On this edition of the Beth Linder-Moss Podcast, Beth explains how meditation is one way to keep our mental health fit. She explains some different approaches to meditating and suggests some apps that can assist in the process. To learn more go to https://bethlinder-moss.com.

This week on her podcast, Beth Linder-Moss discusses fitness trackers and what to look for when shopping for one. Fitness trackers do what they say, track the level of activity that leads to greater physical fitness. Some are as simple as the mechanical 'pedometer' while others are extremely sophisticated, like the Apple Watch Ultra. To learn what is important and to select the right features for your next fitness tracker purchase, listen to the Beth Linder-Moss Podcast.To learn more, go to her website, https://bethlinder-moss.com/

Health and Wellness Coach, certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer, certified sports nutritionist and an Exercise Physiologist, having earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University. Beth has helped thousands take positive steps in their journey to a healthier life through the written word, social media, one-on-one training and group sessions. Exclusively on “Take My Advice I’m Not Using It: Get Balanced with Dr. Marissa, the Morning Show!’ right after the @NBCNews @kcaaradio AM 1050 FM 106.5 Home to the Asian Oprah EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING and streaming everywhere @iheartradio @spotify PLUS INTERACT Watch AND Listen LIVE Lovestreaming on my LINKEDIN FB AND YouTube channel…so FREE SUBSCRIBE and COME CHAT!! Show link in bio Linktree!

On this edition of the Beth Linder-Moss Podcast, Beth discusses how strength and weight training contribute to a weight loss and healthy lifestyle. She addresses some myths about weight training and has practical advice in place of bad information. For example, does muscle weigh more than fat? Will weight training for women make them bulky like body builders? What should we eat to develop more muscle? Does strength training contribute to an overall weight loss diet? Plus many others. So listen and download this week's podcast. To learn more go to https://beth-linder-moss.com.

Instagram and Tik-Tok influencer and best-selling author Beth Linder-Moss has ten ways to jump start healthier eating complete with the best timing to adopt new habits, where and how to cook. https://bethlinder-moss.com.

On this edition of the Beth Linder-Moss podcast, Beth gives very detailed information and advice about getting a mindset for a healthy new year. Most new year’s resolutions are forgotten by February and more than 80% of people admit to breaking their resolutions. Beth’s advice is to make healthy changes one thought at a time in place of the annual ritual of making and then breaking New Year’s Resolutions. Be sure to visit https://beth-linder-moss.com for all the latest from Beth.

On this edition of the Beth Linder-Moss podcast Beth helps us all get our minds right when it comes to post Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas and New Year thinking about food and water consumption. Beth recommends small or ‘baby steps’ of progress on a consistent basis. She believes that the right mindset about eating can be developed over time and that this approach is superior to resolutions, re-starts or reboots. To learn more visit her website at https://bethlinder-moss.com.

Please join Beth as she discusses ways to make better decisions about what to eat during the calorie intense holiday season that is upon us. Beth examines the following: - How to avoid overeating at a party or dinner, - What simple thing anyone can do to feel full before the big holiday meal, - The power of water and what to add to it, - How often you can skip a workout during the holidays, - Ways to avoid bad decisions at the table and/or bar. None of these come with any expense, which makes them free! Listening to the podcast is also free.

Can we rescue the expensive, cumbersome, and increasingly patient un-friendly healthcare system we have here in the U.S? Yes. To hear the details about how to do it, listen to the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein. www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Enhancing Population Health Approaches After Covid - 19. On this edition of the Houston Healthcare Initiative Dr. Steven Goldstein, will discuss the reversals in preventative care the American public experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic and what we can all do to stay healthier, and possibly live longer by re-committing to prevention as part of our collective health regimen. To learn more, please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Even in the year 2021 the more things change, the more they stay the same. By that I am referring to the off-label prescription options doctors have always had that are still controversial when it comes to the ongoing global Covid 19 pandemic. Off-label prescribing is when a physician gives a drug that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved to treat a condition different than the one you’ve got. This practice is legal and even common. In fact, one in five prescriptions written today are for off-label use. Last year Dr. Goldstein discussed the controversy and government interference with how hydroxychloroquine, a common treatment for Malaria was prescribed off-label for patients suffering with Covid-19. Fast forward from September 2020 to October 2021 and the same thing is happening with a drug called Ivermectin, a drug that is approved for treatment of certain parasitic worm infestations, and its possible use as a treatment for Covid-19. Here with some much-needed insight is respected neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative, Dr. Steven Goldstein.

The new administration, like all of them, has plans for Americans and their healthcare. On this edition of the podcast Dr. Steven Goldstein, who founded the Houston Healthcare Initiative, will get us all better acquainted with what those proposals are and explore other possible ways for how healthcare can be fixed.

