Learn, Reflect, Adapt

The point isn't to do Scrum or Lean or Kanban or XP or Crystal or Pair Programming or Continuous Integration or Test First or any other specific practice or methodology.

I'm not advocating Scrumbut, Kanbanbut or any other but.

I'm not encouraging "that wont work here".

I'm certainly not promoting "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

I'm also not in to change for change sake.
(though sometimes I encourage change to learn, but never just to be different for no reason)

What I do advocate, encourage and promote is folks figuring out what the next best improvement to their environment is and then making it happen…and doing it thoughtfully and intentionally. There are lots of good reasons to not do things. There are also lots of good reasons to do things. Your goal is to understand the difference then take action to make things better given your context. Why? Because one thing is certain; nothing is perfect, everything can be made better and in this day and age complacency is not an option for continuance.

So first you must know what all (or at least some) of the various options for "better" are.

There are technical practices, management methodologies, and organizational techniques and lots of other stuff. There is a veritable buffet of information out there, all one has to do is start to consume it. But consumption isn't enough, one must also reflect about what they are taking in and how it fits in to their context. But reflection isn't enough either! One must adapt. On top of all this, I will next ask you to do all these things continuously…and sometimes simultaneously :)

If this sounds familiar, good…it's really just a different spin on Plan -> Do -> Check -> Act and other such ideas that have been around for about 3 decades.

One small difference though. I said do them all continuously. Not linearly, not in a cycle, not in phases. Each of these things is a thread that can be started separately from the others and continue on until its own natural end or transition. For example, if you are learning about something, it might just make you think about something else you previously learned. And just because you are learning a thing does not mean you can't be adapting your environment simultaneously. And you will almost certainly be both reflecting and learning while you are adapting a change to your set of circumstances.

So…
Learn stuff; read books, blogs, go to classes, attend workshops.
Reflect on stuff; think about what you've learned.
Adapt stuff; trying things out, learn more by doing, take some action.

These things may come in ebbs and flows. You can't be dialed to 11s 100% of the time. Remember, continuously also implies sustainably ;) So it's also important to know your capacity for these things. Also, working in a pair or group can help tremendously for learning, reflecting or facilitating change.

In the end, even if you are not able to adapt your environment, you will have adapted yourself…and at least you will be improved for it. Hopefully you can improve things around you as well. And you never know what lives you might unknowingly touch in the process. So no matter what, you win!