"Agile Scrum" Book Trailer — Updated on 13 April 2018
13 April 2018
Follow @scottgraffius
Scott M. Graffius of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ had consulting engagements with a division of a global entertainment business. A fantastic agile transformation experience with that client was the inspiration for his book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is an update on the book.
The new book trailer for Agile Scrum is live at https://vimeo.com/178858753 (and it can be played above). This new version highlights some editorial reviews, and it features fresh music and additional updates. The total run time is 1 minute.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Agile Scrum Guide | Official Book Trailer from Scott Graffius on Vimeo.
Scott M. Graffius of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ had consulting engagements with a division of a global entertainment business. A fantastic agile transformation experience with that client was the inspiration for his book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This is an update on the book.
The new book trailer for Agile Scrum is live at https://vimeo.com/178858753 (and it can be played above). This new version highlights some editorial reviews, and it features fresh music and additional updates. The total run time is 1 minute.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is offered in digital and print formats.
The ebook (ASIN: B01FZ0JIIY) is available in:
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- France,
- Germany,
- India,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Mexico,
- the Netherlands,
- Spain,
- the United Kingdom, and
- the United States.
The paperback (ISBN-13: 9781533370242) is for sale at:
- Amazon,
- Barnes & Noble,
- Strand Books,
- Harvard Book Store,
- Books-a-Million,
- The Booksmith,
- Hudson Booksellers,
- Savoy Bookshop & Café,
- Compass Books at SFO/Books Inc.,
- Books & Books - Miami,
- University Press Books - Berkeley,
- and other retailers and partners in the United States and around the world.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Produce Planning Cards™ — A Relative Estimation Tool and Technique for Agile Teams
25 March 2018
Scott M. Graffius is the Founder and CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, and the author of Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions. This post shares news related to the business and the book.
Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ introduced Produce Planning Cards™ to help agile teams estimate work. An overview of the tool and the technique is provided in a video presented by Agile Scrum and Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™. It's available at https://vimeo.com/261680776, and it can be played below.
For more information on the Produce Planning Cards™, visit http://exceptional-pmo.com/Produce-Planning-Cards.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ introduced Produce Planning Cards™ to help agile teams estimate work. An overview of the tool and the technique is provided in a video presented by Agile Scrum and Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™. It's available at https://vimeo.com/261680776, and it can be played below.
Produce Planning Cards™ Help Agile Teams Estimate Work from Scott Graffius on Vimeo.
For more information on the Produce Planning Cards™, visit http://exceptional-pmo.com/Produce-Planning-Cards.
© Copyright 2018 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Trailer for "Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change"
12 May 2019
Follow @scottgraffius
Based on a true story, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change by Scott M. Graffius provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. You're invited to watch the trailer for the book. It runs 30 seconds.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Based on a true story, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change by Scott M. Graffius provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of a successful agile implementation at a global entertainment company. You're invited to watch the trailer for the book. It runs 30 seconds.
About the Author
Scott M. Graffius is a project management expert, consultant, speaker, and author. He is CEO of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™, a professional services firm, where he partners with client companies to help them achieve their strategic objectives and business initiatives through project management leadership. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects in public and private companies with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. Scott's first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242), garnered 17 first place awards. Scott and Agile Scrum have been featured in Yahoo Finance, the Boston Herald, Computer Weekly, Learning Solutions, Informa, Innovation Management, and additional media publications. He regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the world.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States
© Copyright 2019 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius Speaking at Microsoft Conference
03 November 2020
Follow @scottgraffius
🔥 Update: The conference recorded sessions and made the videos available to the public. The video for Scott's session is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will present “But First, the Team!” at the Microsoft Azure Community Conference 2020, a multi-track virtual event running from November 24-26, 2020.
For more information and to register for the virtual event, visit https://www.azconf.dev/#home.
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to one hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
Description of Talk
Want great Cloud or Web Development projects? Among other things, it takes a great team! Enter Bruce Tuckman's phases of team development — a model that’s stood the test of time because it remains highly relevant and beneficial. If you are a leader (or aspire to be one), a member of a team (or may be in one in the future), or a just looking to develop your skills, this talk (based on Tuckman's model, but with fresh angle) will give you a practical framework with actionable tips for working in and leading teams successfully. You'll learn about the five phases — Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning — including detailed descriptions of each along with proven strategies for addressing challenges or issues that may occur along the way. You'll understand how to use the model to your advantage by effectively navigating all of the phases, from team set-up to the after-party!