Why? Weight Gain During the Covid-19 Lockdown by Dr. Steven Goldstein

Access to and paying for healthcare is a topic that Dr. Goldstein talks about a lot on the podcast and this one is no exception. But in this case access to primary care is a matter of the number of doctors who choose to pursue primary care as a career. Pay for those roles is lower than it is for most specialists. A lower number of primary care doctors are linked to 85 deaths every day according to a study published by the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to a shortage of practicing doctors, primary care visits declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Add to that a good number of primary care practices were not able to access federal funds and relief and went under. How can we manage all this? For answers we turn to respected neurologist and the founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative, Dr. Steven Goldstein.

On this edition of the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast, Dr. Steven Goldstein describes UnitedHealthcare’s try at reducing emergency room claim payments by retroactively ruling that some emergencies were not really emergencies at all. The consequences of this could put patients in jeopardy. Listen to learn how this could affect you. And visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative to learn about this and much more.

How To Hack Your Health Savings Account In this installment of the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast, respected neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative, Dr. Steven Goldstein, will explain the often-overlooked benefit known as the Health Savings Account. The Health Savings Account or HSA is a type of savings account that is used for medical expenses. Congress established them in 2003 for those with high deductible health insurance. It is a way to pay cash for routine medical care with pretax dollars. Because the HSA requires a high deductible, routine healthcare expenses are not covered by insurance but can be paid for by the HSA. HSA’s are potentially a good value for those who can take advantage. Listen to this and over 50 installments of the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast at www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.com.

In the market for a new doctor? Wondering why you even need a primary care physician? There are lots of ways and reasons. Listen to the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast with Dr. Steven Goldstein to get all the best information from an actual, practicing medical doctor. To learn more visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Covid Pandemic Stress And Overeating by Dr. Steven Goldstein

Patient Centered Healthcare by Dr. Steven Goldstein

Healthcare By The Numbers by Dr. Steven Goldstein

The amount of people who were and remain unemployed because of the Covid-19 pandemic remains high. Since most individuals get their health insurance with their jobs, those same folks are also in need of medical coverage. On his regular podcast, Houston based neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative Dr. Steven Goldstein has immediate and affordable medical insurance solutions for those who need coverage

How Some Hospitals Are Balking At These New Rules And One That Is Not This week respected Houston based neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein will discuss the price’s patients are charged by doctors and hospitals. Specifically, on the new rules about healthcare price transparency. Specifically, on the new rules about healthcare and price transparency. What needed to change on disclosing prices and is anything different as a result? Of course, there are ways that the hospitals are playing around with the information. But there is one shining example of what looks like full compliance. Be sure to visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org for more information about this and other issues.

A healthcare company blessed with lots of money, high tech abilities and really smart people will close up the end of January. Of course, this was Haven, the joint venture between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan-Chase. Its purpose was to use the leverage of its tens of thousands of employees and its expertise in technology to improve the healthcare system. What lessons can we learn from its failure to accomplish its mission. Here to help reset the focus of reforming healthcare is respected Houston neurologist, Dr. Steven Goldstein.

Those with an interest in reforming the healthcare industry will be very interested in the topic of this podcast as respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein tells us all about how some very large organizations tried and failed at reforming their employee health insurance. This is a story about an organization that was called Haven. When it was formed, the three companies had a lofty goal: to provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality, and transparent health care at a reasonable cost. Haven made one very big mistake, trying to fix the wrong thing. Learn more at www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

The Case for Healthcare Reform in Unsettled Times That times are unsettled was never truer than in 2020 and 2021 will start out that way. But in an unsettled time with so much of the nation’s attention turned to medical care, could it be the time to really push healthcare reform and what might that reform look like? Americans remain in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. What can we learn from it and how can this influence our thinking when it comes to healthcare reform? Or is it all too big for any of us to do anything meaningful? Here to share his insight with us is respected neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative, Dr. Steven Goldstein. Visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org for more.

Should you just accept that Healthcare and Insurance Companies Will Always Do What They Want? No matter which party’s reforms are adopted the public will be unhappy. What’s the solution? Walk Away From Traditional Insurance. To learn more, listen in and visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Do we really have any chance of meaningful change for an industry that all but regulates itself? Or should we just resign ourselves to healthcare and insurance companies doing and charging what they want with little if any restriction on them? Here with what is a more optimistic point of view is respected Houston based neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative, Dr. Steven Goldstein. Visit the website at www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Is it possible to get good health insurance coverage in 2021 and save money on treatments, prescription drugs and the policy too? The answer according to Dr. Steven Goldstein, founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative and respected neurologist, is yes. Learn more about this and issues like it at www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Vaccines And Liability Wavers by Dr. Steven Goldstein

A group of U.S. doctors known collectively as the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons or the AAPS recently sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for limiting use of hydroxychloroquine, and the right to prescribe hydroxychloroquine as an off-label treatment for the Coronavirus/Covid-19 virus. But there is a larger issue here that will eventually transcend the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic and that is who ultimately decides what medicines we can take? Who is it that has more or less influence than they should?

