Scrum Master dragon slayer.

Growing up in the 1980s, when you set aside the prospect of the United States and the Soviet Union having a nuclear exchange, it was an excellent time to grow up.  Dungeons and Dragons were part of popular culture and the movies reflected this trend with films like “The Sword and the Sorcerer,” “Conan the Barbarian,” and the cult classic “The Beastmaster.”  For a nerdy teenage boy, it was beautiful escapism.  It was also a way to learn a few severe lessons about life.  "Excalibur" showed the cost of infidelity to a thirteen-year-old who had not started shaving.  The most significant lesson came from a dark Disney film entitled “Dragonslayer.”

The film had a simple plot.  A dragon terrorizes a local kingdom, and a wizard and his apprentice must slay the creature. The mission has additional urgency because the king’s daughter has arranged to sacrifice herself to the dragon.  The story has all sorts of threads woven together.  It is the sixth century, so Christians use the dragon to recruit converts.  The pagan king sees the Christians and their desires to undermine his legitimacy as more important than the life of his daughter.  There is an aging wizard, an impetuous apprentice, a princess, and a fire-breathing dragon to round out the cast.

Late one night, in a moment of insomnia, it dawned on me that this movie was the perfect metaphor for agile implementation.  The wizard and apprentice are consultants hired by the king to help him solve his dragon problem.  These consultants discover the depths of the political and social rot in the kingdom, which threatens to consume them.  Finally, there is the pivotal moment where the dragon has to die.

People behave in specific ways and do certain things because people have behaved that way for centuries.  Everyone is looking out for themselves, and the dragon is always in the background, ready to bring destruction to the air.  I could not describe a better way to explain a contract engagement with a client if I tried.  

The most irritating portion of the film is after the dragon dies; the local king stands over the beast's corpse with a sword and stabs the dead creature while his Chamberlain proclaims the king a “dragon slayer.”  Countless people have died in the process, and the Christians use the death of the dragon as a recruiting tool.  It almost makes one wish the dragon could win and turn the kingdom into ash.

Like someone who has had an agile practice for the last eight years, I identify with the wizard and his apprentice.  I am training others to be better developers, product owners, and scrum masters.  I am also looking to help develop my skills to make myself better and more valuable to my clients and employers.  Often, I encounter internal rot in organizations and have to focus on the dragon flying overhead instead of the more long-range problems.

As a scrum master and coach, here is what I do.  Considering I have been hired to slay a dragon, I first concentrate on killing the dragon.  A common phrase in business is “…first things first; last things never.”  Fix the dragon problem.  I expect that the king will take credit for my work.  They did not become Kings, being kind people.  Next, set an example so other villagers will aspire to be wizards.  Agile practice will only grow if it spreads from person to person.  Certifications and trade shows are necessary, but it will take over the business world only when conscientious practitioners make the agile manifesto and principles work for companies.

Finally, could you know when to ride off into the sunset?  An agile coach and scrum master are often a threat to the executive leadership because they are more interested in getting work done than the political niceties executives seem to give more priority.  When this happens, tip your hat to the king who took credit for your job and ride off into the sunset.  It may explain why many of the better wizards of literature wander or are hermits.  Working for the King is a sure road to stagnation.

So, as one sorcerer apprentice to another, always slay the dragon, recruit more apprentices by your actions, and ride off when you are not needed or wanted anymore.  It certainly beats winding up in the belly of a dragon or the king’s dungeon.

Until next time.