Question: How many Agilistas does it take to change a lightbulb?
Answer*: Two. One to change the lightbulb. And the other to embrace change.

Herald of Spring

For some, today’s a bit of a joke and for others it’s the Herald of Spring – a day when the sun shines and the skies are a beautiful blue. For me, today’s a day for recognising the efforts of the blooming flower beds after what always seems like a long winter. And all of this, just in time before the April showers. How did you celebrate today with your colleagues?

* Thanks to Nat Pryce for this answer. Isn’t it funny how if you ask a question, you’ll always (eventually) get the answers. Ask the What and the How will find you.

Boy Geek: What’s it like being a Girl Geek?
P.: What’s it like being a Boy Geek?
Boy Geek: And what’s this I hear about free dinners?
P.: Girl Geeks Dinners isn’t just for girls and it’s not always dinner.

Tea and Scones

One of the nicer things about tradition is the opportunity of shared experiences. More than 100 of us ‘Girl Geeks‘ spent last Saturday afternoon practicing a spot of social networking over tea and beautiful fondant fancies in the civilised setting of The Berkeley Hotel.

This unusual and elaborate event is a testament to how far IT has developed in the past decade. As IT becomes more prevalent and prominent in our everyday lives, so does its reach, turning it into a kind of utility service that powers our lives both inside and outside of work.

For me, Girl Geek Dinners offers an alternative dimension to social networking among an IT crowd. Their events always have an interesting slant to them, such as sponsored onsite dinners at Google, Microsoft and Skype, covering a range of topics from personal development to career progression. And what makes the events stand out most is the diversity of the crowd they attract. The creative variety that goes into each event is a reflection of the effectiveness of the organic networks that Girl Geek Dinners strive to seed and grow.

First Contact

Thanks to Girl Geek Dinners Paris, Girl Geek Dinners Brussels and Girl Geek Dinners London for their concerted effort in partnership with Eurostar for making the event happen.

Special thanks goes to Fabienne Gyselinck and Anne-Lorène Ganet from Eurostar and Judith Lewis from GGLondon and Clo Willaerts from GGBrussels.  May it be the first cross-channel event of many!

M.: I hear what you’re saying about Agile Coaching and people.
P.: (Nods and smiles)
M.: The two words that stick in my mind most are ‘Party’ and ‘Fun’. Count me in!
P.: It’s easy if you try. The trick is to really try.

How do you do that?

Since joining Exoftware back in January 2008, it feels as though I’ve had a personal and professional vitamin boost of unexpected tales and adventures, rarely associated with work. Last week’s 2-day get-together at Exoftware was no exception.

A Company of Friends

At Exoftware, we work together and we play together. Last Thursday was spent on strategic thinking and signing up for tasks about a range of topics, including elaborating on the different ways in which we deliver value to our clients. The hard day’s work was followed by conversations over dinner about aerobics, Disneyland and the global economic crisis.

The best was yet to come

The highlight has to be the Go-Kart racing at The Raceway in Charlton. After a 5-minute safety video on how not to press down the accelerator pedal (on the right) and the brake (on the left) at the same time (as this causes the kart engine to burn out), we got into position based on our time trial results.

As we each whizzed, buzzed, burnt and pootled around the circuit, I was struck by the significance of the coloured flag system, with the Blue Flag meaning ‘Let the person behind you pass’. It reminded me how each person’s race time is down to individual performance and that if we’re to all have fun, we have to let people pass.

My 5 Whys for Working at Exoftware

• I’m trusted to do the best I can.
• I get help whenever I ask for it.
• We share moments of joy and pain together.
• We strive to apply the Agile Values and Practices to everything we do.
• We learn as a company.

Does your company learn? If so, do they learn fast enough?

Open a window. Better still, nip outside and look up at the sky. Take a gulp of the fresh Spring air. Then another. And one more.

