Who Do You Have on the Bus?

My wife and I are really different people.

We are a classic case where opposites attract. I am a risk taker who generally doesn't give a rat about what people think. My wife is a rule follower and a people pleaser. I like to shake things up and Kimi likes to keep the peace. I like to think about the big picture... Kimi likes to live in the details.

Neither of us is right or wrong... it is just who we are. It's really fascinating to take a step back and think about how each of us was raised and how our experiences have shaped our perspectives on life. It can be really exciting when we are able to align our goals and leverage our individual strengths and talents to accomplish great things. While we are very different... our strengths can be very complimentary.

That said... it has taken us years to understand this about each other. It did not happen overnight. It has required a strong commitment to our marriage and a willingness to work through the tough problems. It's has not always been easy but it has always been worth it.

This kind of struggle isn't limited to our marriages and our personal lives. All of us bring these same kinds of issues to work with us everyday. We bring all our personal baggage... our upbringing... our life experiences... and our career history into every interaction. These things shape our professional outlook... our tolerance for change... our ability to deal with uncertainty. When you are talking about knowledge workers... we bring our whole person... baggage and all to the office everyday.

What do you do if you have people on the team that are not well equipped to deal with uncertainty? What if that was just how they were raised and how their experiences shaped them personally? What if these folks value predictability and process rather than inspection and adaptation? What if these people are getting in the way of your agile transition? Is it possible for everyone on the team to embrace the profound cultural shift that agile is asking us to make?

This is a question I really struggle with.

We can all change if we want to change. We can all reinvent ourselves... but no one can do it for us. No change initiative is going to release us from the bonds of our family upbringing... our cultural heritage... years of positive reinforcement or a lengthy track record of success doing it the traditional way. This is the stuff that makes agile hard... business is changing faster than many of us are personally prepared to adapt... maybe faster than we actually *can* adapt.

With the economy struggling and even more disruptive change on the horizon... we have to ask ourselves how long we can wait. Marriages are bound by love... and if you are so inclined... bound by God. What are the ties that keep our companies together? Are they strong enough to weather the storm? Should they be? Are we committed enough to give people the time they need to adjust to this changing reality? If so, at what cost?

If Scrum is a mirror... what is Scrum telling is about the people we have on the team? Can agile save everyone or is it time to find the people that want it now? How we answer that question might just make all the difference.