Seriously?
“We just hit a home run with Agile!
Who said the government cannot be faster than commercial organizations?
We hired several consulting companies. Each of them brought their own coaches –it was weird that most of them had a different definition of Agile though. One of the prime contractors told us that ‘diversity was key,’ so we went ahead.
After establishing a multi-year road map, we started the training process. Over a thousand employees took a two-day training, while a couple of hundreds took a four-day one.
Our former Project Managers are now Scrum Masters; some executives became Scrum-of-Scrums; and some department’s heads became proud Product Owners.
We were all in!
I’m sure we are one of the most innovative government agency in town! An industry magazine run by a big consulting company, featured us as ‘How The Government Becomes Agile -A Success Story.”
In the organization, people are certainly overwhelmed, we haven’t launched new services to the public since Covid started, and the IT department is way behind with tickets and operational work. But that is the cost of innovation. At least, we are Agile while other government agencies are not!”
“Since we are half way of our Agile journey, these are two of our ‘Agile Best Practices’:
VPs and other executives used to get together to make our four-year strategic plan; after we became Agile the plan is only two years ahead. Our Gant Charts are 50% shorter and we spend half of the time planning!
Five out of our ten teams are self-organized, self-managed! No one sends them a Zoom link –they meet whenever they want! They are all responsible for regular tasks: if they mess it up, they all will be fired. “
In sports, the time-outs, half-times and/or breaks are strategic meetings: they keep the whole team informed, connected and calibrated throughout the game.
In Agile, the Daily Standup meeting should have the same purpose. It is not a short, performance-report meeting and guests should not be allowed.
For more than a decade, three questions have been promoted as the core of the meeting:
- What did I work on yesterday?
- What am I working on today?
- What issues are blocking me?
Since those questions strongly remind us a performance-report meeting, this is an alternative:
- What did I learn?
- What do I need to learn today?
- How can you help me?
An even more effective option is the following:
- What do others need to know about what I did yesterday?
- What can I get from, or how can I collaborate with others to get things done effectively today?
- What is blocking me to be effective today?
“I became a Scrum Master three years ago. I want to be a coach.
A lot of ads on the Internet say that it is a matter of taking a 3- or 4-day Agile Coaching class.
Are they right?”
Perfectionism is like ice cream: you can have a large variety of flavors but its base is always fatty milk and sugar.
Reframing perfectionism as a damaging and inferior mindset, might counteract its illusion of superiority.
Note: avoiding perfectionism do not justify mediocrity.
The TR-55 Sony’s first transistor radio made its debut in 1955. It served as the template for the portable gadgets we use today.
In 1975, with the release of the first calculator wristwatch, wearable tech went mainstream.
In 1979, with Sony’s Chairman sentence, “Don’t you think a stereo cassette player that you can listen to while walking around is a good idea!”. A revolution in music and wearable technology started. The Walkman became our go-to music device throughout the 80s.
In 1987, digital hearing aids were released, revolutionizing the healthcare industry.
In 1994, Steve Mann, a Canadian researcher, developed the Wearable Wireless Webcam which paved the way for Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.
After 2000, with the introduction of Bluetooth headsets, the Nike iPod, Fitbits, and other similar devices, wearable technology found its groove.
In 2013, the wearable craze exploded, as Google Glass entered the market, followed by the Apple Watch in 2015, and the Oculus Rift Headset in 2016.
Today, clothing designers are experimenting with fabrics and technology, signaling that smart clothing is on its way to the mainstream. Some innovative items are already available, like the Nadi X Yoga Pants, which feature in-built haptic vibrations to encourage you to move or hold positions.
Keep track of your successes –the achievement of the interim goals on the way to the Big One. This is not about checking off what is in the daily to-do list. This is about answering the question, “What was the one single thing I did today to get me closer to my dream(s)?”
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