Comments on: Agile Tour Riga 2012 Report

By: andreaprovaglio

andreaprovaglio — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 09:53:36 +0000

In reply to flowchainsensei.Thank you for elaborating on the concept of "leaving Middle Earth", Bob. Steve Blank's analogy is certainly effective and captivating, but on a deeper level I agree with your interpretation.Cheers, Andrea

By: flowchainsensei

flowchainsensei — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 06:26:37 +0000

In reply to Andrea Provaglio.

I had read the Steve Blank piece before. It makes an easy read, but not the whole story. Being a sometime Tolkien student, this is closer to my understanding: http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2011/09/22/why-did-the-elves-leave-middle-earth/

Translating this into an analogy for why senior and experienced engineers leave, I think it’s as much down to their “hearing the eternal call” to go and do something new as because they see the organisation changing around them (and have to pay for sodas).

So I’d say the soda is like the (wakening) call of the sea bird as mentioned by Legolas. More a reminder of the Elves’ destiny than a cause of their leaving.

Has this anything to do with rightshifting? Only a little, in that elves can be happy for a time in leafy glades (ad-hoc organisations) but eventually have to return across the sea to Valinor (synergistic orgs).

– Bob

By: Uldis

Uldis — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:27:36 +0000

Hello.
Thanks for Your feedback as well as keynote presentation as I was one of the attendees.
I think You are absolutely correct about lack of background knowledge – I have not heard about these guys before (but looking them up right now), so for me it is a gain.
I guess there are still a lot of “agile work” to do in here 🙂

By: andreaprovaglio

andreaprovaglio — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 14:43:43 +0000

Bob, Olaf,

I was quickly — admittedly — referring to this post by Steve Blank:

The Elves Leave Middle Earth – Sodas Are No Longer Free

I’d also be interested in knowing Bob’s opinion on why the Elves leaves.

Cheers,

Andrea

By: Andrea Provaglio

Andrea Provaglio — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 14:38:23 +0000

In reply to olaflewitz.

Bob, Olaf, I was — briefly, admittedly — referring to this blog post by Steve Blank:

The Elves Leave Middle Earth – Sodas Are No Longer Free

I’d also be interested to know about Bob’s opinion on why the Elves leave.

Cheers,

Andrea

By: olaflewitz

olaflewitz — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 12:54:06 +0000

Thanks for your report! I like how you relay the experience of relational flow, of meaningful connection.
Looking forward to hear more about the Lego game.
Why did the elves leave? (both reasons, please:-)
I am glad that you perceive knowledge of Ackoff, Deming and Goldratt to be common in the agile community.
My perception is less promising, and that may well be my biased perception. There’s always hope!
Hugs
Olaf