Saying " yes" to new adventures.

 For those of you that know me, you know I am NOT a risk taker.   I don't bungie jump, nor leap out of perfectly good airplanes simply hoping a thin layer of material slows my plummet.   But I do take risks in building new relationships with strangers, and in job roles.  Each and every new job opportunity that had me thinking " I've never done that before, but I believe I can do it" caused me to say "yes".  ( Caveat here: no one has ever asked me to perform brain surgery, and I would have said no.)  The times people have asked me to do thing far outside my skillset, it has been a clear " no " and a referral to someone I thought might be qualified. 

But that's not even why I wanted to talk about today, I wanted to talk about saying "yes" to an adventure. 

I've been enjoying semi-retirement over the past 15 months, reading, hiking, going to the lake, working as a strategic advisor for a client or two, and mostly spending each morning volunteering for the local Habitat for Humanity.   Well, a few weeks back on the job site, one of the volunteers named Dave asked me a question.  He said he had his #1 bucket list trip planned. He had made all the arrangements, and wanted to know if I'd like to go with him. ( Dave and I have been volunteering together for about a year now, but other than that we don't know each other)

Without pause, I said " Yes. 100%. I'm committed to go. Sign me up."  where he replied "Great!" and my next question followed shortly... " Dave, where are we going??"

3 days later I find myself booking a trekking excursion in the Himalayas.  Truthfully I am so geographically challenged I wasn't sure even what country I was going to until I booked flights the next day.   I don't feel so bad at not knowing geography, because when I told my neighbor about a trip to Nepal, he had to tell me how wrong his wife was because she thought Nepal was in Italy.  He said he corrected her, that she was wrong and Nepal was an island... somewhere.(also wrong)   Nepal is a small country sandwiched between India on its southern border and Tibet to it's North.  For reference here is a map

Well, that was 3 weeks ago, and I depart for my adventure Thursday April 13th ( 2 days from writing this post) 

Since booking, let's just say that Amazon has made many deliveries to my home, as I prepare for the adventure ahead.  I've also spent more time outdoors hiking our modest hills in Hot Springs National Park, which are of no significance to the 17,575 Gokyo-Ri

Here is a panorama atop Gokyo-Ri. (I'm imagining me standing where this person is in the photo)

Photo by: By Boy.pockets - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12315006

Even though I fly out on Thursday April 13th, I don't get to Katmandu until sometime on Saturday April 15th. Once I get there here is the itinerary from the sherpa company:

Day 1 Arrive in Kathmandu (1400 meters)

Upon your arrival in the Kathmandu airport after completing your custom formalities Visa, etc. pick up your luggage and look for our airport representative from Himalaya Discovery Adventures, who will display your name on the board at the arrival gate. You will be greeted by our representative and transferred to the hotel by private tourist vehicle. Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.

Day 2 Free in Kathmandu for sightseeing and pre trip briefing and gear check.

Today is free for sightseeing in Kathmandu. You may wish to visit Durbar Square in the heart of the old city where the old Royal Palace, with its intricate woodcarving is located. The whole area is a maze of temples and images. Leading away from the square in all directions are narrow alleys, full of the most amazing variety of shops and stalls. Some of these landmarks are considered World Heritage Sites including the historic Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the famous ‘Monkey Temple’ Swayambhunath and Buddhists shrine Buddhanath which is one of the largest Stupas in the world.

There will also be a full trip briefing today with gear check. In case you need to hire or buy equipment locally there will be time to do this today. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Day 3 Fly to Lukla from Manthali, and then trek to Phakding (2651 m)

Everest Base Camp trek begins on the second day with a scenic flight from Manthali airport to Lukla Tenzing Hillary airport (2,804 m).

Upon arrival at Lukla, you will meet our porters who will be carrying your bags. The Everest Base Camp hike starts after a short glimpse of the village of Lukla, where you will pass the village of Chaurikharka and then descend towards Dudh Koshi and Ghat. From there, you follow the trails to Phakding via the bank of the Dudh Koshi river and stay overnight at Phakding.

Manthali airport can be reached by road from Kathmandu within 4 to 6 hours drive. This means you need to wake up early in the morning around 2:30 am to take a drive and catch your Lukla flight from Manthali early in the morning. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 4 Trek to Namche Bazaar (3440 meters) 5.30 hrs

We continue trekking along the banks of the Dudhkosi, crossing this majestic river many times on exciting suspension bridges laden with prayer flags. After entering Everest National Park, the trail climbs steeply with breathtaking views. Namche Bazaar known as the Gateway to Everest which is home to many quality restaurants, hotels, lodges, shops, Money exchange, internet cafe and a bakery. Namche is one of the biggest villages along the whole Everest trail. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 5 Acclimatization day.

