Today, 7 March 2024, Sweden finally joined NATO as its 32nd member—almost a year after Finland joined the Alliance. It was about time. Authoritarian leaders in Türkiye and Hungary did their best to sabotage the process, leaving a sour taste in mouth.
This will officially put an end to Sweden’s 200 years of military non-alignment. “Russian World” can only be stopped by force. From now on, we’ll never again be alone in the Nordics and Baltics. The Russian fascist and terrorist state’s future looks hopeless.
Congrats Sweden, congrats NATO, and Slava Ukraini! 🇸🇪 🌻 🇪🇺
]]>After seeing 1000 posts on LinkedIn and elsewhere about Agile being dead, I wanted to understand what might have contributed to its alleged death. How do you kill a mutually reinforcing value system such as Agile? My hypothesis today is that it might actually still be alive, only badly beaten and scarred. Let’s find out what the postmortem revealed.
But first, before breaking this down, let’s see who you are. Are you a Developer? Designer? CEO? Marketing analyst? Salesperson? Product Manager? Product Owner? A knowledge worker of any sort? A Coach? A Leader? For the purposes of this article: it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you want to achieve together, what you believe, and whether you can change those beliefs or not, both individually and collectively. We’re all wired differently, and we’re not “resources”. However, becoming more Agile may actually require you to rewire your brain. I’m only half joking. Yes, you can apparently do that with Neuroplasticity :)
Secondly, where do you work? A big corporation? SME? Startup? Public sector? Nonprofit organisation? Agile is a tool, and tools work best when you pick the right one. If your organisation is very process-centric, inward-looking and non collaborative—and you want it to stay that way—then the Agile way of working might as well be dead (in your organisation).
Thirdly, what was the context? How did being Agile prevent you from achieving your desired outcome? Did you feel disempowered? Are you talking about the vanilla Agile as described in the Agile Manifesto, a particular Agile framework, or your organisation’s meeting habits? How did those habits contribute to the death of Agile (for you)? Did you copy a “model”—a set of practices—from another company, and end up disappointed that it didn’t work in your organisation?
Did you scale Agile instead of scaling down your organisation and the work? Where in the project/product life cycle are you? Did you not get the feedback from your client early enough, resulting in waste? What do you want to optimise for? Are you optimising only for Resource Efficiency and not allowing any slack? How did you set up your Agile teams? Did you apply the Agile way of working only locally at the team level, without the required structural and cultural changes in the organisation and its leadership? These are just some aspects that might have affected your perceived value of Agile. Continue asking those questions.
Let’s break this down now. Whatever your circumstances are, if you still say Agile is dead, you’ve paralysed one or more of the four Agile limbs:
I’ve used the verb believe here, because Agile is a mutually reinforcing value system (and not a religion). So in a nutshell, by saying Agile is dead you perhaps don’t believe in Agile values. Or perhaps you don’t recognise those values in your daily work. Is there something else we’re missing? What’s not included here?
First, let’s make one thing clear: Agile has nothing to do with software
. That said, there are certain things that are not prescribed in the Agile Manifesto, for example: leadership, product management, practices, and metrics. We do need those as well, but do we declare Agile dead for the things it doesn’t even include? Are we projecting our hopes and needs onto Agile, only to discover we need to do the work ourselves?
We should listen and take constructive criticism seriously. It’s a gift, and a sign that people care. However, we should always try to be aware of the hidden agenda (if any) behind the bad press.
Here are just some examples of arguments I’ve heard against Agile and the industry:
Agile kills innovation. What is innovation? It’s hard work; it’s your habits that you use (and change), to experiment with things. Let’s be honest: Agile is not preventing you from doing just that, is it?
AI is killing Agile. AI is a game changer, but I think AI has more important things to worry about. So do we.
Consultants are killing Agile: The industry is mixed with people with different backgrounds and experience levels. You have to find the right one for you (people-first, remember?).
Certifications are killing Agile: It’s a big business nowadays, and certifications do not necessarily correlate with experience. Use your common sense in the buzzword jungle.
What I sense is a need to reimagine Agile, and make it more accessible to all.
Do we want to uncover what Agile already is, by removing all the fluff? Or do we want to add, remove or clarify the existing values and principles in it? What are the next steps for strengthening the fundamentals, and getting back to the roots?
In addition to the original Agile Manifesto, there are a number of newer initiatives, for example:
What are your thoughts on these? Can they help you in achieving your desired outcomes? What can you do in your team and in your organisation to advocate for these values? What practices can you create that support these values? What can you contribute to these communities?