On this special edition of the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast, author Gerald Posner discusses the history of the pharmaceutical industry and his new book "Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America." This book describes the history of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and how we and they got to the place we are now. Among many shocking facts included are that many of the practices that were incorporated into marketing and selling heroin and cocaine in the early 20th century are still used today. And like before, those same companies are deliberately downplaying of the risk of modern-day medicines like opioids. Refer to www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org and https://www.posner.com.

On August 23, 2020 the Food and Drug Administration’s announced a decision to grant blood plasma treatment for Coronavirus/Covid-19 patients with a fast-track authorization for its emergency use as a treatment for hospitalized COVID patients. This “emergency use authorization” triggered an outcry from scientists and doctors, who said the decision was not supported by adequate clinical evidence and criticized the FDA for what was perceived as bowing to political pressure. News coverage about this potential treatment has done little to clarify whether its useful or not. The idea that there could be a motivation behind the fast track authorization for this potential treatment other than looking for a useful therapeutic is troubling. More to the point, who should decide what patients receive in treatment for their illnesses? To help us make sense of how reforms for the pharmaceutical industry could potentially help separate facts from spin and who we should all listen to is respected neurologist, Dr. Steven Goldstein.

On the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast, Dr. Steven Goldstein describes how articles published and later retracted in both the "Lancet" and the "New England Journal of Medicine" contributed to confusion and misunderstanding of hydroxychloriquine and the possibility of its use to help treat Coronavirus/Covid-19. To see more visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org. Illustration courtesy of Tablet.

What are the reasons prices for prescribed medicine here are far higher than they are in Canada? Is there a good reason or any reason? Add to this the recent federal government action to bring U.S. drug prices close to or on par with their costs in Canada. To make sense of this, please listen to the Houston Healthcare Initiative podcast. And visit the website to learn even more, www.HoustonHealthcareInitiative.org.

This week Dr. Steven Goldstein will take a deeper dive into a court decision that requires hospitals to reveal private negotiated rates with insurers starting this coming January 1, 2021. Plus, he will provide more insight into how hospitals decide what and how much to charge us, and man is that a story. To learn more go to www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Why Health Insurers Won't Disclose Pricing by Dr. Steven Goldstein

Lost Jobs & Insurance Due To Coronavirus by Dr. Steven Goldstein

If the stress and anxiety associated with the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic were not enough, people who must go to doctors, clinics or hospitals, because of the virus or anything else, may also be more likely to receive a nasty surprise in the form of a much higher than expected bill. This bombshell applies even to those who have insurance and follow all the rules dictated by their healthcare insurance provider. Houston based neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein explained how a bad situation is now much worse on his podcast. To learn more visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Lonliness And Covid 19 by Dr. Steven Goldstein

The end of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 crisis may be several weeks away, but the end will come and change is likely. What about the healthcare industry will change and what will go back to what it was before? Dr. Steven Goldstein shares his opinions and insights on this latest podcast. To learn more, please visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

There are few tragedies that surpass bankruptcy, particularly one caused by medical bills. You leave the hospital, recover enough to return to work and discover the costs of your treatment are more than you can ever afford to pay. But the debt does not end at the hospital exit. The costs of health care are much more enmeshed in people’s lives than just the immediate issue of a hospital stay. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in January 2018, a single month, 4.2 million people missed work due to illness, meaning lost wages and, potentially, their jobs. The burden extends to other family members too: helping a family member both in and out of the hospital means missed hours at work, lower pay and the likelihood that patients will use credit cards to pay their bills. The payment by individuals in the U.S. adds up to an incredible expense to everyone society. To help us get a better idea of what the total price is to all of us is respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein.

This week on the podcast Dr. Steven Goldstein will help us better understand the roles of managed care and the prices paid by all of us. How are prices determined and by whom? Is it the free market at work?www.houstonhealtcareinitiative.org.

This week our conversation is right out of the headlines, and that is Medicare for All. There are pros and cons for it and here to help us make sense of it all is respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein. To learn more about Dr. Steven Goldstein and issues that affect the health and spending of people like you, please go to www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

Earlier this year both houses of congress were debating legislation that would end practices that led to surprisingly large and unexpected hospital bills. It seemed that passage was all but done. But over the summer, special interests — specifically hospitals and the private-equity-backed companies that have largely taken over their emergency rooms — are standing in the way; spending piles of money on their advocacy ads sponsored under innocuous sounding names like Doctor Patient Unity. Respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein explains how this practice exists and why big business is against it.