Speaker Bio
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and international speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been featured and used by media outlets, publications, businesses, governments, and universities including Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, Innovation Project Management, MobileAppDaily, Gartner, Cisco, RSA, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, James Madison University, Santa Clara University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a global top thought leader and influencer on Agile.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
About the Azure Community Conference 2020
The Azure Community Conference (#AzConfDev) is a three-day multi-track conference running from November 24-26, 2020. It is aimed at Cloud and Web Developers working with open source and cloud native technologies on the Microsoft Stack. The event hosts technology experts from around the globe to educate, network, and share their expertise with attendees on:
Usually conducted in-person in Bangalore, India, the event is virtual this year.
To learn more about the conference, visit https://www.azconf.dev/#home.
Update on December 5, 2020
If you missed the live Microsoft Azure Community Conference 2020, recordings of the sessions are now on YouTube. Scott's talk is at at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IePi5Z67sYc and the video is shown below.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
🔥 Update: The conference recorded sessions and made the videos available to the public. The video for Scott's session is included at the end of this post.
Scott M. Graffius will present “But First, the Team!” at the Microsoft Azure Community Conference 2020, a multi-track virtual event running from November 24-26, 2020.
- Location: Virtual event
- Session description and speaker bio on conference website: https://www.azconf.dev/speakers/Scott-Graffius/
- Date and time of session — Pacific Standard Time: Tuesday, November 24th from 8:30-9:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
- Date and time of session — India Standard Time: Wednesday, November 25th from 10:00-11:00 a.m. India Standard Time
For more information and to register for the virtual event, visit https://www.azconf.dev/#home.
Attendees of this session may be eligible to receive continuing education unit (CEU) credit, equivalent to one hour. For reporting with the Project Management Institute (PMI), it’s 1.00 professional development unit (PDU), under the Leadership category. For reporting with the Scrum Alliance, it’s 1.00 Scrum educational unit (SEU), under either the Learning category or the Events category. For reporting with other organizations, refer to their respective instructions.
Description of Talk
Want great Cloud or Web Development projects? Among other things, it takes a great team! Enter Bruce Tuckman's phases of team development — a model that’s stood the test of time because it remains highly relevant and beneficial. If you are a leader (or aspire to be one), a member of a team (or may be in one in the future), or a just looking to develop your skills, this talk (based on Tuckman's model, but with fresh angle) will give you a practical framework with actionable tips for working in and leading teams successfully. You'll learn about the five phases — Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning — including detailed descriptions of each along with proven strategies for addressing challenges or issues that may occur along the way. You'll understand how to use the model to your advantage by effectively navigating all of the phases, from team set-up to the after-party!
Speaker Bio
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management consultant, practitioner, award-winning author, and international speaker. Content from his books, speaking engagements, and more has been featured and used by media outlets, publications, businesses, governments, and universities including Yahoo Finance, Computer Weekly, Innovation Project Management, MobileAppDaily, Gartner, Cisco, RSA, Ford, Qantas, Atlassian, Bayer, the United States Department of Energy, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, Tufts University, James Madison University, Santa Clara University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, and others. Thinkers360 named Scott a global top thought leader and influencer on Agile.
His full bio is available here.
Connect with Scott on:
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States
About the Azure Community Conference 2020
The Azure Community Conference (#AzConfDev) is a three-day multi-track conference running from November 24-26, 2020. It is aimed at Cloud and Web Developers working with open source and cloud native technologies on the Microsoft Stack. The event hosts technology experts from around the globe to educate, network, and share their expertise with attendees on:
- .NET/C#/ASP.NET/Developer Technologies (anything that runs on Azure);
- Front-end/Javascript Frameworks/UI/UX;
- DevOps and Cloud Native Technologies on Azure;
- Data, IoT, and Application Security;
- Life Hacks / Career & Work Skills; and
- Other developer-centric topics.
