Cash, Control, and the Agile Coach.

The business world is a rough and amoral place. The only judgment is the invisible hand of the marketplace. It explains why corporate work feels so dysfunctional. When the only means of value is the amount of profit generated for shareholders, things like the quality of work, personal integrity, and creating value for customers appear to be afterthoughts. Plenty of mediocre people exist in the business world, so it is understandable why a lack of vision is prevalent. Increasing interest rates and low unemployment figures pull business leaders in opposite directions. As an agile coach or Scrum Master, we need to discuss what this tug of these forces means for your agile practice. 

William H. Janeway wrote one of the most important books I have read about business. An economist and venture capitalist, Janeway, says that cash and control become critical to a company when time gets tough. Together, they help ensure the success of a business and investment. 

Any business person understands the importance of cash. The use of money enables employees to receive their wages, purchase supplies, and offer collateral for loans if necessary. During times of crisis, the instinct to cut back on spending is natural, as the easiest way to get out of a hole is to stop digging and take stock of the situation. Businesses are cutting back on travel, moving holiday parties to potlucks in the breakroom, and canceling projects for nice-to-have improvements. No matter how pound foolish, each penny saved looks suitable to investors and the CFO. 

Control increases during difficult times. When things are going well, the business runs on autopilot. Projects continue without question, and managers hire more staff to accommodate the growing to-do list at the company. When a crisis hits, leaders ask uncomfortable questions, and everything is subject to review. It explains the wave of layoffs that hit the tech industry as CEOs and investors realized they had over-hired during the COVID-19 pandemic and could no longer print money due to low interest rates. They discarded anything that did not drive value to the business, such as a used piece of facial tissue.

As a coach or Scrum Master, it is your responsibility to demonstrate leadership by providing clear direction and control to the organization. For instance, sprint reviews and demonstrations give business leaders a sense of control. In each iteration, you demonstrate progress on the work, and the team can pivot if market conditions change, meeting those changing conditions. The units are still getting the job done, but now the product owner and business feel they have some control over the process. 

Next, if a team understands how much money they are spending to get work done, they can decide what will save the business money. For instance, conversations can focus more on dollars and cents than on who has power. When a designer demands that a textbox be moved two pixels to the right, you can have a conversation that it will take two weeks and require a developer, a quality assurance person, and a push to production after hours. The change incurs a dollar cost, so a business representative can decide whether the designers' demands will provide value to the company. People are less likely to ask for frivolous changes if they know it will cost them money. 

Providing cash and control to business leaders is crucial during challenging times. It also shows that you are just as invested in the business as the decision-makers. Investing in the company increases trust and will pay huge dividends when the situation improves. 

Until next time.