Internal company wide Open Space events for inspecting and planning
Agile transformations is a great idea, and at least to some agile
coaches I've spoken with, it freaks out the execs. It also freaks out
those used to running command and control style forced change "roll out"
processes. They "roll out" Agile onto teams like a new internal software
package update. Like the organization is a computer system. Even for
Agile. It is the norm for Lean transformations too. I've heard such
transformations are called LINO (Lean In Name Only). And it's ugly and
ridiculous. But it's what execs are used to buying, so that's what we
sell them. Ugh.
Despite how powerfully Open Space has worked in public knowledge sharing
events like Agile Open (Thank You Diana!), it has been harder to get
buy-in for internal agile adoption planning and retrospection events
that empower self-organization as much as Open Space does.
But as the results start coming in, this is changing. The Walmart Story
is a huge one - 3000 person internal IT converted to Agile with 300
internal Open Space events! It was presented in Atlanta last month. You
can read it yourself.
https://www.agilealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/T.Kromann.M.Carey_.OpenTransformation-Lessons-from-20-Years-of-Changing-Organizations.pdf
A call to action. As more folks get exposed to Open Space, they'll be
looking to those with years of experience with it. Let's keep this space
welcoming, encouraging, ... and relevant.
Tony's request is a great one. Open Space has become so widespread it's
hard to keep track of all the success stories.
Like Diana did, let's keep sharing these success stories. And perhaps we
can self-organize a way to keep track of them and not just force people
to do google searches and pour over the OSList archives. Any helpers?
Cheers!
Harold
On 9/3/16 8:33 AM, Mark Sheffield via OSList wrote:
... or maybe it's a good idea that just doesn't align with how "the
Agile" is being practiced.
Mark
_____________________________
From: Daniel Mezick via OSList <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>
Sent: Saturday, September 3, 2016 10:15 AM
Subject: Re: [OSList] OS at work
To: <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>>
Ironically the use of enterprise-wide Open Space events is rather
limited in so-called "Agile transformations" worldwide. I wonder if
this has anything to do at all with authority's fear of "enterprise
wide truth-telling" about the conduct of the Agile adoption.
"Everyone-invited, at-least-one-day, enterprise-wide Open Space events
that inspect the Agile adoption itself..." ...this is something only a
few folks have experienced. Oddly. Right?
For example, at Agile Israel as the closing keynote, I had the
opportunity to ask 600++ Agile folks the following question:
"How many folks here have ever attended an 'at-least-one-day,
enterprise-wide retrospective on the Agile adoption itself?' "
All of 4 hands went up. 4 out of 600++. Lots of crickets chirping in
the room.
I left out the "everyone-invited" part, so there was at least some
small chance of a response.
Those gears of progress in the Agile community do grind slowly...if at
all.
Just saying.
Question: What's the set of impediments between the status-quo, and
making enterprise-wide retrospectives in Open Space a common practice
inside so-called "Agile transformations?"
Perhaps periodic, everyone-invited, enterprise-wide Agile-adoption
retrospectives in Open Space is just a dumb idea. Not at all aligned
with Agile principles, etc.
Daniel
--
Harold Shinsato
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
http://shinsato.com
twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
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