Agile Lessons from the Dojo
One of the reasons companies decide to do an Agile Transformation is because they’ve heard that it gets product in the hands of the customer more quickly. And this is truly one of the benefits of an Agile organization. However, it takes time and practice to get there.
Business agility is a skill. It takes time to learn it and get good at it. As with any other type of change management a company needs to set expectations of their customers, stakeholders, management and employees when undertaking a change from traditional methodologies to Agile.
I practiced martial arts for several years, starting in my mid-30s. And I learned a few things in my Dojo that apply to learning Agile.
1 – Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. When learning a new skill we would often practice in class at 50% speed. The reason we did this was to teach our bodies what the motion felt like. By practicing slowly we would focus on the technique. By repeating the technique over and over, slowly, we were teaching our muscles how to do the motion correctly and efficiently. Over time, as we got used to the movement, we were able to start moving faster. Often it wasn’t even a conscious decision, but we just found ourselves naturally moving more quickly. We called this progression “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”.
In Agile, we can’t just jump in and start doing everything full speed. It takes time. Don’t try to fully load your Sprints at the beginning. Give yourself room to learn and reflect. Build the skill slowly and then, as you see your team(s) starting to perform more efficiently start adding to your load. It will take time to start seeing your gains, but eventually you will be delivering working product to your customers faster.
2 – Don’t muscle through, rely on your technique. One of the tendencies of a new martial artist is to rely on your muscles to complete a take-down, board break, or other objective. And sometimes you can be successful, but it will likely come with a cost. You could injure yourself, injure someone else, and definitely you stunt your growth as a martial arts practitioner because you are denying yourself the chance to actually learn the technique.
In an Agile transformation, you may be tempted to cut corners or ignore basic practices just because they don’t feel natural or because you are just used to doing things differently. And in the short term you might feel like you are still making progress because you delivered your feature. But you are taking the chance that you are missing out on some important learning opportunities. Take an opportunity to slow down and give Agile a chance to work for you. Your long term gains will likely far outweigh the short term gains you see from “muscling through”. Also, if you get into the habit of falling back into doing things the way you are used to your Agile Transformation is very likely doomed to fail.
3 – Go big or go home. I remember my first martial arts class vividly. The instructors had just gotten back from a black belt seminar and were excited to share what they learned with the class. When I pulled one of them aside and expressed my concern of doing black belt level techniques on my first day of class they smiled. They encouraged me to jump in and give it my best shot, even if it didn’t feel natural. Later I found out that the reason they did this is because it gave my body a frame of reference. The next time I was in a class and a similar technique was introduced my body and mind had a frame of reference and I was able to much more quickly pick up the new technique. (Note: This may sound counter-intuitive to the first point, but it actually isn’t. While in that particular class I got thrown into doing more advanced techniques, I didn’t try to do them at full speed. And it gave me the techniques so I could practice them on my own at my own speed.)
In an Agile transformation, there are times you just have to Go Big or Go Home. Meaning, at some point you have to choose to just start trying it, even if you don’t fully have the understanding of how something works. Some companies will introduce just doing daily stand-ups first. And while that’s fine, it doesn’t really get you far on the Agile path. Focus on the basics and dive in and start practicing it. Rely on those who have experience to help guide you when you struggle. Hopefully you have enlisted Agile Coaches or at least experienced Scrum Masters to help you with the process. Let them help you find the techniques that work for your particular business application. But at some point you just need to commit and start the journey.
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I’ve been out of martial arts for about 4 years now. An injury kept me from black belt level when I was just months away from being ready to test. I’m about to start a new journey in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It’s a different style of martial art, and I’m having to start from white belt to learn this new system. It’s a great reminder of what it felt like when I started my own Agile journey. Some of the skills and techniques felt familiar and made sense. Others I had to learn as I progressed; sometimes from successes and sometimes from failures. I experience this again at some level every time I change jobs. There are nuances and subtle difference I have to learn. I need to rely on those around me to help guide me into how this particular system works. I have successes and failures. But I jump in and get started and practice my skills and work to help those around me practice theirs as well. I have a lot to learn, both in the Dojo and in my work place. But I plan to continue to push forward and progress in both places.
Go Agile or Go Home! ??