Making Dreams Come True

We’ve created a virtual space to grow the community around the Agile Fairytales. It’s a place where you’re invited to share – be it thoughts, ideas, feedback and anything else that you deem relevant to the group.

You’re invited to use the space to:

• Exchange stories on how you first came across the Agile Fairytales
• Share your experiences of how you use the Agile Fairytales at work and at play
• Broadcast upcoming events featuring Agile Fairytales.

We’ll also use the space to:

• Broadcast upcoming Agile Fairytales sessions
• Agile Fairytales releases and updates
• And, of course, we’d love to hear your ideas on how to spread the joy and share the fun! 

Meanwhile, read more about the adventures of Agile Fairytales here. And why not experience the adventures for yourself? Find out when the next Agile Fairytale coming to a place near you. Watch this space!

Count Me In!

To join in, sign up to the LinkedIn group and send a request to join the group. In your request, tell us a bit about yourself and why you would like to join the group.

Meanwhile, keep well and I hope to see you at an Agile Fairytale session soon!

‘Real love stories never have endings’ – Richard Bach

A Classic Tale of Love and Hate

On 13 January 2010 at 12.10 precisely, my friend Jack calls me to announce he’s resigned with a new job ready to start in March. Jack has been unhappy in his old job for over a decade. You’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘That’s your typical Man-Gets-Paid-To-Do-A-Job-He-Hates story. So what?’ and you’d be right. Except that’s not where the story ends.

Ever since Jack handed in his resignation, he’s taken on more responsibility and become more assertive. His colleagues tell me how he’s been helping to deliver more value to the organisation in the last 20 days than he has ever done in the past 10 years. Intrigued by this mysterious twist in the plot, I call Jack.

‘I’m not sure what’s happened really,’ says Jack. ‘The day after I handed in my resignation, I had an epiphany. You know I’m not a religious bloke. I just figured out that, instead of ekeing out my existence during my notice period, I would do what I’ve been meaning to do for a decade. A good job. By that I mean, make my voice heard. Share my ideas with people even if they’re a bit out there. After all, my boss can’t sack me anymore.’

Know Yourself

Stephen King says, ‘If you love what you do, you can do it forever.’ First you need to know what it is you love doing. Then find out what makes it so lovable. Richard Bolles, author of ‘What Colour is Your Parachute’, outlines an exercise in his book for coming up with your ideal job profile (aka job description). They are:

1. Your favourite interests
2. Geography – where you like to work (venue and location)
3. Your favourite people and environments
4. Your favourite values and goals
5. Your favourite working conditions
6. Salary and level of responsibility
7. Your top 6 favourite skills.

It’s up to you how much time you invest on completing the job description. I remember it took me a total of 5 hours one fateful weekend all that time ago. Once you’ve got your ideal job description, you’re ready to go job shopping.

Remember how much you enjoyed shopping for that gadget or picnic basket? And how was that possible? Because you’d somehow distilled (implicitly or explicitly) the key attributes of what it was you needed to achieve your goals. As Paul Arden said, ‘Without having a goal, it’s hard to score.’

Love the Job You’re In

Now imagine this. You’ve identified your goal. And you’ve got your dream job description. Ask yourself these 4 questions:

• What would happen if you got what you wanted?
• What wouldn’t happen if you got what you wanted?
• What would happen if you didn’t get what you wanted?
• What wouldn’t happen if you didn’t get what you wanted?

Answering these questions might be a challenge, but they really make you think. The questions force you to question why you want what you want and this, in turn, helps you refine your goal and your strategy to do what you need to achieve that goal.

The Neverending Story

On 11 February 2010 at 12.15 precisely, Jack calls me with some news. It turns out that, having seen his remarkable contribution in the past 4 weeks, Jack’s boss has asked him to stay and offered him a package that exceeds his other job offer. And that, dear Reader, is where our story ends. But not Jack’s. And what of your story?

Going Agile

The second ever Agile Fest, short for ‘Agile Festival’, took place last Tuesday in the UK. Agile Fest is an annual internal event run by one of emergn‘s clients to promote awareness of how and where Agile is being used within their organisation as well as to create an opportunity for 1-2-1 networking and community building.

Fun and Games

The event atttracted an exceptional turnout, with more than 250 visitors dropping in and taking part in the 3 hours it took place. The festival consisted of 12 stalls, with topics ranging from Planning Poker and Agile First Aid to Evolutionary Design and Distributed Teams. Each stall was run by internal Agile enthusiasts, with support from emergn’s coaches, giving practical advice on and demonstrations of Agile Principles, Practices and Techniques.

It was super fun because it gave me the opportunity to work alongside the client and a bunch of emergn Coaches, first in preparing for the event, then in mingling with the participants. Can I sum up the kinds of people who attended the event in 4 words? I think I can. It’s ‘Curiosity’ and ‘Willingness to Learn’. These are essential traits for an organisation serious about delivering more value to their customers.

