The Agile reformation coming to a cubicle near you.

I will miss the fun and excitement of the Scrum Gathering in Phoenix this week.  I am a little disappointed about this, but it allows me to concentrate on some changes at my office and home business.  It looks like the unveiling of my Ninja Lion Sensei Master Cobra T-shirt will have to wait another year.  This week, I want to talk about change and innovation.

I have been reading a fantastic book by James Burke called, “The Day the Universe Changed.”  In it, he talks about the changes in science and technology that caused Western civilization's historical, political, and social changes.  What strikes me most about the reading is how someone at specific points in history someone said, “This is not working!” and they went about finding ways of thinking that would work.  Without this kind of exasperation with the status quo, I doubt we would have such modern innovations as germ theory, global telecommunications, and Snapchat.

Kidding aside, we are in the midst of another one of these flux points, which Burke was so good at pointing out.  I call it the Agile Reformation.   Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the spread of neo-liberal economics, there have been numerous counter-movements to this “End of History.”  Unfortunately, many of these counter-movements have been backward-looking drawing on Communism, Socialism, and religious fundamentalism.  Agile, with its focus on improvement, sustainability, and collaboration, seems like a positive direction for the twenty-first century, and I am glad that I am part of this movement.

This seems like pie in the sky, but please hear me out.  We are confronted with numerous problems in Western Civilization.  Income inequity, climate change, pollution, and racial unrest are solvable social and technological problems.  The dreary nature of working for a modern corporation is solvable.  They are solvable because plenty of smart folks want to solve these problems in a world of seven billion people.  This is where Agile comes in.  The agile manifesto and principles act as a framework for problem-solving.

I am very proud to be part of this way of thinking and leading change within my organization.  It will not be easy, but if we do it correctly, we can institute remarkable changes and reforms one iteration at a time.  I hope you are with me on this.

Until next time.

The “End of History” Illusion

Time and time again, we’ve failed to predict that the technologies of the present will change the future. Recently, a similar pattern was discovered in our individual lives: we’re unable to predict change in ourselves. But is there anything wrong with assuming that who we are now is who we will continue to be? Bence Nanay details the consequences of seeing ourselves as finished products. [TED-Ed Animation by Stretch Films Inc].

TED TalksBence Nanay