The 3-Step Spring Workout to fuel Indefatiguable Cheer

1. Find an open space, a nearby park (or a cemetery at a push) or the riverside.
2. Treat yourself to a tasty sandwich.
3. Sit outside for lunch.
4. Enjoy every moment of it.
5. Go for a 15-minute brisk walk before returning to the office.

Just do it. No one else can stop you from having a Happy Monday. Only you can.

K.: Don’t you find the Agile Values patronising?
P.: Why do you ask?
K.: It’s basic stuff. Like things we learnt back in kindergarten.
P.: Do you always follow the Agile Values?
K.: At work. Mostly. I guess I don’t always succeed.

Growing up to be better

The thing I enjoy most about Agile is that it’s an approach founded on People, Continuous Improvement, and Common Sense.

Cast your mind back to your teenage years. Think about your teenage children. Look at those around you at work. Can you spot those who continue to do things exactly the same way they’ve always done it for the past twenty, thirty, forty years? Can you catch yourself doing this?

Growing pains are never pleasant or easy to endure. Especially when you’re an adult who believes you already know it all. Worse still, an adult who knows best and think everyone else desperately needs to change, but not you.

Find the fish in the sea

According to Marshall Goldsmith, the simplest step towards Continuous Improvement is to find one of your trickier customers. This may be a particularly demanding client or a disgruntled spouse or offspring. Ask them this question: ‘How can I be a better [supplier/partner/parent]*?’ Next, identify together an action you’re prepared to take to improve. Be sure that the acceptance criteria has been clearly defined so that both parties will recognise when the improvement has been accomplished (aka Done). Then, set to work and make it happen. Ask again for feedback to verify for positive change. Finally, rinse and repeat.

Just as there’s always plenty of work out there for folks who deliver value, there’s always plenty of room for improvement. For each and everyone of us. You included.

* Delete as appropriate

‘Make things new’ – Ezra Pound

Shukurriya. Wakiwanee. Kihineh?*

What makes a great brand? And why should you care? According to Tom Peters, it’s all about Brand You. You are your own brand. You are your own product. It doesn’t matter that you consider yourself as just an employee. Think of yourself as You Inc. You Unlimited.

Brand You is made up of your values, your knowledge, your experience and your achievements. Brand You is also your word (or not – in any case, you may be able to fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of time). The success of your product depends on it.

Here are my top 5 acceptance criteria for building Brand You:

• Know what you value
• Know your target audience
• Be credible in what you do
• Have a proven track record of achievements
• Say what you do and do what you say.

This is all just common sense, of course. The magic happens when you add in the secret ingredient: Insight. Take a good look at the familiar to gain a deeper understanding of who you are and what you stand for.

* Phonetic Maldivian for ‘Thank You’, ‘Goodbye’ and ‘How are you?’

Many thanks to all of you for reading. We’ve made some improvements to enhance this blog’s usability:

• Full blog entries are now displayed on all pages (instead of summaries) 
• Previous and Next links have been added to the bottom of every page for easier navigation
• The Archive month-by-month listing is now displayed in the lefthand nav of every page to make it easier to browse entries by month

Many thanks to Sarah Price for playing The Perfection Game as a way of providing feedback on this blog and a super special thanks to Pascal Van Cauwenberghe for making the changes happen in PHP!

Happy reading!

(During circuit training at a gym near you)

Brad the Instructor: Come on team! You’re letting yourselves down!
P.: ARRRRGGGHHH!
Brad: Had too many pies? Get moving!
P.: ARRRRGGGHHH!
Brad: It’s mind over matter. Your body can go on forever. It’s your mind that’s stopping you. You can do it!

Seeing the Future from the Past

Have you ever done the *BLEEP* test? If you can’t remember, then you’ve never done it. It’s not something you easily forget. The *BLEEP* test consists of a man with a monotone voice who counts up, level after level, as you repeatedly scramble, scuttle then eventually crawl from one end of the training room to the other.