My intention was not to write an ode to Agile
. I’ve examined some of the main aspects of the Agile way of working. I’ve argued that you, your teams, your organisation (system), and your context are unique to you. There’s no “The One Best Way”. That means there’s no silver bullet, and you still need to put in the change effort. There are lots of questions in this article, and the word Agile is mentioned dozens of times.
Call it what you want if you don’t like the word—however, whatever it is, I’d rather catch it alive than dead. Instead of killing it, can we agree to try to make it better? If we look up, there are plenty of complex challenges to tackle, both locally and globally. I believe we humans still need help not only in deciding, creating and communicating what to do, but also in uncovering better ways of doing it together. What’s stopping you today?
]]>In 2023, as every year (see 2022, 2021, 2020), I’ve tried to focus on things I can affect and improve—including self-improvement. However, this year was mixed with grief, sorrow, and splashes of joy. At the same time, I focused on working remotely with my two distributed agile teams. Everything affects everything else, so I’ll start with the bigger picture: war, pandemic and climate crisis. I’ll follow up with what I did, what I learnt, and conclude with my goals for 2024.
The world is changing very fast now; it feels like it’s boiling over, with polarisation and several proxy world wars going on. It’s easy to pick a side in Russia’s war with the West, but I won’t go into the Israeli–Palestinian conflict here (other than to say that it’s a catastrophic failure on the part of the international community).
Reacting to Russian terrorist state’s senseless and brutal meat grinder war in Ukraine, Finland not only joined NATO in 2023, but also negotiated a new bilateral DCA with the United States. At the time of writing, Finland’s entire eastern border—NATO’s and the European Union’s northeastern border with Russia—is closed, due to a Russian hybrid attack against Finland and the West.
This is obviously something I can’t affect. However, I seek to understand (not approve) Russia’s frame of reference. I want to see where their imperialist ambitions, constant bullying, and total disregard for human life comes from. In 2023 I read the following books, which I consider required reading for everyone living anywhere near the Russians:
Russia’s War, by Jade McGlynn, should also be good. I haven’t read it yet, which is why it’s not included in the list.
I’m aware of not only classic Russian literature and classical music, but also Russian atrocities throughout history. However, these books made me realise how hopeless Russia’s future looks, for as long as Russians refuse to confront and accept their collective guilt for their past and present crimes. The world would be a much better place if Russians looked in the mirror even once in a generation. Nazi Germany did that after WWII. I’m not hopeful, so until that happens, we’ll continue to suffer from Russian fascism (Ruscism), imperialism and terror—or “Russian World” (Russkiy Mir) as they call it.
Vladimir “Putler” even has a European authoritarian puppet at his disposal: Hungary’s Viktor Orbán (and probably others too). But make no mistake: when Putin falls, Russia is still Russia—if it doesn’t break up. Any Finn or Ukrainian will tell you this: Russia can only be stopped by force. In fact, a recent poll suggested that half of Finns say Finland should prepare for war in coming years. I think that tells a lot about Finland: Finns like to be prepared (and they are), and that’s a very good thing. Now we just need to get Sweden in NATO as well.
How a country joins EU
— Darth Putin (@DarthPutinKGB) November 8, 2023
How a country joins Russia. pic.twitter.com/rQSNhOrMvw
2023 was the year when COVID-19 became a taboo. Having been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease back in 2012, I’ve been genuinely shocked by people’s laissez-faire attitude to the COVID-19 pandemic during the last 3-4 years. In 2023 I was still trying to recover—not from the pandemic itself, but from many people’s nonchalant reaction to it. This behaviour includes disregard, science denial, ableism, and lack of empathy, compassion and solidarity for vulnerable people.
With this observation, I can imagine what happens when the next—perhaps even deadlier—pandemic occurs. Secondly, I was surprised to see what the pandemic revealed about crisis management, communication and nationalism in Sweden. Thirdly, I was disappointed by how little we learnt collectively.
2023 was the warmest year on record. The COP28 in December 2023 agreed on a roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuel. However, while it’s a step in the right direction, it’s too little, too late. Nature has the final say in all climate negotiations—it’s arrogant to think otherwise.
I’ll do whatever I can to reduce my carbon footprint: I don’t eat meat, and I don’t own a car, for example. While I try to live by my values and principles, I do realise my actions are just a drop in the ocean. A wider systemic change is required, and the book Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity aims to explain how.
