Don't Panic!

Sometimes the most important thing I want to say to a manager or a Scrum master is, "Hey, calm down. Don't Panic!"

Or as the Agile Manifesto folks said, "take some time to reflect."

I've watched Scrum masters and managers running around, and I picture them nervously clutching a clipboard crossing off items on a detailed plan to "do something."  (To be fair I haven’t seen an actual clipboard since I was the nervous, novice Scrum master running around with one!)

I know you want to do something.

And, here’s what you can do. Trust the team to find the options they need to surprise you and your customer by delivering the product your market needs when they need it. 

Of course, you still have a lot to do. There are constraints to set, visions to find, impediments to remove, values to uphold, teams to coach and improvements to nurture.

But if you’ve done that and you’re running frantically around feeling the urge to do something?

Stop it!

Take some time to reflect.

And, please. Whatever you do...

Calm down. And, don’t panic!