Each leg is marked by the perpetual knell of the dreaded *BLEEP* that grows increasingly urgent with each round. They call it the *BLEEP* test because it comes complete with asterisks to enclose your choice of expletives as you struggle from one level to the next.

Body Futures

Brad reckons we can all see into the future. ‘Put it this way,’ he says, ‘you pay for the body you have now in 10 years’ time. Do you want to celebrate the future or regret the past?’

The clever among us will be adept at telling stories to ourselves to side-step the issue of personal fitness. ‘It’s too dark and cold out’ or ‘My favourite soap is on in 5 minutes’ or, more impressive still, ‘I have to put everyone else first before I think about myself’.

The Beauty of Baby Steps

The fact is, there’s no need for high-tech devices to measure the state of our health. All we need is a full-length mirror and the courage to take a good look at ourselves. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to do. What’s the smallest possible action you can take to future-proof your health today?

The more I learn, the more I know.
The more I know, the more I forget,
The less I know.

Life’s a series of consequences, sequels, repeats and recorded playbacks. And so we’ve plenty of opportunities, both to forget and to re-learn. The lessons we learnt as children not only still hold true, but are often the most useful. That’s why it’s important we help each other remember. Together.

Back to Basics

Robert Fulghum isn’t a man who minces his words. In his book titled ‘All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten’, he identifies what he calls The Kindergarten Credo:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don’t hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
• Say sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
• Wonder.

These are what he refers to as the working rules of human enterprise. They are why we send children to school. To be civilised.

‘To be fair, we must share’

For those use to adopting a more directive approach in management, the toughest challenge that comes with transitioning to Agile is sharing. Sharing information, sharing pain, sharing joy and, most important of all, sharing glory. Those who define themselves 100% by what they do often find it almost impossible to relinquish the control and power they’re used to in order to become part of an Agile team.

Given an environment where everyone can be courageous, strangers can come together to form self-organising teams. Often, this happens much quicker than you think. The catch? As a manager and team member, you must adopt a collaborative style yourself. Your first step begins with suspending judgement.

If you believe that the only thing you can be certain of in life is that people will always let you down, the only person you can be sure to disappoint is yourself.

What would life be like if you no longer believed in everything you think?

One way to measure the maturity of a community is by laughter. Laughter is what happens when folks with a common interest get together. They have fun. They laugh together. This is especially true with Agile because people form the heart of Agile.

Knock, Knock – Who’s there?
In my experience, nowhere are these outbursts of laughter more audible than at Agile conferences. Agile conferences are a great opportunity to learn, laugh and recharge. They’re also a chance to test your agility because Agile attracts a mixed bunch of people, sometimes with conflicting interests, motivations and values.

The Secret sits in the middle and knows
‘Have you met Daedalus?’ asks Ralph, an Agile Coach and collector of things darkly comical. Ralph gives a nod towards a small crowd of bobbing and shaking heads by the buffet table. Not one to miss an Agile moment in the making, I head towards the hullabaloo.

‘So I go to see a new client who say they want help with Agile,’ begins Daedalus, ‘and what they were looking for was an Agile installation engineer. They were expecting me to just wheel out a box, plug it in, flick on the switch, then T-A-D-A!’ He clicks his fingers, ‘Everyone becomes agile – just like that!’

Most of us are silent as we stand flabbergasted, recalling the risks and hardwork that come with the magnitude of what we try to achieve with Agile. Organisational change. People change. I’m reminiscing the many seemingly impossible moments when people halted learning because they resisted change. I know because I catch myself doing the same sometimes.

To paraphrase Dolly Parton, ‘If you like rainbows, there’ll be some rain.’ As an Agile Apprentice, it’s the thought of rainbows that keeps me going. I’ve also come to appreciate the rain because I know those are the days when I have the greatest chance to grow.

All’s well that ends well
Being agile isn’t just a laughing matter. It’s a serious business. Because people matter. And remarkable things happen when we come to understand that the Agile Values aren’t just elementary, but elemental.