OMS Consulting Partners, LLC

The Good News:  Scrum Alliance is now creating an annual "State of Scrum" report to complement VersionOne's "State of Agile" annual report. The Bad News:  The results are the same. Here's a screenshot of one page of that report.  I invite you to take a look at the right side of the screen "Factors Holding Back Transformation". I would also invite you to download the free report from the Scrum Alliance website.

https://dzone.com/articles/scrum-is-the-new-death-march "After years of developing software by (incorrectly) applying the Scrum methodology, I have come to this conclusion: Scrum is the new death march. Or rather, Scrum does more harm than good when it's mindlessly requested by managers who are merely trying to show how modern and trendy their development teams are."

If you don’t laugh, it will make you cry... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4u5N00ApR_k

In Agile, servant leadership and self-organization are critical elements.  In traditional business, the "boss" or HIPPO (Highest Paid Person's Opinion) calls the shots . Here's a great article on how to train your HIPPO ... http://agileatheart.com/how-to-train-your-hippo-ace2016/

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." -- Nelson Mandela It does not seem accidental that "courage" is the first Scrum Value on the list.  When coupled with "psychological safety" - open communication becomes not only possible - but the expected norm. Safety is the responsibility of management and the overall culture of the organization. Courage is the responsibility of the individuals in the organization. When Organizational Safety meets Individual Courage - the sky is the limit.  

General Colin Powell (former Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army Brigadier General) recalled a story he heard the day he was promoted to brigadier general.  In the story, President Abraham Lincoln receives a message during the Civil War saying a Confederate detachment captured a brigadier general and 100 horses.  President Lincoln said out loud "Sure hate to lose those horses".   When asked about the brigadier general, he commented, "I can make a brigadier general in five minutes, but it's not easy to replace 100 horses." “What it says is it’s the horses that count, it’s the troops that count, it’s the seals that count, it’s the sailors that count,” Powell said.  "Communicate the vision and give them everything they need to be successful." Don't think that you are irreplaceable, none of us are.  Therefore, your number one priority each and every day should be taking an active role in development of your subor...

Another GREAT article from OrgMindset.com https://orgmindset.com/2017/11/03/climbing-the-bs-mountain-agile-for-the-sake-of-agile/