Update: My original post had a lot of language that made it seem like I felt like there was a giant problem that sank the business, and I was powerless (despite my partners' efforts) to stop it. This is simply not the case, and I've reworded some parts that are ambiguous.
None of this reflects on my partners. If you find yourself saying "Well, Logan had these kinds of folks on his team, and I don't", then you're doomed to repeat my experience. My teammates and myself were human, we had strengths and flaws that both needed to be accounted for. I don't feel that my comments here reflect judgement on ourselves.
At Happy Camper, we had meetings on a weekly basis. We'd go out for lunch and discuss things. What was working, what wasn't working, what was coming, and what was going. Often we would kick around some new idea. To this day I attest that the ideas were, and still are, really good ideas. I myself would present, champion, and push these ideas. Unfortunately, these ideas disrupted our work pattern too much. Often times we'd seek to implement the idea immediately, only to ruin any chances of getting billable work done for the rest of the day. To top off the initial investment, the idea never continued when we came in after Monday.
I did feel like I could see this pattern as my time at the business progressed, but since each idea was different, I always felt like it would stick. Why wouldn't it? It is a great idea. And believe me, much discussion was had before we settled on the idea.
I don't think new ideas are poisonous to a business. However, they need to be absorbed at a rate that's comfortable to the team. You also want some means of revisiting what you plan to implement. There needs to be a measure of success with the idea, and everything needs to be actionable. Chris Young, always a Scrum Master to me, would give a format of "[person/team] will do [action] so we can [benefit] by [time]", or something to that effect. The other half of this equation is measuring that new idea, and then reflecting on the data that you measured during the next meeting. In this way, your ideas should reach a productive velocity.
Not measuring the new idea doesn't mean it will never stick, it just can make it hard to stick, or at least hard to understand why it didn't stick.
3 comments:
Wow. This is not my recollection at all.
Yes, there were times we reconsidered the goals and plans oF HCS, but every week? Hardly.
And new ideas born on Friday and forgotten by Monday? Wow. Again, that's not what I recall.
Did we experiement and explore and sometimes make poor chices? Yes. Did we also make proper adjustments? Also yes.
Sorry you seem to feel so sour on the experience. We fucked up, but it wasn't because we had the "Great Idea of the Week."
"None of this reflects on my partners."
Of course it does. It reflects very poorly, and it's insulting.
James,
I'm sorry it seems like I'm pointing people out or saying things went bad with us - that's not my intention at all. I didn't say this caused the business to fail - I just felt like it didn't help us when I for one struggled to get my hours in each week - and I know others did as well.
I suggested many of the ideas or would help champion them myself.
We often seem to disagree with certain things we felt went well or didn't. That's totally okay, but do not mistake my reflection on actions with judgement on yourself.
I overall feel that the business was a positive experience and I got a lot out of it from working with everyone who took part in it.
It doesn't hurt to be aware that these symptoms are occurring at other shops. The resistance to change may be too great at corporations, but it's too low at agile shops in general.
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