In 2023 I continued working as consultant Scrum Master at the insurance company Trygg-Hansa. With my two internationally distributed agile teams I’m regularly trying out ideas from what I read, from my daily walks, or from my colleagues, considering the context at the time. To visualise both the work and how we work together, we’ve created and use several information radiators, such as the team working agreement, gap analysis, market of skills, daily kata, and team canvas. I feel privileged for this opportunity to work and learn together with my wise and fun colleagues and teams. Thank you everyone! 🙏
Working remotely helps expose any communication or collaboration issues in an organisation. Sounds familiar? Yes, that’s what Scrum does too. It’s not remote work or Scrum that causes these potential issues. Instead, see these issues as an opportunity to improve your culture, organisational agility, psychological safety, discovery, and time-to-market capacity. It’s up to you to decide how inclusive and effective you want your distributed teams and organisation to be.
After working almost fully remotely since 2020 for two different organisations (and partly remotely already since 2007), I firmly believe that the future of knowledge work is flexible and remote-first. Knowledge work is social, but it isn’t a family, and it certainly isn’t a place. We’ve demonstrated that working remotely from anywhere, across multiple countries, cultures and time zones can work well. I do my best to connect with the people I work with, and commit to contributing to clarity, focus, openness, creativity, healthy culture, and better ways of working. I’ve written more about this in my Distributed Agile Teams article.
Outside of work, I helped take care of my elderly parents who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and became a guardian for my mother. That created lots of paperwork as well. The ongoing challenge is to find a care home for both. All this is mentally very taxing, but at the same time, I’m grateful that I’ve been able to spend some time with my parents and help them, both remote and onsite. On top of that, several of my relatives passed away this year 😢 🤍
Against this background and with all the emotional baggage it generated, 2023 was both very hard and rewarding. The Portuguese word Saudade perhaps best describes it. So, how did I recharge, and gain positive energy? In short, by trying to take care of my physical and mental health so that I can keep becoming better, and help others do the same.
Here are some examples of how I did just that:
My goals for 2024 remain quite similar to last year. Some of these have become my new habits now.
artillery mailingservice.
Some of the goals above may sound more like tasks. I see them as actions that support my many interests. Here are some of them:
That’s a lot! 😅 The key is to focus on a few areas and continue (un)learning, while keeping an open mind about the rest. All the areas above boil down to the same thing: uncovering better ways of creating value together.
I can clearly recognise my own seven-year cycles of change. Understanding what I can influence and affect is another matter. We live in a nonlinear world where small local changes can have big consequences on the system level. And that system feels very unstable at the moment. Agility, systems thinking and modern leadership will remain key skills tackling the challenges of our times. We just need to stop sleepwalking—Europe especially.
I closed my previous end-of-year reflection in 2022 with the words I’m afraid things might get worse before they get better
. I stand by those words, and add this: think globally, act locally.
Thanks for reading. Here’s to 2024! Stay safe. Slava Ukraini! 🌻 🇪🇺
]]>Above you can see the trailer, a sneak peek at the content on my new YouTube channel. I’m doing this because it’s fun, not because I’m good at it 🙂
This is a side project, a visual (video) diary, much like my Instagram account that contains occasional reflections on what I see, hear or read. It’s a way for me to focus and take care of my mental health, in these times of complex proxy world wars, in a world that seems to plunge into polarisation, violence and darkness, once again.
In these clips, I’m usually not editing or removing audio. What you hear comes from the environment, at the time of filming. My intention is not to change the original experience; I’m merely trying to reproduce some of it.
Lastly: even if it’s my YouTube channel, it’s not about me. It’s about these beautiful and precious places in nature. You can subscribe to the channel if you want.
Thank you 🙏
]]>People aren’t resources. People have resources. Resources are things. This article aims to remind everyone that people are people. Amazing, isn’t it? 🙂
I’m always amazed when I hear companies—especially companies claiming to work in an agile way—call people “resources”. Using this kind of language may imply that you not only think that people can be reduced and replaced at will, but also that you’re valuing processes and tools over individuals and interactions. You perhaps do this unconsciously. Or perhaps it’s just your mindset. Either way, it goes against the first value of the Agile Manifesto, which states clearly that agile is fiercely people-first.
Calling people “resources” means valuing processes and tools over individuals and interactions.
Language is important, and we don’t always think nor realise the consequences of the language we use. Our way of speaking and behaving sometimes still originates from “Taylorism”, and the practices of the Industrial Age. In his recent book Leadership Is Language, L. David Marquet describes two different work modes: thinking and decision-making (“bluework“), and doing and execution (“redwork“). These two modes require two different languages. In our agile and VUCA world, the doers must also be the deciders—not “resources” on the receiving end.