We will spend a day here in order to acclimatize and adjust to the thinning of the air. A short trek to a museum celebrating the traditional customs of the Sherpa people. Today, we hike up the Syangboche Airport, and around Everest View Hotel. From this point, we have rewarding views of the Himalayas with a stunning sunrise or sunset over the panorama of the Khumbu peaks. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 6 Trek to Phorste Thanga (3680 meters) 5 hrs.

Today, the trail climbs steeply out of valley through rhododendron forest, juniper and large conifers start to appear as the elevation increases making trekking beautiful in spring. The trail passes through Yak Kharkas and summer settlements. The views of Ama Dablam, Khumbi La and Tawache are magnificent throughout the day. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 7 Trek to Machhermo (4150 meters) 5 hrs.

The trail climbs a ridge for an excellent view both down the valley to Kengtega and up towards Cho Oyu and descend to a river and again climbs steep to the terminal moraine of the Ngozumpz glacier. We will reach at Machherma by early noon. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 8 Trek to Gokyo (4790 meters) 5.30 hrs.

Today the trek takes us at one of our final destination, Gokyo (4790m). We will make this camp our base for 2 nights as we will have couple of hiking and sightseeing trips around Gokyo. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 9 Hike up to Gokyo Ri (5483 meters) then back to Gokyo. 5 hrs.

Today, early in the morning we have steep climb up to the top of Gokyo Ri at elevation of 5483 meters, ample rewards to anyone that attempts this trip. There are stunning views of the supper Gokyo Valley, the massive Ngozumpa Glacier and an incredible panoramic view of the whole Khumbu Himalayas, such as giants as Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu, Cho-Oyu and Gychung Kang can be seen.

Those who discover the glacier and Gokyo peak are rewarded. This day we have for acclimatization and after noon back to the camp. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 10 Trek to Dole (4200 meters) 6 hrs.

Following same trail down, we will make our descent to Dole. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 11 Trek to Namche Bazaar via Khumjung village (3780 meters) 5 hrs.

Descend to Namche Bazaar via typical Sherpa village of Khumjung. Leaving the mountains behind us our descent continues back to the town of Namche Bazaar at elevation of (3440 meters). Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 12 Trek to Lukla (2886 meters) 6 hrs.

Finally, we return to Lukla where the trek started, which will seem like a lifetime ago. Enjoying time to reflect on the trek as a group and the personal achievement of all those who took part. Also giving you time to discover the town. Overnight at guesthouse.

Day 13 Fly back to Kathmandu.

Enjoying your last glimpse of the mountains you have recently visited for one last time on the 35 minute Scenic flight back to Kathmandu. You can rest and relax throughout the day. In the evening we will have a farewell dinner in a traditional Nepalese restaurant with cultural performances. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Day 14 Free day / Fly to home.

It’s also spare day in case of bad weather in Lukla. If you get interested to take some gifts from Nepal for friends and relatives, visit to some nearby shops or go out in Thamel for typical Nepalese goods. In the evening we will have a farewell dinner in a traditional Nepalese restaurant with cultural performances. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Day 15 Fly to home.

The trip concludes! We will drop you to the airport according to your flight schedule.

As you might imagine, my head and heart are spinning.  Thinking of all the potential for excitement, and potential issues along the way. Am I packing enough?  Too much? Can I physically make this multi-day hiking trek? Will I be able to breathe at 17,575 feet ( 5,357 m) above sea level? 

And, in preparation, I have read "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer which is a tale of a fateful disaster trip summiting Mt. Everest.  I'm not going up to Mt Everest, but I'll be in the same valley and have an excellent view of Everest.  Also Gokyo-Ri is about the same altitude as the Everest base camp. It may seem weird to some, but the book is excellent and is teaching me a lot about the Nepal people, the sherpa culture  and what NOT to do! 

I am beyond excited saying yes to this adventure. 

Now, let's hope my legs and lungs take me where I want to go!   I'll try my best to take enough photos to share when I return. 

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If you want to read a bit more about the trip we have booked, and the sherpa company, here is the link to Himalaya Discovery Adventures description of our trip. 