Who is behind all those ‘government rate setting ads’ and what should the public know about them or do differently? For that matter, what exactly are they advocating? In his latest podcast, respected neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP, Dr. Steven Goldstein discusses the intent behind those government rate setting ads that are now on radio and television. Not knowing the source of these ads and who is paying for them, what positions they advocate, and what to know about them are all explained by Dr. Goldstein. After the wide acceptance of his locally focused podcast, the Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP podcast is now positioned to be useful and relevant to people all over the USA. The Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP podcast can be heard on iTunes, the Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP web site and other places around the Internet.

With so many different parts to the whole health insurance debate, this week noted Houston based neurologist and founder of the Houston Healthcare Initiative Dr. Steven Goldstein will take one piece of it and that is the pre-existing condition. If you want to learn more about the Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP please visit the web site at www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org and of course please come back next time for another edition of the Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP podcast.

Patients may go to the hospital designated as in network by their insurance, but the doctors who treat them may not be part of that network. This is one of the main reasons for big bills even among those who have health insurance. Patients rarely have any say about who treats them, especially in the case of accidents where they are incapacitated. This is the message that Dr. Steven Goldstein has for podcast listeners this week. The Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP podcast can be heard on Soundcloud, Google Play, and iTunes. The podcast and much more information is available from the Houston Healthcare Initiative CO-OP website: www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

What You Buy? Cost Control Of Healthcare. When looking for the best health insurance, it is a good idea to consider what are you buying and what value does it deliver. According to Dr. Steven Goldstein of the Houston Healthcare Initiative the highest costs of diseases caused by lifestyle are the most expensive and the most preventable. To learn more, visit www.houstonhealthcareinitiative.org.

What Did You Buy? Cost Control Of Healthcare by Dr. Steven Goldstein

‎Mark A. Langley of PMI; Are You Working on the Right Things? Mark A. Langley, president and CEO of Project Management Institute (PMI) is on this edition of The Guardian Podcast With Ryn Melberg. Ryn and Mark discuss ‘project agility and creating greater value.’ Mark A. Langley, president and CEO of Project Management Institute, or PMI, joins Ryn on the podcast for this edition. Mark acts as chief spokesperson and advocate for demonstrating the value of project management to businesses and governments worldwide. Mark has grown PMI’s ability to shape the future of the profession, in collaboration with world-leading organizations of the PMI Global Executive Council, to ensure alignment to the business value organizations need today and the strategies of tomorrow. Mark also leads PMI’s efforts to deliver value to some 3 million project professionals worldwide through the organization’s advocacy, Both he and his company are coming off a very busy time and are contributing a great deal to business via project management and he has a lot of insights for ‘getting work done’. To learn more, hear other podcasts, read blogs, press announcements and articles Ryn has contributed to go to www.rynmelberg.com.

In this edition of the Guardian podcast we will be talking with David Hussman. David is someone I know and worked with before and am very happy he is with us. Among other things, David now leads a company he founded called DevJam (http://devjam.com). But he is also involved with another effort called Product Agility, and founded Agile Twin Cities. The web site for that is www.agiletwincities.org. And like always, there is more information about the Guardian Podcast along with articles and other interesting and free material on my web site which is www.rynmelberg.com.

Agile’s emergence as a global movement extends beyond software development. Agile’s popularity is driven by the discovery that its benefits are not isolated to software developers. Among other things, Agile enables people in organizations to master continuous change, make smaller mistakes earlier on a smaller scale, and engage customers at the development level regardless of the product or service. It permits firms to flourish in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. That’s good. But one size does not fit all. Is industry taking Agile too far? What are the limits of Agile’s effectiveness and what are the warning signs that the Agile effort inside your organization is on the brink of failure?

On August 9, 2016 Delta Airlines experienced a computer network shutdown that caused the cancellation and/or delay of flights for three days. Can Agile project methods be used to repair a network and infrastructure with major components that are decades old? Ryn Melberg has the answers. For more information about Ryn, go to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast Ryn Melberg brings us all up to speed on the biggest mobile app game in history that is of course Pokémon. What are the potential cyber security vulnerabilities players are opening themselves up to? What other real world crimes could befall players? What can Pokemon Go enthusiasts do to protect themselves? Ryn has the answers. For more information on this and the news items in the podcast, go to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast With Ryn Melberg, Ryn helps us know whether Agile is a good fit for organizations and the individuals who work inside those organizations. The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg is the only program of its kind devoted to Agile, Scrum, SAFe and governance. To learn more got to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week Ryn talks with Ross Clanton about Dev-Ops and Agile. Ross Clanton is an accomplished leader with over 16 years of IT experience in the retail industry. Ross is a DevOps enthusiast whose mission is to drive LEAN principles and extensive automation across technology service delivery. He has broad experience in IT operations, engineering, security and compliance, enterprise architecture, business intelligence, and data warehousing. Read more and see the articles from the news segment at www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on the podcast Ryn does the interview with guest Paul Ellarby as they discuss the need for and types of leadership for an Agile Transformation. Paul and Ryn share a lot of common experiences in this area. Paul is from the Scrum Alliance and has over 20 years experience in the information technology field. Among many other things, Paul is a Certified Scrum Professional, Certified Scrum Master, and a Certified Scrum Product Owner. To read more from the news segment go to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week during the interview segment we swing back to the world of Agile. To know where we are in terms of current project management methods and where we are headed there is no better way than to review where we have been with a brief review of the history project management? Did you know that project management dates all the way back to the pyramids and the Trans-Pacific Railroad? It's true. What would have happened if the railroad ended up with the two ends coming together miles apart? To read more and see the links mentioned in the news segment, please visit www.rynmelberg.com