This is not just semantics. Nor is it a pedantic detail. How much psychological safety would you experience if you’re reduced to merely a “resource“? Would you feel comfortable expressing and being yourself in that climate? Because psychological safety is a property of a group in an organisation, being labelled a “resource” is not particularly helpful. It’s offensive, and may even cause disengagement. What we want to do instead is to create a climate of openness where differing opinions matter, and where diversity and inclusion are valued. Psychological safety is the most important enabler of effective teamwork, according to the findings of Google’s five-year study Project Aristotle (2016). “Resources” (things) can’t build all that, but people with resources can.
We can learn a lot from sports teams and bands. Would you call Lionel Messi a “resource”? If Thom Yorke wouldn’t be part of Radiohead any longer, would they look for a new “resource”? No, they would look for a new individual, a new member. That sounds much more inclusive and respectful, doesn’t it? Now, not everyone plays in a band, or is a world-class football player. However, the principle stays the same: everyone in the team has a piece of the truth, and changing the members affect both the group dynamics in the team and the outcome of that team’s work. If humans were just swappable “resources”, that wouldn’t be the case.
What should we call “HR” then? I don’t know, but People Operations already sounds better. Why not just People? Human “Resources” is an oxymoron. As we’ve seen, human “resource” is a word from a different era; an era where “The One Best Way” was sought after. Modern times require lots of probing, and lots of trial and failure. For that kind of complexity, we need all the different skills and variability people can offer. Give people the best resources, and a safe flexible environment (WFA) where they can do their best work—see also my article on Distributed Agile Teams.
Don’t fall into the trap of using outdated and devaluing language. Resources are things. In this post I’ve tried to emphasise why this is such an important distinction. In summary:
Remember: people who still refer to you as a “resource”, can never take away the fact that the way you are wired is unique.
]]>I recently put my new Meindl Guffert GTX trekking boots to test in the Alps, through rocky mountain trails and difficult off-trail terrain, to a glacier trip in 4000+ metres with crampons on. My feet are ca. 27cm, so I took the UK size 44.5 (inner length 287mm). This was to allow for some extra room for my toes as I have some arthritis in my big toe. The boots worked like a charm and fit like a glove, especially after I experimented with different lacings :)
I consider Meindl Guffert GTX a B1 boot, and they work well with C1 crampons (Meindl’s categorisation for these is B/C). It was a tight competition between Hanwag and Meindl. Hanwag Tatra II Bunion GTX is also very good (to name one similar model), but Meindl won because of the wider Comfort Fit design.
Thanks Meindl Sweden for your help, and for the fast delivery! I can’t wait to use these also on Scandinavian terrain, for which they might be a bit too heavy and warm, during the summer at least. However, I prefer having a pair of boots that can do it all, and support the ankle as well. It depends on what you want to do. There are lighter boots for other, specific purposes.
]]>Agile is fiercely people-first. And yet, agile frameworks come with prescribed events, artifacts, accountabilities, commitments and whatnot. Earlier, I’ve written about the oxymoron of agile habits: responding to change vs. running on autopilot. Today, I thought I’d focus on the first agile value: individuals and interactions over processes and tools. More specifically, I’ll talk about our agile meeting habits.
These meetings—or events as they’re called in Scrum—update or replace our existing meeting habits when done repeatedly. Sometimes these habits are even called “ceremonies”. I dislike that word because it implies putting process before people. Language is important. People-first means DEI, transparency, trust, commitment, flexibility and fun, among many other things. With people, one size does not fit all.
Daily Scrums, for example, consequently eliminate the need for other meetings
(The 2020 Scrum Guide). It sounds good in theory. However, if we merely bring our existing auto-pilot habits to these agile events, we’re setting ourselves up for failure—and in the worst case, perhaps end up having those other meetings, too!
This is even more important in a remote context, where most work happens both distributed and asynchronously. When we do meet synchronously, online or onsite, we should make it count. To make these events work for us, we need to be aware of both the existing organisational routines and people’s habits, and short-circuit the brain’s autopilot mode. Running these events on autopilot—as we do with any habit—kills agility.
Now, regarding agility: I believe that becoming more agile should be an intermediary goal. It’s a goal that co-exists with the product goal. Becoming more agile is a goal that we can control much more than our product goal. Becoming more agile increases the likelihood that we’ll reach our product goal and our desired outcome. Inspecting and adapting our agile events requires us to make our current habits transparent. It’s our habits that either help or hinder our agility.
