Reflective Ideas

What would I tell my younger self?

1985 - 2006 - 2023

I began exploring agile ways of working in 1995-96, inspired by the Scrum paper shared at OOPSLA 1995. 

Someone asked me—

I want to capture advice from experienced agilists as to if they were just starting out now in agile, based on their experience, what would they tell their younger selves?

And in no particular order, here is my answer—

  1. The journey is a marathon, not a sprint.

  2. Build and activate your trusted partner (friend, colleague, mentor, and cheerleader) network.

  3. Remember, agile is an inside-out job.

  4. Mindset is a thing, an important thing!

  5. Certifications largely suck; experience wins.

  6. When in doubt, trust your teams.

  7. Reflect on your privilege.

  8. Leave something positive behind, a legacy.

  9. Agile is bigger than software; change the world!

  10. Respect people…including leaders and managers.

  11. Continuously build your personal brand.

  12. Take better care of yourself (self-care)!

  13. Take the time to build better relationships.

  14. Stay humble.

  15. And…always remember, you ROCK! Trust yourself and your gut.

I found this to be a great reflective question.

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.