Agile for Sale

It took 15 years to run under the bridge of the big Enterprises, but Agile is now the only thing Enterprises want to talk about. People that until now were labeled as "They don't understand how real business runs!" are now being mentioned as "Listen to what they're talking about!".  Organizations and individual consultants that until now were promoting traditional methods and leadership techniques, are now switching to the Agile ones and are raising  all their sails to catch the wind and get ahead of Agile as quick as possible.

They are using old skills to gain new horizons. You can't direct the wind but you can adjust your sails

 

In the last 15 years, Agile has been molded in so many ways, with so many names, decorated with so many certifications and promoted by a lot of fake "practitioners". Agile has become something that can be bought, rented, used to hide, patched, washed out, ironed well, thrown away, replaced, upgraded, accessorized, kept on shelf, used for "special occasions" and framed as an achievement.

Now, Agile is for sale just like any item on a store. 

 And it can't be any other way. Once it proves that is successful, everyone wants a piece of it. And when it comes easy (with training and  certification that are 100% guarantied to pass), when it comes open and non precisely prescriptive (so that anyone can come up with their personal interpretations), when it comes as a medication that tastes awful but can be covered in a thick layer of sugar.. it makes it easy to sell it to anyone, from big leaders to "downstream resources".

Agile has become like a T-shirt, that can be sold on every store on a mall, that can come in any size you want, any color you want, with any printing you want and any price you want. 

Newcomers to Agile are confused. Not to be blamed.They fall for the big shiny signs and the stores that offer "1 stop shop for everything you need". 

The problem? Authenticity, the core and craftsmanship are being lost. Real agile has become the small corner store that big companies are trying to put out of business.

Meanwhile, more methods, frameworks, certified people and experts keep being generated every day. They all promise something unique that can't be found somewhere else. Packages and deals get more lucrative and CIOs/CTOs are the targets that everyone wants to hit for a big ROI.

There's no need to be emotional about this, but jokes are always welcome to improve the quality of life with laughs. As per the pure Agile spirit, everyone is learning. New practitioners are learning and they are trying to find a place to do so. New organizations to Agile are also learning and based on the choices they make they are learning on different paces. Some of the people with expertise and good knowledge on Agile are learning marketing skills so that they can make more money (they are like those big brands that sell high quality and branded products with a high price tag). Some other people with expertise that are not interested on new marketing skills are working to bring more success stories about Agile so that all of the above can continue on the path they have started. Success sells and someone needs to showcase it. 

So let's all do our part on this new world. At the end we all want different things and that's why the World is a beautiful place. There is plenty for all. 

But if you want to learn the real Agile, you better look at those success-story-makers!