Changing the Goal Mindset; Getting Agile

I have heard people suggest that young people more easily adopt Agile practices than older, more experienced employees.   This may or may not be true.  What does seem to be a reasonable assumption is that the ingrained goal mindset, stringently and arduously drilled into employees over the past decades, is not conducive to the Agile way of thinking.

If you have been successfully trained to set a longterm goal and then to celebrate only when that goal has been achieved, you may have some un-thinking to do to get comfortable with Agile.   In Agile and in Lean practice, continuous improvement is more important than achieving historical targets.   The stability of longterm goals is replaced by dynamic, value-driven decisions.   And it can be an awkward transition.

To be successful, we must encourage and reinforce alternative behaviour.   Agile team members must reassess goals and determine whether or not that a new goal better satisfies the customer and the business profitability.   In the Scrum world, it is quite likely and quite desirable to have the requirements of a product change slightly with each review.  Through this continuous refinement process, the product team is able to keep up with evolving customer needs.

By consciously recognizing the value of choosing to discard old designs and outdated requirements and by learning to recognize and celebrate the value of continuous improvement, anyone can bridge the Agile mindset gap.   Quality is a choice.

Good luck.  Stay Agile.  And have fun with it.