This week during the interview segment with Ryn we discuss the practice of outsourcing. There are plenty of industries where this happens and it is not a coincidence that IT, web development, technical support and even content and manufacturing are all often outsourced. There are plenty of good reasons to outsource and most people believe it comes down to economics. Others believe that American workers are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to cheaper labor in other part of the world and that we should adopt tariffs and ways to protect jobs here in the U.S. So like with so many other issues we will try and get to the bottom of this one with the Guardian herself, Ryn Melberg. For more information and to read the news articles referenced, go to www.rynmelberg.com.

Agile Practice or Business Practice? Can the two co-exist? It seems that there are places other than software products where the really good, sensible, useful, affordable solutions based on decades of social science combined with the lessons programmers and code writers have learned from Agile are merging to benefit other businesses. Software development practices such as working in short focused bursts, collaboration, and openness to change are now being applied everywhere. But Agile purists are losing their minds over the feat that all this inclusion will co-opt and ultimately dilute the Agile mindset. Can the two ever co-exist? Also, be sure to read the news segment from www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on the interview segment of the program we will talk to Ryn about Continuous Integration in Agile. According to Martin Fowler of ThoughtWorks, continuous integration is a software development practice that requires team members to integrate their work frequently. With lots of code writers all working on the same product but doing so separately this might yield as many versions of code as there are code writers. We also have news from the world of Agile. To read and learn more go to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, Ryn discusses the pros and cons of the 'scrum of scrums' and calls out some things she finds 'stupid and ineffective'. In the news segment we learn about an agile bear and software written by a company called Smart Bear. To learn more visit www.rynmelberg.com.

In the age of the Internet and instant communications it is no longer necessary for team members to work in the same office floor or building. In fact it is not really necessary to even be in the same country, or time zone. This means freedom for many workers who need or choose to live in a certain locale but whose location differs from that of the office. But how can a team like this be managed and coordinated without a sacrifice of resources somewhere? To help us navigate the geographic diversity of this brave new world is the Guardian herself, Ryn Melberg.

Is money the best tool for attracting and retaining the best knowledge workers? Or, is there a formula for finding what is too little, too much or what is just right, like porridge. Some employers are getting creative in order to hold on to key employees. As the job market improves, competition for the best talent ramps up. Top programmers and code writers are offered lavish salaries, cars, housing allowances, club memberships, day care and other services that were once only found at resorts and five star hotels. It sounds great at first, but there is always the law of unintended consequences.

The infrastructure that allows everything from streaming movies and songs to international banking, commerce and satellite directed intelligence and defense is not as secure as it should be. Some in government and business believe that cyber attacks are a certainty and that the best way to prepare for them is to adopt the same habits as “preppers” do, like hoarding food, gold and ammunition. But perhaps a more rational approach would be to view information security as both a technical and corporate governance issue. So this week, Ryn will describe some general guidelines for us around this issue and also talk about some specifics. The specific cases include Apple Computer, The U.S. Department of Defense and even Donald Trump. To learn more, go to www.rynmelberg.com

While not a cage match or winner take all, this week on the podcast Ryn describes the differences between Devops and Systems Teams and their respective roles in Agile. While there is plenty of opportunity for conflicts, when these are managed and executed properly there is tremendous benefit to the Agile team. To read more about this and other issues in Agile, be sure to visit www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on the Guardian Podcast, Ryn describes the role directors must play to make cyber security a day to day job for everyone in the organization. Ryn also describes in detail the monetary losses experienced by companies that were hacked and the damage to their reputations for trust among consumers. To read more, visit the website online at www.rynmelberg.com.

