Agile Intentions

There is a book by Somerset Maugham called the Razors Edge. It's a very good book and I recommend it.  It's a book that was made into a movie twice.  I won't go into detail on the plot of the book or the movies except to say that it chronicles the adventures of a man called Larry, who, after some life-changing experiences during the first world war, begins a quest to find meaning in his life. 

For this article, I want to focus on a very small seen where Larry, having traveled to India,  encounters an Indian boatman washing dishes,  During a conversation, Larry tells the boatman that he worked in a coal mine to fund his trip.   The boatman questions Larry , “ A coal mine! What was the intention?” 

Larry says, “ I told you, to make money to come here.”

The boatman redirects Larry, “ No, that was the reason. What was the intention?”, then continues, “Because work that has no intention is not work at all; It is an empty motion”.

See full clip here: https://youtu.be/zZLWtFiU0Io .

This scene speaks to a central question all of us who embark on the Agile journey ask and are asked: How do we know we are doing right?

We could answer this question based the absence of reasons for agile to fail: We are writing good stories, we have an active effective product owner, we have focused well trained teams, we are following the rules of scrum.  We could also focus on the measurement of how well we are doing compared to the reasons to do agile: more productive teams, better quality products, more predictable deliveries, agile is doing what we said it would.

I agree that positive readings on those measures are very important.  They are like the vital signs your doctor may take: blood pressure good, no fever, normal blood work, no aches, no pains, you are meeting the criteria of good health.  But it does not mean you are going to stay healthy, nor that you are happy and fulfilled. Likewise, the vital signs of your agile teams may be strong, but there will be challenges that will introduce themselves, both from within and without the teams, like seasonal flu, or even more serious maladies like a change in leadership.  Our teams’ ability to be resilient to these impacts are measured by the clarity of its common purpose; its mission; its intention.  

The team’s intention is a magnetic field created by the exploration of the organizations values melded with the values of the team. This field protects the team from the solar winds of external dysfunctions, and lines up the compass to a single point that allows the team to move through the confusing and chaotic periods that are bound to occur, with cohesion and focus.  It is important to take the time to not only to form and articulate this common mission, but to reinforce it directly and indirectly.  To connect each success to fealty to the mission, and each story to the realization of the values of the team, and ultimately the greater organization. No task,  then, is an empty motion, however trivial it may seem, like washing dishes.  

For the boatman in the clip, washing dishes is a religious experience because it is connected to his personal meaningful intention.  For our teams, having a well developed and meaningful common purpose, likewise, allows the work to be as personally fulfilling as the organizationalvalue of the product that is made.