Begin with a Retrospective

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Have you ever felt that your career has brought so many experiences that you were eager to share those insights with like minded people? I feel that way. I've always felt that my life, career and personal, has been a rich, deep journey from which I have learned many things. My assumption has always been that others would want to hear about this journey and, hopefully, glean some small benefit from my mistakes and successes.

In retrospect, I have found there are many others out there that are enjoying the deep, rich journey called life. 

Other than my wife and our children, Agile is my passion. Learning; teaching; coaching mentoring. I truly enjoy seeing the look of dawning comprehension on another person's face when they finally understand the true benefits of Agile. I equally enjoy the look of joy on another Agilist's face while learning, teaching, coaching, mentoring.

In retrospect, there are many others out there that share my passion for this umbrella called Agile.

My journey through the Agile world began over two decades ago. For whatever reason, the teachings of W. Edwards Deming resonated with me the instant I began working within some of his concepts. The Shewhart cycle: Plan, Do, Study, Act. The very basics of the Agile way. Plan to do something; Do that something; Study to see if that something works as planned; Act on your findings so you can do better next time. Simple; yet so powerful it seems overwhelming.
There are many concepts that Deming brought forth beyond that simplistic cycle that are still in use today. Albeit modified and enhanced through the course of continuous improvement those concepts are, in my mind, the very foundation of the Agile and Lean practices we know.

In retrospect, there has been, are, and will be, many people smarter than I am. 

There are many places you can find the basics of Scrum, Agile and Lean concepts. I will go below the surface of the basics in order to get to the deeper meaning of the "how". I believe in the Shu - Ha - Ri levels of understanding. Contrary to my website name, I do not consider myself a master. I consider myself on a long journey towards knowledge and enlightenment. As Mr. Deming said: "There is no substitute for knowledge".

In retrospect, a true master will never bestow that superlative upon themselves. That title can only be given to a person by other people. 

My goal is to have some few others feel I at least knew what I was talking about.


​​Always Learning

Agile Yoda