It’s summer, what do I have in my bag? A few scenes and dialogues experienced by myself or others, a poem that was addressed to me (yes indeed). I hope this will make you smile, as it did for me.
Motivation
“Agile” training (whatever it may be), it’s the beginning of the training, an introduction to the history of agility. We review the different principles. And always, systematically, someone bursts out laughing, or conspicuously shows a wry smile.
What makes you laugh? (but I know very well)
Build projects around motivated individuals. Pfffff. What a bunch of starry-eyed dreamers.
Oh yes, you mean: of course with motivated people all projects succeed!
Well yes, it’s so obvious no need to elaborate.
(my turn to display a big, very big, wry smile)
I completely agree especially since it facilitates our objective. Let’s forget everything else, all the training, agility, let’s keep only one objective: let’s manage to keep people motivated and all our projects will succeed. Agreed?
Errrrr… yes.
Agile generation
This one comes from Claude Emond (@claudeemond), one of my idea dealers right now, I hope he won’t hold it against me for telling it (I’m letting him know right now). Claude gives sessions for students. The students are passionate but dubious:
- With the managers we know and have, it will be impossible to apply the ideas you advocate. We like them but in real life…
To which Claude responds:
- Agreed, but when they’re dead, when some of you become the new managers, make sure you remember these ideas and this moment!
I love it.
The prince of agile
A poem, yes, I received a poem from a client, a friend, whom I hadn’t run into for a long time. Naturally he must be very very close to burnout :)
So here’s what he writes to me at the end of spring:
By the way, Prince of Agile, that sounds good, doesn’t it? To motivate you to respond, I made you a nice song, here:
With a quick smile and a dell laptop
I go off to court the IT folk
Many consultants don’t have my proud bearing
I am Pablo Pernot the prince of agile
The prince of agile
To go win glean some story points
I risk the burndown, in the middle of a sprint
But I’m rather scrum so my strength is tranquil
My heart is serene and my tool agile
And my tool agile…
For I am the prince of agile
The priiiince of agile
Unless you’re Spiral or Waterfall
You can only love me always
You will be granted the right to call me the prince of agile. ahah. I’m likely to carry that one around for a while.
Dialogue following a ball point game
To finish, a dialogue following a ball point game which -without me knowing- could have turned into a drama. The person runs into their boss in the hallways following a day of training…I’ll let them speak:
…
Barely arrived, I had the pleasure of being accosted by my boss, looking angry:
You made a real mess for me with your training!
?
Thursday afternoon…
?
The balls!
There, I start to see where he’s going…
My pre-sales people saw you playing ball, it went around the building!
Ha…I see…
They told me you understand, Thierry, we’re up to here with work, and them, they’re playing ball!!!
OK, but hey, at the same time, it’s a training, and in this context, I assure you, it makes sense: it puts your finger on the fact that it’s with…
Yes well, I know, I know, but there, they want to go on strike…
Pardon?
Well yes, there are lots of stupid things missing in the app for demos, consolidated reports, in particular, so they’re tired of getting crushed in demos and they don’t want to go anymore.
Well….just ask us to make them, no? we’re here for that, no ?
Yes but you have things to do, we’re 3 years behind on the new offering…
Well yes but at the same time, we’re talking about 10 reports, we know them, no analysis to do, we put them in the flow and they’re taken care of when we have a gap, that works…
Ha? ha well OK… but don’t tell the product manager, it’ll mess him up…
There, I almost told him about the Washington national monument (5 whys), but given his state, so I refrained…
…
There you go. So be careful when you organize your agile workshops…