Nothing succeeds like success and one of the ways to recognize success is to know the signals or signs that you and your Agile transformation are flittering with disaster. There are several of these that we are going to ask Ryn about on the podcast this week. To learn more go to www.rynmelberg.com

What are the qualities of the best ‘coaches’ or teachers that you’ve ever had? Do those same qualities make for good Agile and scrum coaches? And are you a candidate for a coaching role in Agile or scrum? To help us answer those and other questions is Ryn Melberg. No matter how well trained people are, few can sustain their best performance on their own. That’s where coaching comes in.To follow Ryn and read the latest from her, visit her website at www.rynmelberg.com.

Leadership in general and leadership in an Agile setting may or may not have a number of similarities. Most people would likely see leadership as an ‘eye of the beholder’ kind of thing that is hard to define and with a definition that will differ depending on who you ask. Is it the same for a leader in an Agile environment? To learn this and more we turn as always to Ryn Melberg. To learn more, visit Ryn on the web at www.rynmelberg.com.

Nothing is perfect. There are no perfect solutions to anything and no solver bullets. We have all heard these expressions hundreds of times. The same thing can be said of Agile, Scrum, Scaled Agile or any of the many Agile inspired methods of organizing projects. So this week on The Guardian Podcast, we lean in and find out the objections to Agile from the philosophical to the individual team member.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, the topic is Epics. What are Epics in Agile and Scrum? Are they better suited to Scaled Agile or are they appropriate elsewhere? And what are the differences between Epics and Themes? To learn more be sure to visit the web site, www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast, Ryn Melberg helps Agile/Scrum/SAFe users define what a feature really is. There is a lot of confusion and misuse of the term. Ryn describes how using the term consistently will help prevent misunderstandings and reduce wasted time explaining and then re-explaining what was intended. To learn more visit www.rynmelberg.com

There was bound to be a nexus between social media, company policy and best practices. This includes what employees do on line while on and off the clock and extends to customers, suppliers, shareholders, neighbors and yes employees. There are some businesses that do not allow their employees to say anything about them on social media. I am aware of a company where the owners monitor their employee’s social media posting, holds things they do not like against them, but has no written policy. But the world of Facebook will include 1 billion users this year and Twitter will have 500 million. There has to be a more informed and enlightened way to give directions to people so for enlightenment and information we turn, of course, to Ryn Melberg. To follow Ryn and see more about her expertise go to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, the science of motivation in the workplace, based on the writing of Daniel Pink. As Ryn has said previously, the carrot and stick approach to management is not as inspiring as the ones that come from intrinsic motivation. To read more about this podcast visit www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, Agile and tools for managing and tracking are the topic. Among others, Ryn reviews: Atlassian. Jira, Leankit, Rally Platform for Agile Lifecycle, Excel, Version One, Agile Craft and Planbox. Each has its advantages and things that are also less desirable. Listen to hear Ryn's candid assessment.

This week on The Guardian Podcast With Ryn Melberg, we learn more about Ryn and how she came to be where she is and where she is hopeful of being in the not too distant future. How did she turn a study of philosophy into a business analysis, and systems thinking? What was it like moving from employee status to consultant? How was she named "Ryn"? To learn more, visit the website at www.rynmelberg.com.

This week Ryn The Guardian Melberg discusses the ways that practices from Agile can be used to improve the overall work and practices of boards of directors for privately owned, publicly traded or even non-profit companies. The benefits of an Agile Board will extend to the entire company. Similarly, if Agile stops at the board, there is a break in governance and transparency. Examples of companies that are truly Agile from top to bottom are Apple and Google, both of which are very successful. To learn more or be in touch please visit www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on the podcast Ryn will discuss the issue of governance on university campuses. Specifically the board members of those universities who come from outside the respective college campuses and have roles and responsibilities tied directly to those schools. Graduates, who have been successful in business, are elected officials fill a lot of these roles, or in charge of a successful non-profit who are asked to bring a real world perspective to campus. But what is the ideal role for them? Are they fundraisers? Cheerleaders or simply there to rubber stamp what the school president wants to do anyway? Listen to find out.

This week on the program Ryn will discuss with us some much needed steps that parents or anyone with children in their lives needs to take to protect the privacy of those same youngsters. This in the wake of the hack of Hong Kong based VTech, maker of electronic learning toys. That hack exposed information about over 6.4 million children. To follow Ryn, visit her web site at www.rynmelberg.com. Photo shows where in the V-Tech tablet the break-in was possible. Photo Courtesy of Forbes.

This week on the Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg we will discuss why multitasking is not the productivity gain that so many people seem to think it is. A popular notion in the culture is that so called multi tasking is the mark of the most productive, smartest and therefore supremely valuable employees. While counterintuitive, it is not true. In fact not only is multitasking not the same as doing more with less, it is less productive than when we focus on a single task. Yo contact Ryn on her web site at www.rynmelberg.com.