Bending nails

Over the past months I've enjoyed volunteering each morning building a house with my local Habitat for Humanity. The schedule is a bit odd, as they work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7am till noon. We started on this house the week of October 3rd with 2 weeks of their women's build " Heels to Hammers" with a slab. As of writing this we now have 2 stories built with all interior walls framed, trusses set, roof is on, windows are in and almost all siding is complete. 

With all volunteers, (and only working 4 mornings a week)this build is moving pretty quickly. Each day a new batch of volunteers comes in and does what they can to help a family to own their very first home. I have really enjoyed the focus, the fun and the passion of all these people!  There is a sense of accomplishment each day, where you can look and physically see the outcome of your effort.  

There is, however one thing I am starting to notice, there are a LOT of bent nails.   And I mean a LOT. 

All of us volunteers are swinging those hammers with gusto, making progress towards a new home for someone else, but many times those attempts at progress mean some bent nails. Sometimes, it may take 3, 4 or 5 attempts to get one nail in place correctly. What's beautiful, is the job foreman response to all these bent nails - is to cheer people on.  He realizes no one is an expert nail driver, and even if they were, bent nails happen.  Bent nails are a sign of trying, of progress and of learning. 

This made me think a lot of organizations/teams and how we view things we try but just don't work out.  

Trying

When I contrast a bent nail to a un-used nail, The bent nail represents an attempt.  While the new nails may be prettier, they are only representative of potential in the future. So many times I've seen individuals be blocked by fear and never try something. They may have a burning passion for something ( or a new product idea) and yet they don't take a chance and try to see if that idea is good of not. Organizations may want to try a new way of working, only to make little progress or stop before ever getting started.  I know I've had my share of attempts at things that didn't work ( and have the bent nails to prove it). Luckily I was surrounded by a team that celebrated trying to do something new, and grew because of it. 

Progress

In order to make progress, something must happen. I know this is ridiculous to say, but I've seen time and time where leaders want to move organizations forward while staying the same. In knowledge work, we rarely know with any degree of accuracy what exactly needs to be done/built/changed/delivered. So in order to make progress, things that didn't go well would be evidence of making progress towards a goal.  In the pursuit of delivering value, there should be a trail of bent nails. If you aren't willing to have some failures, you aren't really wanting progress.  

Learning

It's been said over and over again, but we learn by doing. By making repeated attempts at something and failing, we will get better. Each nail bent is progress towards the goal. Humans need to be able to learn to grow, and this applies to organizations as well.  In a recent organization we went through a transformation into a design we all felt was going to be successful, only to learn we were wrong. To be clear, I was wrong. But the beauty was that only after working that way for a few months did the learning begin to happen, and we made serious progress to a organizational design that was far better. 

No matter if you are building a product for a customer, responsible for your organizations direction and design, or simply building a home for those in need - enjoy the journey. We all stress far to much trying to be "perfect" when we really need to simply move forward. 

Note: I also highly encourage you to spend time giving back to an organization as a volunteer. Please look around your local area for a cause you enjoy and give generously. Yes, give money, but I'd encourage you to give time. The personal returns of physically being present and giving of your time are far greater than only mailing in a check. 

Taking your own journey

Each Sunday morning, I LOVE to read the business section of the local paper. And by "business section" my wife knows that this means the Sunday Comics. 

Now I read almost all of the comic strips, but one that keeps popping back up in my memory, is The Family Circus by Bil and Jeff Keane. It's a great strip of a family and all their antics.  A recurring panel is the son Billy, and his inability to go directly to anyplace, and rather seems to take a route that might include a slide, petting a dog, climbing a tree and more. This particular comic is the one that really struck home: 

I'm reminded of this cartoon often when people ask me about my career path. I am pretty sure that Billy is me. 

In looking back at all the roles I've had, the list is very large.  In my lifetime, I have probably had 35 jobs, and some of those jobs I had gone through 5-7 different roles within those jobs) I've been working for 43 years, and some of my jobs I've had 30+ years, another 9, and another 15.   Rarely did I do just one thing.  Matter of fact, my entire work life except for the last 5 years, I've had 2-3 ventures going at the same time. Needless to say, my path has not been a straight one. 

I was recently asked about career advice, because this person wanted to become an agile coach. They wanted to know which courses to take in order to reach that goal. My advice for this person, and for most any role, would look more like Billy's path.  

