Are you having success with that approach?

In this week’s Weekly Inspection, we try to ask, ‘how’s that working out for you?’ with a straight face.

It’s hard to ask without sounding snarky. But it’s an honest question.

Someone recently told me that a sailor out to sea cannot chart a course back to land without first being completely honest with himself about his current location. If he’s not honest about point A, his plan to get from point A to point B will not get him where he needs to go.

Organizations struggle to transition to Agile because they aren’t honest with themselves about their current position. It’s completely understandable; some employees who have worked very hard establishing processes and structures instinctively protect them. Others struggle to embrace the truth of the situation because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”, while others resist the truth of the situation because it threatens their standing in the organization.

But in order for transformation to take hold, we have to come to grips with the truth. If deploying software is a dreaded and error prone event, something is wrong with the approach. If discussions with stakeholders are contentious, something is wrong with the approach. If defects are dictating your development plans…

It’s time to be honest. Inspect the elements of your process, and ask yourself: are you having success with that approach?

Have an idea for the Weekly Inspection? I’d love to hear it. @johnkrewson

Tag(s): The Weekly Inspection

John Krewson

John started Sketch in service to the mission of improving the ways people and teams work together. His past experiences as an agilist and professional actor are the primary sources of inspiration in leading this mission.