Here are just some examples of our event habits:
Our understanding of our habits, and our ability to change them are much more important than our knowledge about the chosen agile framework.
We don’t want to stop thinking. So how can we stay alert, and inspect and adapt our agile teams’ events—or the wider organisation’s routines—if they don’t suit the purpose any longer? Our understanding of our habits, and our ability to change them are much more important than our knowledge about the chosen agile framework. The same is true for the wider organisation as well: what’s the point if only the agile teams change, if the organisational habits (routines) don’t change? I’m not talking about “us” and “them”; with “us”, I mean everyone in the whole organisation or ecosystem.
So that’s how I see individuals and interactions over processes and tools in practice and in reality. And nowhere else is it more visible than when people meet. To change is to change our habits by short-circuiting the brain’s autopilot mode. Easier said than done, but visualising our practices, asking questions, and in general, staying curious and proactive is a good start. By running a better routine you become the new you: a person who is not only more aware of the habit loop, but also someone who becomes iteratively more capable of delivering value in the team. Our ever-changing event habits are just one vehicle for that.
]]>I've been wanting to climb Piramide Vincent in the Monterosa massif in the Italian Alps for years. Today it finally happened, exactly 204 years after the first ascent (Aug 5, 1819) by Johann Nikolaus Vincent and his companions 🙂.
The conditions were perfect: cold weather, clear blue sky, and almost no wind at the top. This is my long-awaited fourth four-thousander in the Alps, after Punta Giordani (4046m), Punta Gnifetti (Signalkuppe, 4554m), and Castore (4223m). The plan was to also climb Balmenhorn/Cristo delle Vette (4167m) on our way down, but sadly we missed it. Next time!
Thank you mountain guide Gabriele Carrara from The Gressoney Alpine Guide Society for your leadership in guiding me and another client Holger Rudolf safely around crevasses to this wonderful place! It was truly a memorable day in the mountains.
This experience will stay with me for a long time, as a source of energy, happiness and grit. At the same time, it fills me with great pain and frustration to see the glaciers retreating (among many other things), due to the climate change we all are responsible for 😞.
]]>We really did have everything, didn't we?
What contributes to happiness? Whose happiness are we talking about? In this article I’d like to offer some gut-level observations not only on a generic level as a Nordic citizen, but also as a Finn who has lived and worked in six European countries to date. I’ll then elaborate on a personal level on a few selected areas. I’m obviously not an expert in happiness, but along with loneliness I do find the topic interesting enough to write about.
A couple of things made me write this article: firstly, the notion that Finnish people are the happiest people in the world, for the sixth year in the row (2023). Secondly, there was a post on LinkedIn last year that caught my attention. It was about two studies that found that people in the Nordic countries feel the least lonely in Europe. These two things didn’t make much sense to me, so I started reflecting on what looked like a paradox.
Happiness could be related to one or more of the following factors, in no particular order:
I could go on, and of course there are many other factors I’m not aware of. For you, the list is probably a bit different. Happiness is a balancing act, a by-product of some action. Let’s zoom into a few areas in this list.
So, how can the “happiest people in the world” elect a right-wing, racist government in 2023—“a cabinet of horrors”, as Süddeutsche Zeitung in Germany put it? As a Finn living abroad, and as a human being, I find it incomprehensible. Perhaps it’s the result of the overall polarisation and bigotry in social media and in the world, reflected also in Finland. This is very unlikely to increase happiness for anyone.
On the other hand, Finns (along with other Nordic people) have a high level of trust in democratic institutions. However, blindly trusting national authorities—like the Swedes did during the COVID-19 pandemic—can be a big mistake, undermine democracy, and even turn into a catastrophe. That’s what happened in Sweden, with still no one taking responsibility for the failed pandemic response, and with no lessons learnt.
I’d argue that in Finland it’s more socially acceptable to not feel well, and be vocal about mental health issues, compared with the other countries I’ve lived in. Can this genuine and bittersweet attitude be one possible explanation for the “happiest people” result? Just a thought.
Why would Nordic people feel less lonely than the rest of Europe, according to the surveys? I believe loneliness is a real issue also in the Nordic countries. However, Nordic people probably compensate for their loneliness by having a closer relation to nature, and spending time with the family and a small circle of friends from childhood and early adulthood. Most Nordic people are individualists who don’t make or need any new friends after those early years, compared to Central and Southern Europe where people are much more open to new friendships also as adults.