Take roles that you've never done before

Most people follow a straight path and only take roles where they have expertise and experience. They stay in the exact same field/industry and climb a corporate ladder, rung by rung. What can result is a person that is engrained within one company/one mindset.   

For the employer, this is great because they reduce employee turnover, but for the employee it likely will leave them in a position where they can never leave. Once a person has been within a narrow career field/company for a decade or more, changing careers is incredibly risky and difficult. A varied background, from different industries and roles, can give you perspective beyond your years. It helps you become a potential valuable player in most any work environment.  Being in one organization for decades can reinforce a mindset and language from within that organization that may not translate to other organizations. Also, the next thing you take may not be a job at all. 

Recently I've left a role to take time away, which is something I have never done before. To hike, breathe, rest, read, and reflect. These past months may likely be some of the most formative moments in my career. 

Take roles that challenge you

Almost every role I have ever taken, I had no real previous experience in doing that role.  And if you were to have looked at my past experience, it might not have crystal clear as to how or why this next role made sense.  And that is what made it fun, and interesting, and challenging. 

The easy path, is for someone to take their next role as something fairly easy and comfortable for you, something almost exactly like you've done before but just at a different company. This can offer you some diversification because each organization works in slightly different ways. But I'd encourage you to take something that challenges you, and makes you a bit nervous.  

New roles should stretch you a bit, but not too much. Don't take roles where you are clearly not capable. ( I'm not going to be taking any brain surgeon roles anytime soon.) One thing that comes to my memory for each new role I've taken is "I haven't ever done this before, but I know I can figure it out!" 

Take roles based on your passion, not income

Nothing is worse than working for an organization where you don't feel like you are aligned with their mission and purpose. Sadly, I've seen many people take roles where they know they aren't aligned due to more income. 

Taking a role in a new organization only because it pays a lot more money never seems to work out well.  You will end up doing your time there, but will feel empty and unfulfilled. Some of the best career moves I've made were ones where I purposely chose to make less money to pursue passion. We are creatures of passion, and do our best work when we are engaged in something that excited us.  

I heard a quote before, and I'm not sure where it originated, but it went something like this:  " The best alarm clock is work you are passionate about."   Work you are excited for and passionate about wakes up up each day, with ideas and optimism for a bold future.  When you find yourself dreading the work day on a consistent basis, it's likely a sign of a lack of passion. And maybe, a time to make a change. 

Wrapping up. 

Your journey is YOUR journey. It's a series of choices that you make that can shape your career. Never abdicate your journey to an employer and expect them to create a path that fits you.  The world is a world of abundance.  According to Statista, there are over 11 million job openings available in the US alone, so what are you waiting for?

Good luck on creating a far more interesting journey. 

Does agile at scale need to be cookie cutter?

Recently, my wife and I (and our two little dogs) made a road trip across Kansas, Colorado, parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, a portion of Iowa and back through Missouri. We had an immensely enjoyable time stopping at National Parks and State Parks as well as kitschy roadside attractions. And while I was driving all those miles, it struck me that the diverse topography of these states had a lesson to teach us about agility.

The United States shows remarkable environmental diversity, even within a relatively small radius. Take, as an example the 3 photos below: All of these photos were taken within a 30 min drive of each other, and all in South Dakota

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota 

Custer State Park, South Dakota

All three of these photos were taken within a 30 min drive of each other, and all in South Dakota. The top is in Badlands National Park all stark and dry, and looks like a scene from an alien planet. The second is in the Black Hills National Forest -Lush and rocky, mountainous with tall trees and clear streams. The third photo is within Custer State Park - a high plains meadow that supports huge herds of native buffalo and other wild game.  All three of these regions play an integral part in the ecosystems of our country. I think you'll agree it would be boring if all of the United States looked exactly the same. 

Sadly - many organizations want cookie cutter "sameness" of agility across the entire company.  

If you look at many efforts to "scale agility" across an organization, it seems to be a bit more about making sure everyone is using the same terminology, normalizing story points ( ugh), and falling in line. Scaling tends to be more in the form of compliance than about agility.  

Scaling agility isn't about conformity. So let's just stop it - ok?

