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.
If we want to make better decisions, we first need to recognize our own biases, and I talk about some of those biases in this article.
improvingflow.com/2026/01/06/c...
Craving certainty - why we distrust probabilistic forecasts
When faced with the question of “when will we be done?”, the most factually accurate answer we can give is one from a probabilistic forecast. Yet counter-intuitively, despite being the most correct an...
improvingflow.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:45 PM
In fairness, that happened when search engines appeared as well. And when sites like Stack Overflow or Wikipedia arrived. The key thing that seems different this time is that we're less critical of the answer we're given. It's just accepted without considering accuracy.
January 5, 2026 at 4:43 PM
It’s also a set of foundational skills that underpins much of what we do in the coaching world, even though we almost never discuss it in those terms.

Continued on my blog: unconsciousagile.com/2024/01/04/w...
World Hypnosis Day
Today, January 4, is World Hypnosis Day. If you’re like most people, all you know about hypnosis is what you’ve seen on TV or in movies, and while entertaining, that’s mostly wrong. You may have even ...
unconsciousagile.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Actual hypnosis has been used to remove fears and phobias, to heal trauma, and increase confidence or happiness. It’s provided pain management, even during surgery. It’s been used to change behaviours, to improve sports performance, and to help people quit smoking and other addictions.
January 4, 2026 at 4:31 PM
You may have even seen a live hypnosis show, and while there will certainly be real hypnosis being done, most of what you’re going to notice is showmanship and entertainment.
January 4, 2026 at 4:31 PM
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