrospective Magic video course is still 50% off this week, for Black Friday.
www.retrospectivemagic.com
Retrospective Magic video course
Teaches you how to effectively facilitate a retrospective to generate improvement. Scrum, Kanban, XP
www.retrospectivemagic.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Do we want to do the bare minimum or do we want much better than that?

I've written more about this motivation model:
unconsciousagile.com/2023/05/21/m...
Motivation & Self-Determination Theory
We tend to over-simplify motivation into just two buckets: intrinsic and extrinsic. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT)1, there are in fact six kinds of motivation2 and it’s worth considering...
unconsciousagile.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
We could give them what they're asking for, or we could try to get them even further to the right. The best results would come from being Intrinsically motivated, but anything further to the right will be a win.
November 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
When someone is asking for a deadline, that tells us that they're currently Amotivated and they want at least some motivation. That deadline will shift us into External motivation which will at least get us moving forward, even if it's the least effective way possible.
November 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) motivation model identifies six different stages of motivation ranging from Amotivation (not motivated at all) all the way through to Intrinsic (the work is enjoyable for it's own sake).
November 18, 2025 at 6:49 PM
I'm talking about what I've observed. I've been programming for forty years and coaching and training programmers for twenty and there are some patterns that I see over and over. Both in myself and in the people around me.
July 10, 2025 at 6:58 PM
That's fair. I live in a country where it's illegal to call yourself an engineer if you aren't formally trained in engineering so it tends to be a hot button here.
July 10, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Are you assuming that programming is engineering? Very few programmers have any training in engineering. Few understand any but the simplest stats. They do all have a grasp of logic, although in many cases, that’s intuitive without any formal training.
July 10, 2025 at 6:37 PM