Archives for the Month of December, 2014

Living Agile in 2014

Christmas Message 2014

As Christmas Day draws near and 2015 beckons, it’s time to reflect on the past year before figuring out my answers to “what next?”.

Looking back, 2014 has been full of play, fun and laughter – much more than I’ve ever experienced, both at work and at home.

That’s not to say that it’s all been a lovely walk in the park. Being in the business of organisational change means there are plenty of draughts and floods, plagues and nightmares, and much more besides.

The thing that stands out most in 2014 for me is the importance of mindset. Set your heart and mind to something and magic happens.

Highlights at Work

  • Returning to work after a year of intense learning as a first time mother and discovering the Agile seeds I sowed a year ago still growing in my workplace!
  • Hearing pennies drop and seeing lightbulbs light up at an internal work conference “UBSTechConf” I helped co-chair – thanks to Ian Bond for co-chairing, the internal and external speakers for their inspiring talks and Skillsmatter for all their help and event-organising expertise!
  • Challenging people to define their own purpose at work in order to realise the goals of their organisation in an interactive talk I co-delivered at “UBSTechConf” – thanks to Tom Miller for his continued support and collaboration in growing Agile at work!
  • Achieving a life-work balance by defining goals and setting clear priorities that kept me going and growing!
  • Making many more friends who’ve helped make Enterprise Gardening more fun and rewarding than ever!

Highlights at Play

  • Getting a session on the topical subject of “Resilience” selected for BCS SPA 2015 and being invited back for an encore at Mini SPA – a recognition that “soft” topics are vital for success in IT
  • Playing with 130 participants at Agile Cambridge by giving my first ever keynote on my favourite topic: “The Power of Play” – thanks to Mark Dalgarno for the invitation!
  • Awaking Snow White at Agile Tour London by playing “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall… Why Me?”, one of my favourite Agile Fairytales!
  • Receiving feedback from readers of “The Dream Team Nightmare“, the first ever Agile novel written in the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure genre!

Making Magic Happen for You

What about you? What are your highlights in 2014? And what are your wishes for 2015?

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! And thank you for reading!