Creating an environment for agile to thrive throughout an organization starts with three key activities: encourage unity, celebrate differences, and establish guard rails

Encourage Unity 

Agile teams do need to be united both in how they work together and in how they align to organizational strategy. But that doesn't mean they have to be the same. Strategic goals should drive deliverables, yet allow flexibility for discovery along the way. Each agile team will likely discover something new to delight the customer in the process of delivering towards those strategic goals

Celebrate Differences

The way one team works will be different from another–and this can be a powerful tool for learning in your organization. Good agile leaders highlight and celebrate these differences so that the whole organization can grow. Creating a learning organization depends upon these differences becoming shared openly, without fear of reprisal.

Establish Guardrails

Encouraging agile teams to "uncover better ways of working" isn't without risk.  As an organization you should have clear guardrails of what is in bounds and out of bounds for a team.  Without guard rails, teams could feel "anything goes"which can lead to disastrous results.  Co-creating these guardrails can be a powerful exercise where teams learn the bounds within which they can play, and can free up their collective creativity to deliver amazing value. 

Scaling Doesn’t Require Conformance

Turning agile teams loose to meet customers’ needs is powerful. At the same time, though, to quote Uncle Ben in the Spiderman comic series, "With great power comes great responsibility." 

Leaders can feel confident in giving teams freedom to make decisions by creating clear organizational goals that ensure teams are rowing in the same direction, allowing different approaches room to grow and learn, and setting clear boundaries where teams can uncover better ways of working. 

None of this is easy.

None of this is without risk.

But ultimately, empowering differences within a unified ecosystem not only brings humanity to the workplace, it also produces better products.

4 Factors to help you select an agile consultancy

 I get this question all the time: 

"Hey Howard, you've been plugged into the business of agility for quite some time, and know almost every significant player in the space. Our organization needs help in our agile transformation, who do you recommend?" 

It won't surprise many of you that the answer is " It depends " because each organization is facing different constraints, different goals, and different needs. I usually spend some time with each request trying to determine the real needs and objectives. I ask a ton of questions, but in general they fall under a few topics.  

In short, selecting a consultant or consultancy, comes down to these three factors that apply to both the  organization and the consultant, and one requirement I have for every consultancy I recommend.

1. Capacity:   Depending upon how large your organization might be, the depth and breadth of the consultancy's staff matters.  Smaller organizations can fair well with independent or small consultancy's, while larger organizations will likely need a much larger team. If you are a large organization and are wanting to start small, it's ok to start with a smaller group and have them scale up with your needs. This shouldn't mean you always hire a large consultancy, because many times thats a poor experience as a small/mid sized organization. With some consultancy's having in excess of 600,000 employees, you simply wouldn't command their attention unless you are a key revenue producer for them. As an example, in order to be a diamond client with Accenture, you will need to generate in excess of $100 million in revenue for them annually. According to this source, they have in excess of 200 Diamond clients as of the end of 2020.  I recommend finding a consultancy that has " slightly more" breadth and depth than you think you need. This way, as your needs increase they can help you and grow with you. 

2. Location:  The world is getting to be a smaller and smaller place, and almost any consultancy will tell you they service clients globally. The truth is, that it likely isn't in your best financial interest if you need the consultants onsite at your physical location. If the predominant amount of your operations are in one city/region, choose a consultancy based in that region.  Long term, you will save lots of expenses on travel costs and will allow the maximum contact time between your staff and the coach/consultant.  Also, for that individual consultant, being local means they aren't away from their families all the time. Choosing local can also help reduce carbon footprint by reducing travel.  In some instances, a remote or hybrid approach is acceptable but for that consultant to really provide value, nothing beats being "in the room". IEven if you are looking at a remote or hybrid approach, you benefit from people being more regional to your employees. 

3. Expectations:  Whether you are at the first days of an agile transformation, or you are on year 5, will matter in who you hire. Some service providers may come with pre-packaged solutions, while others will take a far more "sense and respond" approach. Are you looking for a provider to help solve your issues or are you seeking someone to bounce your ideas off of? These are far different ends of the spectrum because one has the consultancy carrying the burden of selecting the right approach, while the other puts that responsibility on the organization. Speed and urgency are other expectations you will need to articulate, as your situation is unique. Clearly articulating what you are seeking from the engagement will set your organization and the consultancy both up for success. 