Usually conducted in-person in Bangalore, India, the event is virtual this year.
To learn more about the conference, visit https://www.azconf.dev/#home.
Update on December 5, 2020
If you missed the live Microsoft Azure Community Conference 2020, recordings of the sessions are now on YouTube. Scott's talk is at at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IePi5Z67sYc and the video is shown below.
© Copyright 2020 Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
'Cat Herders': Retelling the Massive Success Story
22 October 2024
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com
Introduction
The 'Cat Herders' commercial is a remarkable piece of advertising history. But, more importantly, it's a case study in how creative work can transform a company's fortunes.
Video of the commercial is embedded in this article.
Here's the Story
In 2000, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) endeavored to change the company’s image to help advance growth and improve the morale of its employees. It hired the Fallon agency to create a campaign ... and the 'Cat Herders' commercial was born.
Alluding to the management-speak idiom, 'It's like herding cats'—referring to the impossibility of controlling the uncontrollable—it advances an analogy between herding cats and the solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems.
The commercial showed cowboys (most were real, non-actors) herding thousands of cats across the Montana prairie, and it closed with the message, "We bring together information, ideas, and technologies and make them go where you want."
'Cat Herders' was shown on January 30, 2000, at the Super Bowl XXXIV and was cited by then-President Bill Clinton as his favorite commercial. 'Cat Herders' won the First Boards Award, a Cannes Silver Lion, a bronze Clio, Advertising Age’s Best Visual Effects Award, and a silver EFFIE Award. It also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Commercial.
'Cat Herders' was a massive success. In addition to awards and accolades, EDS enjoyed an improvement in employee morale and corporate image, along with new business contracts and acquisitions. In 2000, EDS reported fourth-quarter earnings of $5.2 billion (equivalent to about $9.2 billion today), an increase in earnings and a new quarterly record high for the company.
'Cat Herders'—inclusive of its message, "We bring together information, ideas, and technologies and make them go where you want"—resonated with EDS, its employees, its existing clients, new (soon-to-be) clients, those otherwise working in the technology industry, and many others. One way to think about the successful commercial and its message is that there are solutions to seemingly impossible problems.
Credits for EDS' 'Cat Herders' (2000) Commercial
Sources for This Story
This article was based on information from the Television Academy - Emmy Awards, IMDb, The Wall Street Journal, HP, and the author. Note: EDS is currently part of HP.
Watch the 'Cat Herders' Video
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2024, October 22). 'Cat Herders': Retelling the Massive Success Story. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/cat-herders-success-story.html.
Post-Publication Notes
If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.
Content Acknowledgements
The image at the top of this article shows a circa 2000 television with a still frame extracted from the ‘Cat Herders’ commercial on-screen. The still is used under the doctrine of fair use (17 U.S.C. § 107) for the purposes of news reporting, commentary, and educational analysis. The use of this material is transformative in nature, serving to enhance public understanding and discussion of the subject matter. The still is not intended to substitute for the original video, nor does it aim to fulfill the same purpose. The selection of this particular frame was made to illustrate specific points relevant to our analysis, ensuring that the use is both minimal and necessary. The copyright for the video remains with EDS, the owner of the commercial. Note: EDS was subsequently acquired by HP.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Introduction
The 'Cat Herders' commercial is a remarkable piece of advertising history. But, more importantly, it's a case study in how creative work can transform a company's fortunes.
Video of the commercial is embedded in this article.
Here's the Story
In 2000, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) endeavored to change the company’s image to help advance growth and improve the morale of its employees. It hired the Fallon agency to create a campaign ... and the 'Cat Herders' commercial was born.
Alluding to the management-speak idiom, 'It's like herding cats'—referring to the impossibility of controlling the uncontrollable—it advances an analogy between herding cats and the solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems.
The commercial showed cowboys (most were real, non-actors) herding thousands of cats across the Montana prairie, and it closed with the message, "We bring together information, ideas, and technologies and make them go where you want."
'Cat Herders' was shown on January 30, 2000, at the Super Bowl XXXIV and was cited by then-President Bill Clinton as his favorite commercial. 'Cat Herders' won the First Boards Award, a Cannes Silver Lion, a bronze Clio, Advertising Age’s Best Visual Effects Award, and a silver EFFIE Award. It also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Commercial.
