Sneetches: A Metaphor for the Current State of Agile Certifications
Brian "Ponch" Rivera
Co-creator of The Flow System? | No Way Out Podcast Co-Host | AGLX NA MD
Attend an Agile or Scrum conference and you'll find them. They are the ones proudly displaying stacks of certifications on their shirt bellies. They are the "Star-Belly Sneetches of Agile."
I took this photo during one of my 2017 Scrum Gathering sessions. Notice some of the participants have ribbons on their bellies, what I call "Star-Belly."
I have some good friends in this picture who recently wrote about the problems with Agile certifications. Please see Nigel Thurlow's LinkedIn article, "Forget Training, Just Sell Certifications" and Steven C. Daukus' LinkedIn article, "Caveat Emptor-Buyer Beware."
What is a Sneetch?
A Sneetch is a fictional creature in a Dr. Suess children's story. In the story, Sneetches are separated by having or not having stars on their bellies.
A Metaphor for the Current State of Agile Certifications
“But, because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches would brag, ‘We’re the best kind of Sneetch on the Beaches.’”
In the children’s story, Sneetches without stars were viewed as being inferior to those with stars (certifications). In fact, only Sneetches with stars on their bellies were allowed to play, they were certified.
Along Comes a Star on the Belly (Certification) Machine
Just pay me your money and hop right aboard!
Sylvester McMonkey McBean, a self-proclaimed fix-it-up Chappie who oddly resembles a current Agile Charlatan, puts together a peculiar “certification” machine. For a fee, Plain-Belly Sneetches could enter McBean’s Machine to add a star to their plain-bellies.
The story of the Sneetches continues until “every last penny of their money was spent.” At this point, the Fix-it Up Chappie, Sylvester McMonkey McBean, packed up and he went. In the end, the Sneetches realized it is not the stars or lack of stars on their bellies that separate them.
As the commodification of Agile continues, it is clear that certifications serve the Sylvester McMonkey McBean's of the Agile world.
Although I hold multiple certifications, none of those certifications represent the qualifications I have in coaching teams, teamwork, complexity, and leadership. Oh, and here is some proof that I refuse to wear ribbons on my belly even in the presence of the co-creator of Scrum. Dr. Sutherland has earned the right to wear what he wants.
Brian “Ponch” Rivera is a recovering naval aviator and founder of AGLX Consulting, LLC. Ponch is the co-creator of the Toyota Flow System.
Dr. Suess Images are used under Fair Use.
Uncovering better ways ... by doing it and helping others do it.
5 年At 10:44 (https://youtu.be/PdLPe7XjdKc?t=644), "Then, when every last cent of their money was spent. The fix-it-up chap packed up and he went." Let's compare profit with innovation. A colleague who is beyond using Agile in his work, observed a few years ago that Agile(r) was on the down slope of the technology adoption curve and that the next market event would be consolidation and commoditization. Soon thereafter, the we saw SolutionsIQ (formerly a strong Seattle-local leader in a nation-wide niche market) become "SolutionsIQ, an Accenture company". Sylvester McMonkey McBean realized that the majority of the _profit_ comes from that part of the curve while the _innovation_ becomes a commodity for the technology laggards, who, by definition must play it safe. I'm seeing that from companies who, like teenagers or sneetches who follow peer pressure to be seen as part of the crowd.
Mech Eng. + MBA in Intl. trading spl, with 30 years of Experience in end-to-end SCM, With MNCs besides Indian Air force.
5 年Great initiatives towards knowledge transformation
Exceptionally experienced in the areas of Program Management, Product Development and QA leadership.
5 年I remember at the beginning of Agile there was a strong debate that certifications were anti-agile and we should never go down that road. Now that the horse has left the barn, we need to understand that certifications sans experience is not going to deliver a coach who is experienced in working in an Agile context. Certifications open doors for many people who have no Agile experience, which I think is probably the larger complaint of many experienced coaches. The certification doesn't make you a coach, it provides often base knowledge of the framework with only the ability to point at the framework and tell people this is how it's supposed to work......
Executive and Leadership Coach at Tandem Coaching | Turning Your Ambitions into Organizational Reality. One Client at a Time.
5 年How is being proud of not wearing ribbons different from being proud of wearing those? Looks like two sides of the same coin to me.
Organisation Development Consultant and Lean-Agile Enterprise Coach & Trainer. Sustainability Consultant.
5 年Hm, does anyone actually ready the courses learning objectives? IMO most are fairly modest.? "Participant can describe in own words, name, explain difference, explain purpose" etc (LOW level cognitive skills in Bloom′s taxonomy).? Who would claim or believe you become a seasoned practitioner by visiting a few days classroom training? I can′t understand those hyped expectations. You get an idea and/or sample, what different behavior looks/feels like. Doesn′t mean you are a pro at it. The time of personally experiencing is fairly incompressible. To me, that means: courses hopefully open a door to start a journey. I still have to do the walking.