Culture & Agile & Change at the NYC Scrum Users Group

We had a great discussion.  The group was great, very active participation. Thanks especially to Rob and Mary.  And to many old and new friends.

Here is the slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/jhlittle/changing-culture-v6-nyc

We talked mainly about Fearless Change.  This is the work of Mary Lynn Manns and Linda Rising.

And they are soon to publish a second version of their book: Fearless Change (see Amazon, for example).

Here is the Appendix to the book, updated: AppendixFebruary2011

Wonderful list of the Patterns.

Here is an article that roughly summarizes the book: Leading Fearless Change

And here is the URL to more information: http://www.fearlesschangepatterns.com/

We also talked about Open Agile Adoption.  My one sentence summary: inviting everyone to
participate in the change. Or even to openly complain that they are bothered.

The second sentence: Use Open Space to enable them to self-organize into participants in the change. (If you don’t know Open Space, then google Open Space Technology.  You need to know about it.)

Related to my ‘Little’s Second Law”: “People are remarkably good at doing what they want to do.”

See the slideshare above for more.  And also see: http://newtechusa.net/open-agile-adoption/

Dan Mezick has the Open Agile Adoption Handbook coming out ‘real soon’.

There is of course much more to the ‘agile culture change’.  Many more wise guides. But these are two great places and 3 great people to start with.  Do not be overly influenced by the characteristics of the people.  The people have their ‘positive’ and their ‘negative’ aspects, depending on who you are.  Give their ideas a ‘fair’ chance, and try to put your positive or your negative biases aside.  For example, I personally find Mary Lynn Manns a completely likeable person, but that does not make her ideas ‘correct’. (Still, I think the ideas are wonderfully simple and useful. And the action is: we must DO them more.)

What to tell the Executives?

It often turns out that they are not as dumb as you think.  So, first, be patient and be hopeful.  Too many of us start the conversation feeling helpless and defeated.  Do not; they will understand eventually.  (I am of course speaking to ‘an agile guy’, whom I am imagining as not a Manager or Executive, and not too familiar with what their world is like.)

To a Manager or Executive who is approaching Agile-Scrum for the first time: Welcome! It is actually going to be great for you, much better! ….

Make sure someone takes the time to explain it to you. And, please, accept that it will be harder to really understand than you expect.  It is simple, but hard. Is it ok if I use ‘love’ as a metaphor?  In some ways, very very simple.  But how do you explain it to your 18 year old daughter?  Ah, as you see, not so simple anymore. … OK, you might prefer a tennis metaphor or a golf metaphor. Key: It’s a big change.  Give yourself time to fully work through it.  And accept that you will mis-understand a lot at first.  For the first 2 years.  It’s not your fault, it’s not Scrum’s fault.  It’s just hard.

“Some people, if they don’t already know it, you can’t explain it to them.”  (I am talking now, again, to the agile advocate.)  So, find what they already know, and build on that.  And they always know something ‘agile’ already. (And they have also been indoctrinated in the opposite of agile for 10 years.)

So, I have to do a session with Executives next week. Roughly 30 in the room, including the CEO.

What should we say to them?

Here is what I have decided to say today.  (I may learn by tomorrow.)  I am focusing on these 8 key ideas or issues:

1. We have knowledge workers. As soon as we recognize that they are knowledge workers, it changes things.
2. Minimize WIP.  Simple version: Only one project per Team.  Forget keeping all these other projects ‘in-flight’.
3. A Team learns. Have a Team, and appreciate the Team as a learning unit. Help them be a great Team.
4. Self-organization.  Allow them, within some basic constraints, to self-manage and self-direct.
5. “Random carbon units”.  Accept the uniqueness of each person. They are no longer ‘resources’ (plug-replaceable things).  Treat them like real people, with all the good and bad that means.
6. Subtle control. Use it, and do not use ‘power’ control.  Includes ‘control by love’ as Takeuchi and Nonaka say.
7. “Failure is good”.  Failure where we learn and improve leads to real innovation.  Embrace it.
8. “The bad news does not get better with age”.  “We build quality in from the beginning.” Which leads to “You have to slow down to go fast.”  Which is very obvious if you understand, but an enigma within a paradox if you do not.

To be honest, it is probably 3 too many for the ‘first’ time.  People can only absorb a little at a time.  Step by step.

Comments please!  Or send me an email.

Here is the slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/jhlittle

Peter Drucker on Knowledge Worker Productivity

In the Winter of 1999, Peter Drucker had published an article on Knowledge Worker Productivity: 

The biggest challenge.  Here is access to the article.

Here is the second sentence: “The most important contribution management needs to make in the 21st century is similarly to increase the productivity of knowledge work and knowledge workers.”

Here is a quote from some key ideas in the article:

Six major factors determine knowledge-worker productivity.
▪ Knowledge-worker productivity demands that we ask the question: “What is the task?”
▪ It demands that we impose the responsibility for their productivity on the individual knowledge workers themselves. Knowledge Workers have to manage themselves. They have to have autonomy.
▪ Continuing innovation has to be part of the work, the task and the responsibility of knowledge workers.
▪ Knowledge work requires continuous learning on the part of the knowledge worker, but equally continuous teaching on the part of the knowledge worker.
▪ Productivity of the knowledge worker is not—at least not primarily—a matter of the quantity of output. Quality is at least as important.
▪ Finally, knowledge-worker productivity requires that the knowledge worker is both seen and treated as an “asset” rather than a ”cost.” It requires that knowledge workers want to work for the organization in preference to all other opportunities.

Very interesting ideas.