The personal “gains” from the Nordic individualism that’s supposed to set us “free” are shadowed by less solidarity for common good. This in turn enforces isolation and loneliness, and discourages taking responsibility. Even if you’re “free” to be individualistic in the Nordics, loneliness becomes real if you’re acting outside the boundaries and norms of what is accepted by the collective. It’s hard to break social norms. You’ll feel more lonely in the Nordics if you stick out from the crowd.
How do you see yourself in a few months’ or years’ time? Are you unhappy because of that perceived gap? This friction can lead to either analysis paralysis, or to action via new habits. The bigger the gap, the more frustrated you can become. This is where both mindfulness (acceptance) and habits (bringing focus and structure) can help. Do what energises you.
Then there’s the social aspect to happiness too. One of the best happiness advice I’ve seen is this: always be useful. Here are some specific examples of me striving for being useful:
You define what happiness means to you. In this article I’ve reflected on some of the factors that, according to my experience, affect happiness. Living almost half of my life in several European countries has given me plenty of food for thought, improved my critical thinking, and widened my perspective. On the other hand, this new perspective—or we might call it awareness—is also making it harder for me to go back to the Nordic way of being: in the same Nordics where some of the happiest and least lonely people in the world live.
]]>“Agile habits” may sound like an oxymoron. Our central operating mode is autopilot—in other words, habits—because the brain is trying to conserve energy. On the other hand, we want to respond to change continuously. So how do our habits help or hinder us in putting people first, and creating value collaboratively?
It turns out it depends not only on whether you are aware of your habits, but also on whether you know how to break a habit into its components so that you can change the behaviour. Habits are central to behaviour change.
As Charles Duhigg explains in his book The Power of Habit, the habit loop consists of three parts: When I see [CUE], I will do [ROUTINE] in order to get a [REWARD]. Cues are often related to location, time, emotional state, other people, or immediately preceding action. Routines can be anything physical, mental or emotional, ranging from simple to complex. Rewards can be food or emotional payoff, such as promotion, for example.
It’s the craving (desire) for a reward that drives the habit loop. And you’re probably not even aware of what that craving is. What makes it even more challenging is that habits (good or bad) never truly disappear as they’re encoded in the brain, driven by the craving, and waiting for the right trigger: the [CUE]. Forming a new habit begins with a new craving.
Repetition is a form of change: you get what you repeat. As a habit is something you do repeatedly, changing it requires changing the [ROUTINE] component in the habit feedback loop: in other words, the behaviour that happens between the [CUE] and the [REWARD]. Once you’ve identified the [ROUTINE], you’ll need to look hard for the [REWARD] you’re craving. Next, you’ll want to isolate the [CUE] that triggers the habit loop. After these steps, with your new awareness, you’re hopefully ready to make a plan for your new, improved routine, and commit to it—until it’s time to change it again.
Sounds easy? It’s not. You’ll also need to believe you can change. Change is social, and your behaviour is shaped by other people and the environment. You can’t rely only on your willpower or your good intentions. Building habits that are easy to do increases your chances that you’ll actually do them. (Remember, the brain tries to save effort!) Could it be that the fear of change is mostly about the fear of losing the reward? If we frame the habit change as creating an alternative (and easy to do) routine to the same or similar reward, change can become much easier. And that’s the key. The change only becomes real if it becomes part of who you are: your habit.
What does all this have to do with being agile? Everything. Responding to change requires you and your organisation to be aware of your habits and the habit loop, so that you can inspect and adapt your routines. You need a good system and a supportive environment to make progress, because we humans often fall for instant gratification.
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
There’s nothing wrong with running on autopilot (without our hundreds of habits we’d soon become mentally paralysed). We’re building on our automated habits to save energy for more advanced activities. It becomes problematic only when the habit is destructive, or when we’re just mindlessly repeating the habit, stopping to uncover better ways. That’s the road to mediocrity at best—and your customers/audience will take notice.
Here are some examples in agile context:
The role that habits play in an agile organisation is an underrecognized topic. I can highly recommend two books if you want to dig deeper into the power of habits (as you probably should if you want to uncover better ways): Atomic Habits by James Clear, and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. I’m only scratching the surface here, but having a better understanding of how habits work has been very valuable on my own journey as Scrum Master and mindfulness enthusiast.
Don’t be a victim of your habits. Becoming better at the external agile feedback loop requires you to become aware of your — and your organisation’s — internal habit feedback loops. Choose your habits wisely, be mindful of the habit loop, and review and fine-tune your routines often. Thanks for reading, and good luck in improving your agile habits!
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