Doing Less, Achieving More: Lean, Clean, and Simple Lessons from Agile Principle #10

The Mob Mentality Show

Can simplicity be your team’s most powerful productivity tool?
In this episode of The Mob Mentality Show, we explore Agile Manifesto Principle #10: “Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.”
This isn’t abstract Agile theory — it’s real-world stories and lessons from software teams who’ve learned how to cut waste, focus on what matters, and deliver more by doing less. We share hands-on examples from their work in Mob Programming, Extreme Programming (XP), and Lean Thinking, unpacking how simplicity shows up in everyday team decisions.
🎯 In this episode, you’ll learn:
- When saying “no” isn’t the answer — and how to say “yes, and…” instead with...
- How small automations can save time, build trust, and remove repetitive work
- The power of reducing batch size to get faster feedback and higher quality
- What the “nice-to-have bag” taught us about ruthless prioritization
- How profitability can actually hide inefficiency and technical waste
- Why focusing on the 20% of work that drives 80% of value keeps teams sharp
- How to stay lean, adaptable, and resilient — even when things feel “comfortable”
- What "gold-plating" really means in the context of software development
This conversation hits the intersection of Agile mindset, team collaboration, and developer culture. It’s packed with takeaways for engineers, team leads, and product owners who want to create sustainable, high-performing teams without falling into overproduction or other lean wastes.
💬 Whether you’re scaling a software product, improving team flow, or rethinking your backlog, this episode helps you bring clarity and simplicity to your workflow — so your team can do less, achieve more, and deliver what truly matters.
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/W9t4GOU4Vmk