Why Predictability Beats Features with Ivan Gekht

What happens when you need to ship software in environments where failure isn't just expensive, it's catastrophic? Ivan Gekht, CEO of Gehtsoft, joins Peter and Dave to challenge how we think about agile delivery in high-stakes, regulated systems.

Forget the innovation lab. Ivan argues that real innovation happens 10 minutes at a time, every day, at your desk. He shares why learning without outcomes is just an expensive distraction, why retrospectives reveal more than sprint planning ever will, and how the biggest transformation killer isn't resistance, it's apathy.

Plus, the dinner party analogy that will change how you negotiate scope vs. time, and why organizations that obsess over features are asking the wrong questions entirely.

Key Topics:

• Why "nobody cares" is the hardest transformation problem to solve
• The reversed iron triangle: hitting dates by flexing scope
• Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) and structured innovation
• Goals vs. features: reframing conversations with leadership
• Why agile fails when it becomes anarchy

This Week's Takeaways:

• Language and framing matter more than we think. Finding the right words and the right way to present ideas can genuinely shift how change happens in an organization.
• The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving deserves a deeper look. Innovation isn't the big thing happening in the cool kids area; it's the thing that happens every day at your desk.
• The dinner party analogy is going straight into my next executive presentation. When sales want locked dates and fixed scope, this framework shows why that's wishful thinking, and what actually works instead.

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