What to do with managers?

First, unlike some in the agile community, I think managers can and should be useful in lean-agile-scrum.

Still, there is a lot of evidence, on many levels for two propositions:
1. Some managers can be very detrimental to a lean-agile-scrum implementation.
2. Many managers have not been well trained in how to manage. In fact, what they have been taught seems to be, to a large degree, the wrong stuff. (At least, it seems, in the US.  In other countries, this may be better.)

So, we agile advocates have a long way to go to get all of management 'fixed'.  I mean both middle and senior managers now. (Yes, the solution for the middle managers might be somewhat different than the solution for the senior managers.)  On the right page with the right attitudes and practices that are consistent with lean-agile-scrum.

So, a few quick ideas on how to fix this:

1. Check out the "Stoos" group. A few are a bit too radical for my taste, but that group is working on 'management'.  They have useful ideas on this problem.

2. Respect change. It is hard. It does happen. You cannot always make it happen, especially on your own schedule. But sometimes, either before or after you want, people will change. And even in the direction you want, due (partly) to the efforts you made.   ...Do not let yourself get depressed, do not give up.

3. Respect the people you are trying to change, and that, at least in some ways, their concerns are legitimate.  At least from where they are coming from, there is typically some internal logic to the way they think.  ... I find this is hard, because I can so palpably feel the damage these people are doing. It feels like they are trying to be evil sometimes.  Certainly stupid. And I grow impatient.  But mostly there are not (evil); they are usually trying to do they best they know how.

4. Look (again) at the standard change books. Kotter's books. Fearless Change by Manns and Rising. Others (if you prefer). Many great ideas about getting people to change.  Most of the following are discussed well and at length in these books.

5. Make the case. Repeat it often.  It starts with a Sense of Urgency. 

6. A sense of urgency, to me, starts with one person having a passion that, dammit, things have to get better. And conveying that passion. Maybe in a quiet way. Certainly in a respectful way. But in more an emotional way than a 'numbers' way. Although numbers usually need to be in there as well.

7. Use some experiences. Maybe from articles. Maybe from nearby firms. Maybe from your own firm. Data of one sort or another.  There are tons and tons of great articles about lean-agile-scrum now.

8. Five books for managers.
Toyota Production System by Taiichi Ohno.
Radical Management by Stephen Denning.
The Power of Scrum by Jeff Sutherland et al.
Software in 30 Days by Schwaber and Sutherland
Drive by Daniel Pink.

9. Motivation. Often the key, I think, is they misunderstand motivation. Particularly motivation for knowledge workers. This is why I think Daniel Pink's book is so useful.

***
Please comment here. I think this is a hard problem. If we knew the answer well, this problem would be a lot better now.  So please suggest better things.

We are also discussing this topic in the Agile Business yahoo group. Please join us.

Why our CSM (Scrum) course + Workshop is unique.

We believe our CSM (Scrum) course plus Workshop is unique.  And better.  For the following reasons.

1. We focus on results. We want you, your team and your customers to get real results. In a big way.  In 3 words, more satisfaction, more money, more fun.

2. Therefore the teaching style is not toward remembering explicit knowledge.  The teaching style is to enable you to change your own mind, so that you want to take action.

3. We focus more on 'why' each Scrum practice is done.  We think that this 'music' makes the dance steps of Scrum more powerful, more effective.

4. We have learned from 8 co-trainings with Jeff Sutherland.

5. We are more business-oriented than most Scrum trainers.  And still protective of the Team being asked to do a Death March and yet call it Scrum.

5. While we offer some serious challenges, and ask you to challenge yourselves and your company to truly achieve the results you deserve, we are also realistic.  We appreciate that Scrum will be tough. We offer sympathy.  But not too much.

6. Attendees say the Workshop converts the ideas of the course into action. So that the Team can get off to a good start. 

We know a bunch of great CSTs. It is unlikely that our trainings are unique in every one of these ways.  We know that one trainer or another does, we think, every single one of these things. But in the combination of them, no doubt we are unique.

Killing Babies or Sizzling Steak

I thought I would share this story, with one or two key metaphors.  Perhaps useful to you.  I use them in classes quite a bit.

***
OK, the PO is trying to optimize on the Pareto idea (80-20, the vital few).

At the beginning of the project, the team looks at the release plan and says: "OMG, if we try to get all that done by Aug 15th, we'll die!"  So the PO, realizing that even more (new) work will be identified later, gathers the business stakeholders for a meeting.

"Guys [speaking to the business stakeholders], we have to cancel from the release the bottom 30% of the stories. We just won't get them done, or at least can't guarantee them by that date. And we know new stories will be identified by then. I need your agreement they won't be in the Aug 15th release."

They look at him in disbelief.  And then the BSHs (business stakeholders) get upset.

"What the...! You haven't even started work!  I fought and fought with my team to exclude other stuff and I fought to get those babies in the Release. And now, before you even started, you want to kill my babies!"

Suffice to say, it is not a fun conversation and they don't want to agree.

Now, I do think the PO should make them aware that getting all stories done will be a big challenge. And if the PO can show a true Pareto curve, it is a much better conversation.  But don't try to get them to agree at this point. Too much pain, too little gain.

***

Now, imagine later. You have built two Sprints of the top stuff. You serve it up very seductively in the demo. You can see the top BSH drooling.

You say: "George, do we have all the top stuff built for you?"

"Well, I need story 23 and 47 too. But yes, this stuff is all the top stuff. And it looks good. I mean, aside from those missing stories, it looks...give me a second to wipe my mouth...it looks r e a l good."

"After the next sprint, when we complete some other stories and stories 23 and 47...  George, how about we then serve you up some of this sizzling steak, fresh-off-the-grill? We give you a release then?"

"Well, how about the broccoli and the mashed potatoes and the creme brulee?"

"Yes, we can give you those later, in later releases.  And how about we release you the sizzling steak _now_ (well, next sprint)?"

Now it becomes George, and not you, who gives the other BSHs the look... "guys, I think this is the best for the firm... I need you to TOFTT and let us do this release now... you'll get your stuff real soon." 

And he looks at Mary (the 2nd BSH): "Mary, we already have a bunch of your stuff in there too. What do you think?"

Mary: "Well, it does not have everything our group needs, but, yes, I think we could make use of what'll be there by the next Sprint. Are we really gonna get the later releases?"

Geo: "I think so. Heck, they never had this much working software before by this time.  I think we can trust those SOBs now.  Sorry, Mr PO, I meant SOB in the nice-est way."

Mary: "OK. How about the rest of you guys?"  ....

***

So, you can see that it is a totally different conversation. But with the same effect. That we execute and release more on the Pareto idea than on the 100% - 100% rule (where we often die in the death march).

And all because we served up the sizzling steak seductively.  We did not win on logic, but on the emotion of the drool.

Now, serving it up seductively is a fine art.  Seduction.  Well, there is Joe the geeky PO and then there is Casanova or Mata Hari. (Ok, yes, an exaggerated comparison...)  Do I need to ask which one is going to serve up the sizzling steak more seductively?  Thought not.

Now, one of the key benefits of the 'sizzling steak' technique is that the Team now has a better life (no death march, seen to be victors). Which means they are more creative. Which means everything should be better.

***
The story and the metaphors work for me. YMMV.
It does help if the key person is not a vegetarian. And even likes steak. 

Later, they will say "Oh, yeah, I liked the story about the sizzling babies." And then they will laugh.  But they might remember it longer.