Sandy’s Take

This is a short take recommendation to listen to Sandy Mamoli’s November 2023 Oredev talk in Sweden. The title is—

Are you drowning your autonomy in good intentions?

We ask our leaders for their trust, support and empathy – and so we should. We rightfully demand to be treated like responsible adults. But are we behaving as such? In these uncertain and fragile times, we have allowed our employers to become like our 1950s husband: Someone to take care of all our needs – financially, emotionally and socially. In return we have sacrificed our strength, our autonomy and our independence. But is this what we actually want, and how do we redress the balance?

There has been a lot of focus on the experience of employees and teams in these recent times. In this session, I will touch on this from the perspective of how people have changed their relationship with their employers and how we keep looking for “answers in a box”. I will also share what I have learned from conversations with leaders in three countries, and how they feel about this new and emergent context in the workplace.

• https://nomad8.com/articles/are-you-drowning-your-autonomy-in-good-intentions

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urFzBqrDI0g

Thank you, Sandy, for providing such a thought-provoking and relevant topic that, quite frankly, I needed to hear.

Everyone—Take the ~30 minutes and give it a listen!

Stay agile, my friends,

Bob.

Goodbye 2023...Hello 2024

I’m seeing lots of end-of-year posts about how great a year 2023 was for folks and how much they accomplished. In my agile community, seeing posts about—

• How many classes I run or how many students I taught;

• How many events/groups I’ve spoken at/to;

• How many articles or books I’ve written, or podcasts and videos I’ve recorded;

• How much money I made;

• How this was the best year…ever!

and I’m happy these folks had a good year.

But I have a different sort of end-of-year wrap-up to share. Some good and some not-so-good news. In 2023— 

• My wife Diane was diagnosed with Stage 3 Parkinson’s Disease. She’s bravely navigating PD, and I’m navigating what it means to be a caregiver.

• For the first time in more than two decades, I attended very few in-person agile events; depending on how I count them, it was three, and I missed my tribe. Thank goodness I made it to Agile 2023 in Orlando!

• I had a very challenging business year and I experienced an 82% YoY revenue drop.

• My frequent flyer status on Delta dropped from Diamond to Silver; I know, but 😉

• On a positive note, I did more pro-bono work than ever before—to help others and to keep myself sharp.

• The 2023 Badass Agile Coaching Day event contributed $11,000 to Africa Agility and Ukraine charities.

• My DEI discounts to classes amounted to more than $20,000.

2023 was perhaps the most challenging year for me, professionally and personally. It’s tested my energy, resilience, mental health, and faith.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am for my friends, colleagues, and acquaintances in the Agile community. The heart and spirit of this community have been an anchor for me during the year. There are some, you know who you are, who have played a special role in checking in with me and supporting me. To all of you, I humbly say—Thank you.

I’m writing to share a “not so beautiful” view of the year with others who may have been challenged in 2023 like I have been. And share my hopes for a better 2024.

My sincere wish to all of you is for a far better 2024. One where you find whatever you need to realize how special and unique you are. Where you find your “community of support,” as I have, and you lean into it.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Stay agile, my friends,

Bob.

Neil Peart’s – 10 Rules for Success

Ok, ok, I have a confession to make. I am a Rush fan. They’re probably in my Top 10, perhaps Top 5 of all-time bands. Probably the best 3-piece band on my list. 

Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neal Peart played for over 35 years and have left a treasure trove of songs for our listening pleasure.

Neil was the drummer, and we lost him to cancer a few years ago. With that loss, the band is no longer playing.

I happened across this Youtube video that shared these 10 Rules of Success from Neil Peart. I’m not going to embellish them in any way, as I think they stand alone as helpful advice in general, but even more valuable to any Agile Coaches in my network. Here are the rules—

1. Earn your audience

2. Be restless

3. Get out of your comfort zone

4. Learn from others

5. Create what you like

6. Infect people with your fire

7. Don’t read reviews

8. Create for your ideal audience

9. Find your inspiration

10. Never stop experimenting

Please share your thoughts and reactions to how these might relate to your role as a Scrum Master, organizational change agent, leader, or Agile Coach.

I can’t wait to see the replies…

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

Cowardly Escaping the Real Work

Matthias Orgler posting this on LinkedIn in October 2022— 

#Agile #values are not an add-on to agility, they're the bulk of what makes #agility work.

While most #transformations focus 90% of their effort on #frameworks, roles, processes, they run the risk of never reaping the benefits of agility. Because 90% of what makes agility actually work has nothing to do with frameworks.

I understand that values, mindset and changing your view of the world is scary and seems too soft for business. Frameworks and detailed descriptions of roles, organizational structures and processes mollify us. They're something tangible to hold on to and we feel as if we're making progress. But in reality, we're cowardly escaping from the real work: adopting a new view of the human being, agile values and an agile #mindset. We're escaping true agility and rob our companies of huge possible benefits. 

⚠️ Neglect #agileValues at your own risk.

What struck me most deeply in Mattias’ post was this statement—

But in reality, we're cowardly escaping from the real work: adopting a new view of the human being, agile values and an agile #mindset. We're escaping true agility and rob our companies of huge possible benefits.

You might say that this sounds too dramatic, too judgmental, too negative or critical, and too extreme.

I actually found it boldly courageous and an act of telling us (the agile consulting, coaching, and certification communities) that we have no clothes.

That we’re not focusing hard enough on what truly matters.

What say you, are you cowardly escaping by focusing on the easy bits? If so, what will you do to change that?

Stay agile (in mindset and values) my friend,

Bob.