Organising the Organising and Giving Back

The organisation of Agile Fest in itself was an example of agility in action. The event was made possible only by the incredible creativity, contribution and collaboration from both the organisers and the participants. Great thoughtfulness had gone into the event, such as handmade badges and a homemade cake sale which raised £300 in sales for the Haiti Relief Fund (which the organisation is doubling!). My tastebuds tell me Collin’s special carrot cake with coconut shavings had something to do with how much we raised!

Most Memorable Moment

The fantastic turnout and number of compelling questions asked is evidence of what transforms an organisation from Good to Great. How are you going to add value at work and beyond this week?

Thanks to all your feedback on the game and your enthusiasm for Peer Coaching, we’re pleased to announce the release of version 2.0 of The Yellow Brick Road Game – Fresh Insights Through Peer Coaching.

The headline changes include:

• Making the game and session more generic – Not only can you use it to learn about peer coaching for Agile Adoption, you can now use it to learn about peer coaching for any context or domain you wish
• Full presentation with speaker notes – The presentation for running the session is now available so that you, too, can run it with ease and flourish at work (and even with family and friends)!
• New User Manual – Detailing the contents of the downloadable game kit and further resources about peer coaching

Find out more about Happy Endings with Agile Fairytales. Keep the feedback coming! Happy Peer Coaching!

Yesterday, as night falls, I finally make it to Edinburgh castle. We knock, but nobody’s home. It’s my third visit to Edinburgh and I still haven’t seen the inside of the castle. I’ve been wanting to visit because I hear it’s a great place with lots to see, do and learn.

Up, Down and Around

Little did I suspect that what began as a casual evening walk to the nearest pub would turn out to be one of the best tours of Edinburgh. ‘We can go this way if you don’t mind climbing a slope,’ says Mark, the Agile Insider. ‘It’s going to be steep,’ he repeats. ‘No problem,’ I reply. ‘I love going for walks!’ As it turns out, the slope was steeper than I expected, and when I finally catch my breath, the sight of the towering buildings that make up Edinburgh Castle takes my breath away once again.

When you really want something, you’ll always find a way

The philosopher Seneca said, ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.’ Take my stumbing upon the castle as though by chance. It fits Seneca’s saying beautifully.

For the past couple of weeks, the Agile Insider has been scouting out the area while touring Edinburgh for himself. Then last night, we decided to meet up and go for a pint. Once the Agile Insider realised that we both enjoyed going for walks, we extended the walk a bit more. After all, our goal was to catch up and it didn’t much matter if we were sat in the warmth of a pub or tramping out and about in the cold. And since the climbing pace was comfortable we extended the walk a bit further still until – lo and behold – I found myself in front of the castle!

Luck is Yours to Make

Next time, I’m going to plan my visit to the castle. I’m going to phone ahead to make sure someone will be in. May be we can even have tea with the Queen if I bring some biscuits. How are you going to capture the castle?

We love Tuesday mornings!

This Tueday morning marked the kickoff of the XP Days Benelux organisers 2010 team. Together, we’ll be bringing you Mini XP Days Benelux on 26 April, 2010, followed by XP Day Benelux (a 2-day conference) in November 2010.

We’ve got a great team and if the fun we had on Tueday is anything to go by, I wouldn’t want to miss Mini XP Days Benelux for the world! To top it all off, we’ve got an awe-inspiring venue this year. Here’s a sneak preview of the venue: Kapellerput in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. It’s got an outdoor barbeque, a human bird-house, garden chess and even a dinosaur made out of rubbish to remind us of the importance of eliminating waste!

Make Work Fun and Fun Work

We’re currently finalising the programme for Mini XP Days Benelux, a 1-day session containing great sessions selected from the XP Days Benelux 2009 program based on participant feedback. There’ll be something for everyone interested in learning from and with Agile practitioners.

For First Timers: A chance to sample what an XP Days Benelux conference feels like at maximum value and minimum cost. It’s a one day conference at an affordable price with great sessions selected from last year’s programme based on participant feedback.

For Old Timers: A chance to catch up on the sessions you wished you’d gone to at XP Days Benelux 2009 because you couldn’t be in more than one place at any one time. And, of course, a chance to meet up with old friends and make new ones!

We’re looking forward to implementing Keith Braithewaite‘s concept of a ‘WTF factor’, also known as a ‘Wow! factor’ or ‘Tada! factor’ where learning happens through shock and surprise.

Meanwhile, find out more about XP Days Benelux here. Tot ziens! Watch this space.

Agile Apprentice: Why do I always feel so afraid?
Agile Coach: Fear helps us live and breathe.
Agile Apprentice: I’m sick and tired of feeling afraid.
Agile Coach: Fear keeps us alive.

If We Don’t Speak of Vital Things

Life’s about Balance. Balance, by its very nature, is constant.  Like treading water in order to stay afloat, we need to constantly work at maintaining that balance. Why? Because things change. Because People change.

Embrace Uncertainty

One Agile adage is ‘Embrace Uncertainty’. Like it or lump it, Uncertainty pervades our lives. Most of us have a tendency to make decisions too early. For fear of Uncertainty. For fear of looking indecisive. For fear of looking the fool.

