Over Niagra Falls in A Barrel

I'm a certified scrum master.

No more waterfall method of software application development. No more going over Niagra Falls in a barrel. No, now we repel down the face of the falls, leaping from one ledge to the next, always pausing to look back up, look again at the goal, then focus on the next ledge.

They're there. The footholds do exist. Teams find them.

There's a lot of discipline to scrum teams. On the outside, gathering in a group, signing up for tasks and going away to work may seem like a pretty casual way of conducting business. No one says, here's your next assignment. Do it! Do it! Do it you moron! No, the scrum master may say how much time do you need to get this done, and "what's the obstacle to getting this done?" and if the team member responds honestly, the scrum master will go to work to remove the obstacle. I can't stress enough how valuable this is. It clears the way, opens up honest conversations and frankly clears the smoke and mirrors. No hiding behind "obstacles".

It's interesting the way we cling to our roadblocks. They give us excuses for not doing our best, we hide in their shadows, we sit down beside the road and we get the curious satisfaction of letting someone hold us back. We enjoy being held back, because, well that's safe. Right here is good enough. I'll get there eventually, but you gotta understand it's not me. It's him/her/it. If we're honest, we all keep a few get out jail free cards. That migraine that comes up, that car with the bad transmission, the wacko boss who can't communicate his wishes.

It takes a new way of thinking. Get out of your barrel, because it's no way to get things done.