'Cat Herders' was a massive success. In addition to awards and accolades, EDS enjoyed an improvement in employee morale and corporate image, along with new business contracts and acquisitions. In 2000, EDS reported fourth-quarter earnings of $5.2 billion (equivalent to about $9.2 billion today), an increase in earnings and a new quarterly record high for the company.
'Cat Herders'—inclusive of its message, "We bring together information, ideas, and technologies and make them go where you want"—resonated with EDS, its employees, its existing clients, new (soon-to-be) clients, those otherwise working in the technology industry, and many others. One way to think about the successful commercial and its message is that there are solutions to seemingly impossible problems.
Credits for EDS' 'Cat Herders' (2000) Commercial
- Director: John O'Hagan
- Agency: Fallon
- Agency Producer: Judy Brink
- Agency Producer: Bob Wendt
- Agency Producer: Marty Wetherall
- Creative Director: David Lubars
- Production Company: Hungry Man
- Producer: JD Davison
- Assistant Director: Lee Blaine
- Cinematographer: Olivier Cocaul
- Production Designer: Leslie McDonald
- Stylist: Colleen Atwood
- Editor: Gordon Carey
Sources for This Story
This article was based on information from the Television Academy - Emmy Awards, IMDb, The Wall Street Journal, HP, and the author. Note: EDS is currently part of HP.
Watch the 'Cat Herders' Video
Re-sharing the “Cat Herders” success story
Video: #EDS | #Tech #Marketing #Advertising #Ideas #HP #Fallon #Cats #CatHerders #CatHerding #HerdingCats #Cowboys #SuperBowl #Commercial #SuperBowlCommercial
—————
In 2000, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) endeavored to change the… pic.twitter.com/jAnc7U68IJ
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a global leader in agile project management, an expert on teamwork tradecraft, an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms, a creator, a consultant, a trainer, an award-winning author, and an international public speaker.
See his bio to learn more. 
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2024, October 22). 'Cat Herders': Retelling the Massive Success Story. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/cat-herders-success-story.html.
Post-Publication Notes
If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.
Content Acknowledgements
The image at the top of this article shows a circa 2000 television with a still frame extracted from the ‘Cat Herders’ commercial on-screen. The still is used under the doctrine of fair use (17 U.S.C. § 107) for the purposes of news reporting, commentary, and educational analysis. The use of this material is transformative in nature, serving to enhance public understanding and discussion of the subject matter. The still is not intended to substitute for the original video, nor does it aim to fulfill the same purpose. The selection of this particular frame was made to illustrate specific points relevant to our analysis, ensuring that the use is both minimal and necessary. The copyright for the video remains with EDS, the owner of the commercial. Note: EDS was subsequently acquired by HP.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Wild World of Team Dynamics [Updated Two-Minute Video]
23 November 2024
BY SCOTT M. GRAFFIUS | ScottGraffius.com
Scott M. Graffius updated his two-minute edu-tainment video, The Wild World of Team Dynamics. It briefly highlights the five phases of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Watch it via the embedded post on LinkedIn (above).
Read on to learn more.
Graffius' 'Phases of Team Development'
Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 100 subsequent studies, and Scott M. Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his ‘Phases of Team Development’ as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—inclusive of a graph showing how performance varies by phase, as well as the characteristics and strategies for each phase.
Graffius' intellectual property is registered with the United States Copyright Office.
He initially developed his ‘Phases of Team Development’ unique material in 2008, and he periodically refreshes it. The current (2024) edition is shown below.
Organizations around the world engage Graffius to deliver compelling talks and workshops. To date, he's presented sessions at 91 conferences and other events across 25 countries, including:
Graffius’ ‘Phases of Team Development’ intellectual property is central and key to many of those sessions. His rate card and a listing of his engagements are at here and here, respectively.
With authorization/license from Graffius, his ‘Phases of Team Development’ property is featured and used by businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities worldwide. Examples include:
For details on Graffius' 'Phases of Team Development' — including permission request information, how to get high resolution files, and more — visit here.