One way of making the most of Uncertainty is by postponing making decisions until the last responsible moment. The trick is to know when you have to make the decision. Given a deadline and the time it takes to execute an action, we can use Real Options Thinking to identify a decision point, the point at which a decision needs to be made. Why do this? To buy us more time so that we can gather more information. Why gather more information? Because more information leads to better informed decisions which, in turn, produce better results.

First Accept Impermanence

Before we can truly embrace Uncertainty, we need to first accept the Impermanence of Life. Things that exist today may not exist tomorrow. Accepting the impermanence in life provides a healthy perspective on Now. Instead of being stuck in a perpetual Blame Game, ask yourself ‘What can I do right now to change? How can I make things better (instead of worse) now?’

Resolve to Change For the Better

Be courageous! Make the most of Now by using The Responsibility Model to transition yourself from Denial -> Blame -> Justification -> Shame -> Obligation -> Responsibility.

Be mindful! Make better decisions Now and in the Future using Real Options Thinking. A Real Option is where Value > Cost. A Stupid Option is one where Value < Cost. Doing nothing is also always an option. The key is to take responsibility for your decisions by conscious decision making.

Be full of heart! Always practice the Agile Values of Communication, Simplicity, Feedback, Courage, Respect, Trust and Transparency to create more happiness for everyone to share. After all, none of us exist in isolation. Everything we do has a cause and effect that impacts others and, ultimately, ourselves.

Dear, oh, dear. It’d been a dreary past few days as the final traces of pristine Snow White was replaced by its cousin Grey Slush. The rumour of Winter Blues had turned into tabloid fact. Nothing was going to be able to shift this slippery muck of seasonal gloom. Nothing? Really?

Until this morning that is. Yes. The snow is back! The dusting of snow reminds me of a conversation I had with a colleague in Boston last week.

How much snow have you got?

‘Happy New Year! We’ve got at least three inches of snow!’ I said. ‘Happy New Year to you, too! We’ve got six inches,’  John said. It suddenly dawned on me that the novelty of snow depended on who you are, where you grew up and where you are now. I remember feeling a fleeting sense of foolishness at what must have seemed like much ado about nothing. After all, Boston had six inches of snow and London only had three. I brushed the thought aside. We had snow in London and that was what mattered to me most. Or was it?

Life as a Competition

All the time I’d been growing up, I’d believed that life was a competition. Not just any competition. It was a competition against other people. To be the winner, there had to be losers. That was just the way things worked. The fact was there were plenty of children bigger, smarter, faster than me. Just like there are plenty of adults bigger, smarter, faster than me now.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been trying to make sense of the Game of Life and the myth that ‘To be the winner, there had to be losers’. I could see how competition can drive things forward, help us achieve things we never thought we could, so competition in itself is not a bad thing. Yet the rule of having a winnner and losers still didn’t make sense. More recently I observed that ‘I am my own biggest impediment’. Don’t you sometimes just hate being right? As I thought more and more about this assertion, I realised it wasn’t the answer to the conundrum either.

What Lies Within

As I peer through the flickering curtain of snow, another thought light as a snowflake forms in the snowdome of my mind. It’s never been about me and the others. The invisible rule to the Game of Life is this. There is no other. You are both the winner and the loser. You are competing with yourself.

Two snowmen are standing in a field.
One says to the other, ‘Can you smell carrots?’

Out in the Field

Imagine. You wake up. It’s Friday. It’s almost the weekend. The first thing you see is a blanket of bright white snow. With a deep breath, you take in the tranquil setting. You feel quietly envigorated. A thought light as a snowflake forms in the snowdome of your mind. Yes. Today’s the day. Today marks a fresh start. A new beginning.

And the thought? It is this: ‘I can be better than I was yesterday.’ This thought always takes me back to the Agile Values. Seven simple words. Communication, Simplicity, Feedback, Courage, Respect, Trust and Transparency. How many of us know these words by heart? Words that trip off the tongue so smoothly when times are good? Those same seven words that become a thorn in our side when we come under pressure, leaving us deflated?

Thinking, Being and Doing

In Agile, Retrospectives are a good way to take time out and reflect. To have a good root around our minds to make sense of what we have done, what has come to pass and what we intend to do going forward. It’s a chance for others to show you what you cannot see for yourself. It’s an opportunity for putting those seven values into practice.

And what about the actions we can take to improve? We don’t have to wait for snow. We don’t even have to wait for a new day or  a new year. The moment is Now.

If snow makes you think, here’s a collection of entries featuring the white stuff in various guises:

• A Wintry Summer’s Day – Expect the Unexpected to increase your number of options
• Life in the Cold – First Contact with Finns in Finland
• Snow Joke – Quality as a matter of personal pride
• Winter Wonderland – The KISS principle for adults
• A Winter’s Tale – The Gift of the Present
• An Agilist for All Seasons – Be prepared! in order to turn obstacles into challenges 

Wrap up warm! You don’t want to catch a chill.