And this one is a big one for me in order to recommend someone, and applies only to coaches/consultants/consultancies:

4. Credibility:  The Agile Manifesto for Software Development was signed in 2001, and the rise in the numbers of providers of services in the business of agility have skyrocketed. There are some consultancy's that have added " agile" as a service to the plethora of other things they can do ( Project management, Staff augmentation, Windows 95, and more) Re-sellers also abound, which are really no more than marketing and sales organizations that many times don't even have a clue what they are selling. Let's face it, the business of agility is profitable, and this attracts companies seeking to capitalize.  While some of these might actually have some good people working for them, I'm not a fan of recommending this as an add-on service. I look for companies that are or are trying to be truly agile companies themselves - that this is what they do. They need to live and breathe agility from the products they offer, to their leadership, and to their internal HR policies. You can't determine this from reading an ad slick - it's best to actually know the company and ask a LOT of questions. 

Finding the right alignment of Capacity, Location, Expectation with a consultancy with high Credibility can set you and your organization up for success.  After all, you are going to invest quite a bit of money and time in this effort. The investment of alignment time, is worth it. 

This article addressed 4 factors to consider when selecting your agile consultant or consultancy : Capacity, Location, Expectations and Credibility. 

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If you are seeking an agile coach or consultancy and would like a referral - reach out. I don't charge for this.  It's my way of helping agile transformations be more successful and sustainable by matching clients needs to the best providers. 

Will hyper-specialization and the gig economy effect agile as we know it?

Organizations and individuals are moving and shifting.   Maybe what we call " agile" should too. 

In this article, we’ll inspect some background around the gig economy and hyper-specialization.  As an agilist, I’ve identified two things that are in conflict with those concepts – long lived teams and team size – to remind us that in addition to inspecting what’s happening in the real world, we’ll need to adapt the way we engage and work with people / organizations moving forward.

Agilist need to inspect

For a bit of background, I thought I'd share a little on the gig economy and on hyper-specialization 

 According to the Pew Research Groups study in 2021,  16% of Americans have earned money from online gig platforms. The study seemed to focus in on gig work like Uber, Grub Hub, DoorDash, etc.  In the paper I didn't see anything about technology work - Design work, software programming, Marketing,-which surprised me.  Sites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer seem to be growing rapidly, and each have tens of thousands of people ready to work in this new gig economy.  The gig economy is growing and seems to be creeping its way into organizations of all size. It provides a way to pull in skilled workers only when you need them. And for the skilled worker, this provides a freedom that conventional employment just can't match.   In a podcast I listened to a few weeks ago ( I can't seem to find the reference at this time) an investment group mentioned that renting a home vs purchasing was on a rapid rise, as it provided a lifestyle that consumers wanted - freedom from repairs and strings -which is a further indication to me that things are shifting.  I think the gig economy is that as well, and it is on the rise.   

Harvard Business Review wrote about Hyper specialization in 2011  and Inc. magazine wrote Welcome the era of hyperspecialization in 2013.  The list of articles is growing, and the specializations are getting narrower and narrower.  As an example, in the field of marketing you have SEO expertise, content marketing, social networking, email campaign, and many more.  In software, it's no longer just divided any by Jr or Sr Developer, or by language, but into UI/UX,Database, Architecture, Front end/back end , and even down to specializations on specific front-end web development platforms.  As our skills increase and the needs grow, people are choosing a much more narrow field in which they want to specialize in for work.  This only makes sense as we've seen this hyper-specialization occur in many other fields. ( thank goodness we aren't still relying on barber surgeons for our healthcare)

While you may not work in a gig economy today, and you may now be on a long lived team,  the organization where you are working is likely looking for people with these skills to augment future growth. 

So here is where these two things will likely be in conflict with agile as we know it. 

Long Lived Teams: 

High performing team based work is predicated on long lived teams. The longer a team is together, the better they are at communicating with each other and the better the work product can become.  New teams, tend to start in the "forming & storming " phases of Tuckmans Model . As employers start leveraging short term expertise with the gig economy, teams may never get to a state of high performance or flow.  Also, the allure of the gig economy will likely push many of an organizations more talented people to leave their current employment- adding fuel to the great resignation.

 Team Size:

For teams to be really high performing, they also need to be small.  Matter of fact, the smaller the better as long as you have all the skills needed to accomplish the goal. Scrum helps us all know that a team should be no more that 7-9 people big, and those individuals having " T shaped skills" ( meaning they may have a deep knowledge in one thing but have a diverse ability to assist in lots of other types of areas) Hyper-specialization means there will be fewer and fewer individuals with T shaped skills, and to get the needed skills on a team to deliver a product in a increment you'd need far more than the recommended 7-9 people.  More people equals more lines of communication and more complexity in completing work. Consider this: at 5 people there are 10 lines of communication, at 9 people there are 36 lines of communication, at 14 there are 91 lines of communication. I think this illustration from Lighthouse makes an excellent visualization of why smaller teams can move more quickly than larger teams.