In the past on this program we have talked about the need for better security in an on line world. We have also talked about corporate governance failures at several companies and organizations. This week we are going to discuss how corporate boards of directors manage a corporate IT crisis. Just like with traditional crisis management there is no doubt that a major IT incident will occur, it’s just a matter of when. And like with a ‘normal’ crisis, the time to get ready is in advance of the problem, but are they doing enough? Be sure to visit www.rynmelberg.com

We have been told that there were some industries that were too big to fail. What many believe is that they are simply too broke to fix. Healthcare seems like one of those that we cannot afford to let fail, but is much too broken to be repaired. Can Agile be used to fix the healthcare industry? Visit Ryn on line at www.rynmelberg.com or write to theguardianpodcast@gmail.com.

Most weeks on the podcast, Ryn talks about how Agile is used for writing code to deliver software. And different software of course runs all kinds of machinery from cars to cell phones, refrigerators, and everything else. A huge challenge in all business is how to get disciplined execution on a steady basis that is linked to innovative thinking. After all, innovative/creative thinkers are all undisciplined by definition, aren’t they? And discipline leaves no room for creativity, at all ever; or does it? The disciplined person does not ‘color outside the lines.’ But is it possible to implement Agile in non-code writing enterprises? To contact Ryn directly go to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on the podcast Ryn Melberg describes the do's and don'ts of Agile User Stories. The overall idea with these stories is that members of the team talk about what the customer wants and why. So in a way, the user story is a way for the team to articulate what the customer wants, or at least that is the idea. is responsible for writing user stories? How can they be written so that they are most effective?

This week on the podcast, Ryn Melberg describes when and how to know the right time to move from Agile to the enterprise wide Scaled Agile Framework, which is also known as "SAFe". To contact Ryn directly visit her web page at www.rynmelberg.com.

According to an article in Reuters there are still more governance challenges for Dow CEO Andrew Liveris. This article describes an alleged role his spouse had with a remodeling project at a company owned hotel. Ryn also brings us up to date on the latest from FIFA.

This week on the podcast we will talk about the return on investment organizations can expect from implementing Agile practices. From a business point of view this is among the most persuasive aspects of adopting any business practice. That is to say does it pay to go to all the trouble of changing what we do now and learn a new way of doing things. Agile is a project management methodology that software writers adopted several years ago. But people who work in other industries are learning that the sensible, team centered, value producing and time saving methods prescribed are as useful to them as they are to software developers.

On this program we talk about programming and code writing using Agile/Safe/Scrum methodologies. We also talk a lot about governance issues at places like FIFA or Dow Chemical. But this is the first time the two have come together, at least on this program, as we discuss the scandal at Volkswagen, or VW. Where code was written to defeat regulations that led to a governance crisis. Find out how Ryn would fix it.

This week on the Guardian Podcast Ryn Melberg educates us on the role of the feature, the feature team, and the difference between features and user stories.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg cyber security and the business and political implications for breaches by foreign governments is the topic. The U.S. has a cyber security problem. According to published reports, the Chinese government is now building a Facebook like database filled with the profiles of federal employees and applicants with information that was stolen from the U.S. government computer databases earlier this year. Two breaches alone exposed the data of more than 20 million federal workers and contract employees. The unprecedented data breach gave hackers access to US government employee and job applicants' security clearance forms with detailed information about past drug use, love affairs, sexual proclivities, financial woes, history of violence, and foreign contacts and other information officials fear could be used for blackmail or espionage recruiting purposes as in making them spy for the Chinese.

This week Ryn will introduce us to the “stand up meeting” as part of the Agile project management way. Stand up meetings are at the heart of Agile/Scrum team organization. A stand up meeting is like any good habit that will/should become part of the daily routine for the team. But like any good habit, there is a format and organization needed. Ryn will describe the best practices and behaviors to avoid for the best outcomes at stand up meetings.

AshleyMadison.com, a site that helps married people cheat and whose slogan is “Life is Short, have an Affair” was recently hacked and information on as many as 37 million people is now public. This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg we will NOT discuss the salacious details associated with this news. But we will be covering the security and of course governance issues associated with it. Among other things Ryn will discuss: - Security on sites like Ashley Madison, - How this security breech is important even for people who do not own a computer. - Backdoor hacks, - And why or why not we should have any confidence that our personal information is secure. To contact Ryn directly, visit her web site at www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg we learn about the true ways an organization becomes and embraces Agile. What each must have to separate the Agile from the fakes and wannabes. To contact Ryn go to www.rynmelberg.com.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, tests and testing for users of the Agile project management methodology are described and discussed. How testing gets done with Agile is where the differences are.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg we review three governance cases to see what progress has been made since we first discussed them. These are governance issues at FIFA, The Dow Chemical Company, and the passenger cruise industry.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg we discuss 3 huge governance and IT security failures. A couple of weeks ago, there was what can only be described as a very unusual coincidence. On July 8, 2015 the New York Stock Exchange, The Wall Street Journal and United Airlines were taken off the web by what were reported to be ‘technical glitches’. Now this is not a conspiracy show, there are plenty of those out there already. But at the very least, it is a level of failure that would cause even the most jaded to consider that this was done deliberately. Ryn helps us sort out what these 3 organizations had in common and why they were easy targets.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, we are going to learn about another role in the Agile project management world, that of ‘development operations’ or as it is more commonly known, ‘devops’. There are a lot of definitions of the term and at first look, this seems to be a role that is very much an eye of the beholder kind of thing but Ryn cdescribes the role and need for it in Agile very succinctly.