Read on to learn:
* A PDF of still images from the video was published on ResearchGate; the DOI links to that publication.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a global leader in agile project management, an expert on teamwork tradecraft, an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms, a creator, a consultant, a trainer, an award-winning author, and an international public speaker.
See his bio to learn more.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2024, November 9). Scott M. Graffius’ Intellectual Property was Employed by the NHS — the Largest Single-Payer Healthcare System in Europe. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/nhs-2024.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.24658.57289.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Still images from Graffius' video were published on ResearchGate; the respective DOI follows.
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33389.60644
DOI link: https://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.33389.60644
Post-Publication Notes
If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Scott M. Graffius updated his two-minute edu-tainment video, The Wild World of Team Dynamics. It briefly highlights the five phases of team development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Watch it via the embedded post on LinkedIn (above).
Read on to learn more.
Graffius' 'Phases of Team Development'
Informed by the research of Bruce W. Tuckman and Mary Ann C. Jensen, over 100 subsequent studies, and Scott M. Graffius' first-hand professional experience with, and analysis of, team leadership and performance, Graffius created his ‘Phases of Team Development’ as a unique perspective and visual conveying the five phases of team development—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning—inclusive of a graph showing how performance varies by phase, as well as the characteristics and strategies for each phase.
Graffius' intellectual property is registered with the United States Copyright Office.
He initially developed his ‘Phases of Team Development’ unique material in 2008, and he periodically refreshes it. The current (2024) edition is shown below.
Organizations around the world engage Graffius to deliver compelling talks and workshops. To date, he's presented sessions at 91 conferences and other events across 25 countries, including:
- Armenia,
- Australia,
- Brazil,
- Canada,
- Czech Republic,
- Finland,
- France,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Hong Kong,
- Hungary,
- India,
- Ireland,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Nepal,
- Netherlands,
- New Zealand,
- Norway,
- Romania,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland,
- United Arab Emirates,
- United Kingdom,
- and the United States.
Graffius’ ‘Phases of Team Development’ intellectual property is central and key to many of those sessions. His rate card and a listing of his engagements are at here and here, respectively.
With authorization/license from Graffius, his ‘Phases of Team Development’ property is featured and used by businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities worldwide. Examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Constructor University Germany,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- EU Europass Teacher Academy,
- Ford Motor Company,
- Hasso Plattner Institute,
- IEEE,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- LeadingEng,
- London South Bank University,
- Manufacturers Alliance,
- Microsoft,
- New Zealand Government,
- Oracle,
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Torrens University Australia,
- US National Park Service,
- US Tennis Association,
- UC San Diego,
- University of Galway Ireland,
- Virginia Tech,
- Warsaw University,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
For details on Graffius' 'Phases of Team Development' — including permission request information, how to get high resolution files, and more — visit here.
Read on to learn:
- About Scott M. Graffius,
- How to Cite This Article,
- DOI*,
- and more.
* A PDF of still images from the video was published on ResearchGate; the DOI links to that publication.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a global leader in agile project management, an expert on teamwork tradecraft, an authority on temporal dynamics on social media platforms, a creator, a consultant, a trainer, an award-winning author, and an international public speaker.
See his bio to learn more.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile framework―Scrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇭🇺 Hungary
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇹 Italy
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇳🇴 Norway
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 UAE
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle in the United States and around the world. Some links by country follow.
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇦🇹 Austria
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic
- 🇩🇰 Denmark
- 🇫🇮 Finland
- 🇫🇷 France
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇮🇳 India
- 🇮🇪 Ireland
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- 🇱🇺 Luxembourg
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- 🇸🇪 Sweden
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- 🇺🇸 United States
How to Cite This Article
Graffius, Scott M. (2024, November 9). Scott M. Graffius’ Intellectual Property was Employed by the NHS — the Largest Single-Payer Healthcare System in Europe. Available at: https://scottgraffius.com/blog/files/nhs-2024.html. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.24658.57289.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Still images from Graffius' video were published on ResearchGate; the respective DOI follows.
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33389.60644
DOI link: https://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.33389.60644
Post-Publication Notes
If there are any supplements or updates to this article after the date of publication, they will appear here.
Copyright
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.