Combine these two items with a remote-first world of work post COVID, and I think you can see where this might be heading.   So, what should we do?

Agilist need to adapt

Gone should be the days of people saying: " We can't, because the Scrum Guide says _______".  Going forward we need to realize the world of work is forever changing, and adapting - and we agilists need to as well.  We need to meet people and organizations needs within their existing constraints and help them prepare to deliver value in what may come.  Can you imagine a future of really large agile teams made up of people with I-shaped skills that are all working within a gig economy? Or maybe a future structure without teams all together?  I can.   And I've no idea exactly how it might work, but I realize that our understanding of what is "best practices" today, likely won't work.   The very first line of the Agile Manifesto says " We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it."   and maybe it's time for us to really embrace it. 

The world of work is constantly evolving and shifting, and so should how we imagine being more agile in the way we work. 

In this article, we’ve inspected some background around the gig economy and hyper-specialization.  As an agilist, you’ve learned two things that are in conflict with those concepts – long lived teams and team size – to remind us that in addition to inspecting what’s happening in the real world. We need to both inspect and adapt the way we engage and work with people / organizations moving forward.

Why your agile transformation is likely going to fail

 

According to several recent articles, somewhere in the neighborhood of 75%-94% of all agile transformations will fail.  It's a startling statistic, and one I couldn't find a solid reference. It seems most people believe it to be true, but really hasn't been any studies to back up this claim. For the purposes of this article, I'm going to assume its fairly accurate - as it matches my experience and anecdotal evidence over the past 15 years. And yet, the business of agile transformation is booming. Demand for frameworks, training, and coaching/consulting services is rising.   As of this writing, on LinkedIn alone, there are over 24,000 job openings for agile coach in the United States.  Companies are clearly hiring for help in the pursuit to be more agile in the way they work.

So why do so many agile transformations fail?

Some of the main reasons would be:

1. You are trying to follow a framework

2. You have the wrong people.

3. You see a transformation as a light switch

 

You are trying to follow a framework

So many organizations seem to think that if they just follow a set of instructions, they will be an agile organization. This is especially true of large scaling frameworks - they look good ( and sell even better) but I'm not sure they actually deliver true results.  This doesn't mean that frameworks are bad, it just means they aren't the solution.   Frameworks are good places to start, but they shouldn't be considered a plug -and-play solution.  You can follow a framework perfectly and still be one of the least agile organizations.   Agility in organizations is about mindset, of the employees and the leadership - not about compliance with a framework.  Start with a framework if you must, then adapt it to fit your business goals and needs. 

You have the wrong people

Since agility in organizations is ultimately about mindset of people, it could be that you have the wrong people in your organization.   None of us likes to consider this factor, but I've seen it time and time again - where a person that believes everything must be planned in advance is put in a position to work in an agile area.  Leaders must consider mindset fit when making this type of transition, offer training and mentoring to help the individuals, but ultimately may need to make a decision to either move those people off that agile project or help them find a new role somewhere else. 

You see a transformation as a light switch

Many years ago, an agile training and consulting company I was working with went on a sales call with a major US retailer.   In the discovery call with the potential client, our team was laying out a transition strategy, an alignment of organizational goals for this transition, and a way to discover what might be the best fit for them as an organization.  Thats when the most Senior VP in the room said " I don't really want this rollout plan, I just want you to flip it ".    This leader saw a shift to agility for their extremely large organization as simple as turning on a light switch.  

Organizational change is hard, and takes time.    If consultants were brutally honest with you ( like we were with this potential client) moving  a traditionally structured organization through an agile transformation can take years, or even decades depending upon the size of the company. And since organizations are always losing staff and hiring staff, the process likely will never be " done".  Transformations are never finished.  Even after 4 years at my last company, we had made excellent progress, but will always have a ways to go. 

Wrapping up

Leaders should understand that starting a transformation will take serious time and investment, and still may not be successful.   Invest in the individuals in your organization constantly and consistently, and don't look for some framework to be the destination.   This is a worthy journey, that can produce an organization that is far more responsive to the ever changing world of business. 

Patience, focusing on the real goals of why you are making this shift, and ensuring you have the right mindset can hep you be far more successful.