I was walking the streets of London near Fortnum & Mason. I came across this posh Italian tailor who had this on his walls “Slow fashion”. He was selling slow fashion for those who could afford it and explain why it added value to who you could be when you are dressed right.
I was walking the streets of Munich near Pasinger Arcaden. I came across this coffee place where they had on their walls “Slow coffee”. I was intrigued. I ordered some coffee and I was in for a wait. They let it drip and asked me if I wanted cake while I waited. I don’t have a sweet tooth. I have sweet teeth. I said “YES”. Got myself a cake and ate it slowly for over 12 minutes when my coffee was ready. It was coffee that had dripped slowly and I enjoyed every drop of it.
Fashion has gone slow. Coffee brewing has gone slow.
Does our Agile transformation need to be fast?
Not really, I think a slow and steady transformation is what a team needs.
Why?
- A fast agile tranformation assumes a team is ready. Very often teams are forced to work Agile because it is the “way to go”. We don’t drop a kid in the deep end of the swimming pool before the kid is trained to swim in the shallow end.
- A fast agile transformation assumes a leader is ready. Leaders are good in playing the company dynamics and can drive Agile transformation for their teams. Can they drive it for their teams and organization without training?
- A fast agile transformation assumes an organization is ready. Very often one well meaning team goes Agile and assumes that the teams surrounding it will go Agile when they see the light. We don’t add a rookie swimmer to a relay team till the rookie swimmer is trained to swim a distance in a particular speed.
I think an Agile transformation is going to be successful when we can slow it down to the speed that is right for the team and organization. When we can ensure that the team, leader and organization are trained right, they are ready to enjoy that slow cup of coffee.
If you are interested in Agile training for you, your team or organization, look here: Training – Moss and Lichens