You don't have to be "doing" Agile to "be" agile...

There is a huge myth that I want to dispel here and now.  You don't have to be doing Scrum, Scrumban, Kanban or some other Agile Framework to BE agile.  Also - just because you DO Scrum or one of the other Frameworks doesn't automatically MAKE you agile.  

Agile is a mindset.  A set of values and principles that drive the decisions me make and the behaviors we display.  It's a way of thinking and acting when things don't go as planned.  It's how we respond when blockers and impediments get in our way.  It's how we treat the people that we work with, either directly on our team, or our partners and vendors.  It's how we view our customer, and keep them front and center.  

You can BE agile no matter how you're working

It's being curious.  It's about not ever being satisfied with the way things are.  It's constantly
striving to be more effective and efficient in the way that we all work.  It's about ALL WINNING TOGETHER.

You can be agile and still work in a waterfall methodology.  Being agile means you reach across the silos to leverage other's expertise and help/encourage your partners and vendors to make the best possible customer and business outcome. 

Being agile means if some part of the process is broken, you reach out to others and help to FIX it.  (Key thing to remember here is there is a holistic view of processes - just because YOUR part is ugly doesn't necessarily mean that shoving effort around the workflow will make our customers see results any better/faster - but more on that another time.)

Being agile means you work through problems together, rather than waiting for someone else to fix it.  It means that you're open minded and thoughtful when someone comes to you with a problem.  It means resolving interpersonal issues by talking through them instead of immediately escalating every time there is a people problem.  It means respecting each other enough to work things out.

It means that you fully expect that plans will not be perfect and changes will be necessary to get our customer the best possible outcome.  It means that even though YOU did YOUR part perfectly, the job isn't really done until the customer takes advantage.

You can BE agile no matter how you work.  If you believe in and show the Agile Marketing Values and Principles, you are one step closer to helping our organization truly BE agile.

You can work using an Agile Framework and not really BE agile.

It's true - there are plenty of people who use Scrum as a way of working together without actually embracing the Agile Values.  They can still relish the inflexibility of silos and passing work off and then dusting their hands off.  

Scrum doesn't keep a person from saying "I did my job, it's not my fault" instead of going out of the way to help a team be successful.

Kanban doesn't solve process problems by itself -  people have to be willing to see the bigger picture and change for the greater good of our customer.  

The Agile Frameworks are a way to help organize work and encourage team members to truly BE agile.  They help to unlock the potential that teams of truly agile people have.  They provide a lightweight structure that gives just enough support and flexibility to help people who truly embody the agile values to continuously improve while they focus on delivering value.  Agile Frameworks are super helpful, but without the values and principles - and great people to LIVE those values and principles - the Agile Frameworks are just another tool.  Hammers can't decide which nail to pound - it takes a person to do that.  Just because you can refill your washer fluid in your car doesn't make you a mechanic.  Same logic applies - just because you use Scrum Events - doesn't mean you have embraced the values and principles that Scrum ENCOURAGES us to embrace.  The agile values are good.  The agile values with an Agile Framework is much, much better! 

Net-Net - you don't need to wait to learn Scrum or Kanban to BE agile.  Review the Values and Principles.  Print them out and put them by your computer monitor.  Let them influence the way that you think and feel about the job you're doing and the way you interact with people.  You can add a lot of value to our organization, your team and our customer by BEING agile. Go out and BE agile today.

We all win together.