Agile Isn’t Enough: Revolution over Transformation - Todd Charron

Agile

RevolutionOver Transformation

Isn’t Enough

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pabak/14496866427/

8’s

Warm Up

Agile

RevolutionOver Transformation

Isn’t Enough


Todd CharronTwitter: @toddcharron

Email: [email protected]

Agile Coach, ImprovisorMentor: Lean Startup Machine Founder: Follow Your Fear Day

Who Am I?

do I do this?Why

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/idUS206536+13-Feb-2012+BW20120213

At the current churn rate, 75% of the S&P 500 will be replaced by 2027.

Year Tenure for average firm on S&P 500 (years)

1958 61

1980 25

2011 18

Of Your

Use TheWHOLE

Organization

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125992663@N02/14597738221/

Organizations need to be cutting edge thinkers

https://www.flickr.com/photos/superde1uxe/3550318988

Leaders Not Followers

https://www.flickr.com/photos/charliedees/3369199498

BUT

AGILEChangesHow The

Organization

WORKS

IS

AGILEDoesn’t

CHANGE

OrganizationWho The

AREWe Need To

Change

WHOOrganizations

Who Do YouWork For?

Who Are You?

Or do you relinquish itto leadership?

Can you bring your full

power, creativity,

intelligence to work every

day?

Why Revolutions?


Agile Transformation

Styles

Thou Shalt Be Agile!Top Down

https://www.flickr.com/photos/43015643@N05/6812009604

Changes practices but rarely changes the organization

Bottom Up

Are we really committed?

Pilot Team

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eggstudio/4768879192

Will we ever get there? Do we even have a vision of where we’re going?

Gradual Evolution


https://www.flickr.com/photos/pikawil/15243882912/

DOOMED!

Culture attracts and retains top Talent

Culture Wins Over Process

Need tobake it

into yourDNA


Dictatorships

Organizations Operate Like Dictatorships


This happens whether you want it to or not

Rule Through Authority, Suppress Dissent, and Use Fear


- Gene Sharp

The population gets turned into a mass of isolated individuals


Cannot do much of their own initiative


- Gene Sharp

People are often too frightened to share their hatred of the dictatorship


Current Organizational Structures May be Removing Power from People


You only have authority if the people recognize it

Authority is an illusion

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinou/133982614

Authority can make change but only winning hearts and minds can sustain it


We must make change on an emotional level


Authority: DirectionForceCoercion

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-margie/1535376771

So if not authority, then what?


Liberty



Liberty: FreedomAutonomyOpportunity

How far can we go creating liberated organizations?

Valve, Zappos, Netflix experimenting with increasing liberty


We can be more free, more liberated


We will get better

We will be better


Symptoms of a dictatorship

Incompetent Bureaucracy, excess controls, ineffective policies and operations


Institutional conflicts and personal rivalries


People may become apathetic, skeptical and even hostile to the regime


How do we defeat a dictator?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/birgerking/7080728397

Rebellions can be put down

* Warning: Revolutions start as rebellions

To remove the dictator we must remove its legitimacy and the rewards that sustain it


7 Steps To Revolution

1. Who are you?2. Have values… and live by

them3. The Dictator4. Craft our narrative5. Build our tribe6. Celebrate our victories7. Build autonomy

1. Who are you?

Organizational Identity Quadrants

As a companyAs a group of rebels

Who are you?

Who is the face of this change?

Who is your leader?

Be intentional.Be polarizing.

What’s your point of view?

Who wouldn’t fit in here?

Who are you not?

...and live by them

2. Have Values

Keep Method WeirdWhat would MacGyver Do?Innovate Don’t ImitateCollaborate, Collaborate, CollaborateCare Like Crazy

Method Values:

3. The Dictator

The Dictator is the biggest threat or problem we can unite around solving


4. Craft our narrative

Organizational Declaration of Independence

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kazvorpal/10732801656

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

We are uncovering better ways of developingsoftware by doing it and helping others do it.Through this work we have come to value:

That is, while there is value in the items onthe right, we value the items on the left more.

Exercise: There was a time

When _________________And we could have done ______ or ______ but instead we did ________ because we believe _________

There was a time...

5. Build our tribe

Become More Group’ish

Flip Your Hive Switch

https://www.flickr.com/photos/siamesepuppy/8349249192

Warm Ups and Other Rituals

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bantam10/12866120865

Synchrony Builds Trust

Focus on What You Have In Common

Focus on similarity not diversity

Membership Rather Than Followership

Dancing Dissolves HierarchyPlay Poker

Lose Yourself In The Group

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bantam10/12866120865

How will you keep Method weird?

Create Positive Rites Of Passage

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_jones/1234969885

Tribes, Squads, Chapters, GuildsSprints, Scrum, Daily Scrum, Retrospectives

Create Symbols, Names, Insider Language

Give your members a name- Beliebers is taken

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joebielawa/8107447247

Be factual, don’t sugar coat

6. Celebrate our victories

Provide Immediate Recognition for those living the values

7. Build Autonomy

Empowerment

Or Go Against The Grain

Embrace Ideas That Seem Uncomfortable

Trust Their Choices Even If They Are Different Than Your Own

Autonomy requires Clarityand Competence

If not, fix THAT rather than remove power

Trust that they are competent and have clarity of vision

Could we solve this problem by increasing freedom instead of reducing it?- Penn Jillett

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/28681681196

Why Are They There?

If you don’t believe they can understand the vision or pick up the skills

Wrapping Up

The is THE top priority

You need to be intentional about who you are

The is an ongoing long term effort

This is the thing you have to scale

You need to lead it and own it

Outsiders Can Help

Reminder...

BUT

AGILEChangesHow The

Organization

WORKS

IS

AGILEDoesn’t

CHANGE

OrganizationWho The

AREWe Need To

Change

WHOOrganizations

RevolutionStart a


Todd CharronTwitter: @[email protected]

Technology

Agile Isn’t Enough: Revolution over Transformation - Todd Charron