This week on The Guardian Ryn Melberg describes a couple of more roles in the Agile project management world, that of Scrum Master and then later the Relief Train Engineer.

Last week we learned about Scrum so this week we press ahead with another piece of the nomenclature, and that is the Product Owner and Product Manager in THE Agile and SAFE system.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, ways to take the same project management and rational people skills that come from Agile in the workplace and make them work at home. Whether moving, planning for holidays or communicating better, Agile is as useful at home as it is at work.

Corporate governance is a topic covered on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg regularly and especially when issues involving governance are in the news. That is the case this week as members of the governing board of FIFA, (which rules over the world of professional soccer, the most popular sport in the world), are under incredible scrutiny. 14 FIFA and other sports executives are already facing criminal indictments. One of the FIFA leaders was recently fired for making joke on a Swiss radio program. Facts About FIFA Failures Federal prosecutors here in the USA allege that not one but two generations of soccer executives used partnerships with sports marketing companies to solicit $150 million in bribes and kick backs in exchange for among other things, their support for the sites of FIFA World Cup Events from the qualifiers to the 2010 World Cup. A 47-count federal indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn, charging 14 defendants — nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives — with racketeering, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery, among other offenses, in connection with a near quarter-century scheme to enrich themselves through their management of the sport. 7 FIFA officials arrested in Switzerland face the possibility of extradition to the U.S. “The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,” U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a release ahead of a news conference in New York. Of course we need to remind everyone reading this and listening that at least here in the U.S. all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Ryn The Guardian Melberg describes for listeners what to do when conflicts about governance arise in their workplaces, and also gives reasons to be optimistic about the future of corporate governance .

This week on The Guardian podcast, Ryn Melberg introduces us to Scrum. Among other things, Ryn describes Scrum as a part of the Agile project management methodology, Scrum Teams and the Scrum Alliance along with projects that are best suited to Scrum. To contact Ryn directly go to her website at www.rynmelberg.com.

This week we are going to discuss how on line security can be positively impacted by Agile. The move to agile development practices poses both challenges and opportunities to security teams -- with the challenges often dominating. But some organizations have found ways to make it work.

Last week Ryn talked about a specific example of governance failures at The Dow Chemical Company involving CEO Andrew Liveris. This week Ryn is going to continue with that thread and discuss Agile and Governance.

Ryn The Guardian Melberg made observations and recommendations about corporate governance and the negative impact to employees, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders to her podcast audience this week, May 18, 2015. Her opinions and suggestions were based on recent events and published articles about Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris and NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

Recruiting hiring and retaining talent for companies that use the “Agile” methodology for project and product management requires a different approach than what is used at the traditional command and control organization. Ryn The Guardian Melberg describes this in detail on her weekly podcast.

This week we are going to consider a real life example of Agile at work in no less a place than legendary computer manufacturer, IBM. A recent article from the Wall Street Journal describes how IBM CIO Jeff Smith wants to use the Agile project management methodology at a company where he leads 20,000 IT employees. Mr. Smith’s aim is to bring the speed of small company innovation at a company with 380,000 employees.

This week on The Guardian Podcast, Ryn Melberg discusses corporate governance and the vacation cruise industry. Listen in to hear her advise for the industry and how to repair public trust with increased transparency and better rules for governing behavior on these popular vacation destinations.

This week, Ryn The Guardian Melberg tells us what this Agile thing is all about.

This week on The Guardian Podcast with Ryn Melberg, Ryn discusses how Agile and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) can positive impact governance at all levels of a company.

This week on The Guardian Podcast, Ryn Melberg describes the practicalities and behaviors that will not only prevent waste but make organizations more profitable with details about ROI, IRR and WSJF.

Those who work with Agile see benefits that occur inside the business almost right away. But can Agile/SAFe have a similar impact on external audiences? And along those lines, how can it be used for ensuring appropriate governance? To help us wrap our brains around that concept is Ryn The Guardian Melberg.

Ryn The Guardian Melberg is an expert on Agile, Scaled Agile Network, corporate governance and project management. Her website is www.rynmelberg.com.