First the habit, then the method.
Jurgen Appelo
Navigating AI between hype and doom. Author, speaker, entrepreneur, radical synthesist, resolute unfixer, and unabashed rule-breaker.
Some people believe that methods and frameworks can be a good starting point for change. They might say that frameworks can turn into anything you want with regular retrospectives and continuous improvement. And indeed, this kind of thinking seems agreeable, but it flies in the face of all we know about habit-forming and how people adopt new behaviors.
The better books I read about running pointed out that the most challenging thing to achieve as a new runner is to make running a habit. Forget the programs, they said. Just run—three or four times per week. Run. Put on your running shoes, get out of the house, and run. Instead, people tend to distract themselves with what is the best running method, what are the best shoes and clothes to wear, what to eat, what exercises to do, and whether it's best to measure pace, power, or heart rate. But they haven't covered the essential thing. They haven't established a habit. They're not runners.?A method doesn't create a habit; it's the habit that makes a method.
When you're evaluating scaling frameworks without already having a culture of continuous improvement and delivering value, you're trying to pick a framework that will create a mindset. But human behavior doesn't change that way. The world is littered with failed "agile transformation programs" that achieved nothing but frustration. It is better?first?to adopt the habit of continuous reflection and?then?pick the organizational patterns your organization is ready for.?First, the habit, then the method.?A framework is not a?starting point; it might be the?end point?of an organization that repeatedly makes its own methods.
Jurgen
P.S. My?workshop in Warsaw?is CONFIRMED. And the?workshop in Vienna?looks solid too. (Sadly, Delft had to be postponed.) I hope to see some of?you at any of these events!
I'm hiring!
The unFIX model is gaining traction. I’m getting more speaking requests, more business partners are reaching out, and more people report to me they have started playing with the model. It’s time to?grow the unFIX team.
Calendar
unFIX community event: Let's Play?(virtual)?on 04-Oct-2022
Agile Tour Vilnius?(Vilnius)?on 13-Oct-2022
unFIX Foundation (workshop)?(Warsaw)?on 17-Oct-2022
领英推荐
Agile HR 360?(Warsaw)?on 19-Oct-2022
Agile Austria?(virtual)?on 21-Oct-2022
unFIX Foundation (workshop)?(Vienna)?on 24-Oct-2022
Agile Slovenia?(Ljubljana)?on 27-Oct-2022
Gladwell Academy/RTE Summit?(Amsterdam)?on 07-Nov-2022
unFIX workshop (Slovenia)?(Ljubljana)?on 09-Nov-2022
IT Workplace of Tomorrow?(virtual)?on 15-Nov-2022
Scrum Day Europe?(Amsterdam)?on 01-Dec-2022
Tools4AgileTeams?(Wiesbaden)?on 02-Dec-2022
Lead Agile Coach at Sanofi Digital Accelerator(S) Kata Coaching and Change Agent.
2 年I Could not help but remember James clear's amazing book "Atomic Habits". We do not rise to the level of our Goals, we fall to the level of our systems, and our systems are comprised of all those habits that are those little compound effects of our elf improvements.
Professional Scrum Product Owner at 4finance
2 年Habit must be also sustainable and something we love to do in order to make the resulting method working for us in long term and not vice versa. Works in business, works in sports, works in personal life in my case.
just another coach - founder of SELV - finalizing portaL: EARTH - SIGN UP at your.selv.xyz/waitlist
2 年That's similar to how you change personal habits too. Make the "new habit" as easy as possible. Once fully adopted, optimize it methodically.
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Agile 2 Academy; Executive level Agile and DevOps advisor and consultant; Lead author of Agile 2: The Next Iteration of Agile
2 年Well said.