End of an intensive month of conferences to which I’m going to give some echo here. First a short article on DareFest (Antwerp) 2015, then will come one on Lean Kanban Fr 2015, finally the 2015 Scrum Gathering in Prague. On the presentation of the DareFest conference it is indicated: “for troublemakers and for those who dare”, so when I responded to Maarten, I felt quite comfortable in the role.
Darefest is above all a magnificent place: the quays in Antwerp, a warehouse refurbished, but the old cranes are still there to give it character, the meals are provided by kitchen/trucks full of charm. And Antwerp is magnificent. Really (I preferred Antwerp to Prague, which is nevertheless already very beautiful).
It’s also my first conference in beNext colors.
Open Adoption (a.k.a OpenSpace Agility)
DareFest was the opportunity to do a workshop on Open Adoption. That’s the name I give to what I learned from Dan Mezick who initially called it Open Agile Adoption, and which has since become OpenSpace Agility. For my part, trying this approach outside of IT, I think it’s interesting to remove the word Agile, the true meaning of this approach being to support a change that is respectful of everyone and effective.
Open Adoption is based on Harrison Owen’s Open Space technology, I’ve been able to talk about it quite a bit here already (Story of Open Agile Adoption). But everyone knows the devil is in the details, and the key points, the essential details abound around this central hinge that is Open Space. It is therefore important in my eyes to have conversations and explanations about the postures, attitudes, and actions to be taken all around, about the actors.
An important point is also to make people understand that contrary to appearances: the invitation and self-organization carried by Open Adoption do not induce any risk, if they are well formulated. These notions of invitation and self-organization are so foreign to our habits that we often perceive at first glance a danger. Wrongly so. I have rarely known something so easy, effective and risk-free if one understands the mechanism well. That’s also why since 2013 I’ve been an involved actor in this movement launched by Dan.
I hope to give this session soon (which can be delivered as a workshop or as a conference) elsewhere, the next one will surely be by the fireside at the January 2016 raid agile. Or in companies, with Olaf, with Claude.
Meeting
I went to see a few sessions (I’m becoming addicted to hallway conversations). And I was able to see a great session and make a great meeting: Andrea Provaglio. Andrea’s session on “management constellations”. A dynamic and physical workshop, aided by a person locked into certain beliefs (in my eyes, maybe it’s me who is locked in) who highlighted in an involuntarily way all the power of Andrea’s workshop: posture and attitude that reflect a mental positioning and how to see things differently by changing physical perspective. During the rest of the conference I was able to become friends with Andrea who turns out to be a very endearing and interesting person. (I will meet Andrea again at the Scrum Gathering in Prague 1 month later…). With Alberto Brandolini, I must say that these Italian coaches particularly appeal to me. Perhaps a related culture? Our two languages are articulated in the same way, perhaps our minds too?
Olaf the impresario and friend
Naturally impossible to pass over in silence the presence of Olaf. We’re becoming inseparable. He comes often to Paris at the moment and we don’t miss an opportunity to meet, and we did DareFest, Lean Kanban Fr and the Scrum Gathering together. As he likes to have me around him (I feel like the little devil on the giant’s shoulder), and this pleasure is reciprocal we don’t miss an opportunity. It’s the promise of great conversations.