The Yearly Stall
We’ve all been there. Here in the Northern US it happens like this. It’s the dead of winter. The days have been getting shorter and darker. The weather has been increasingly trapping us inside while simultaneously making our daily commute longer than ever. January first approaches and we make some resolutions, providing focus and hope. We work hard towards these new goals. We see some positive change. Progress is made and it makes us feel good. Then something happens.
Sometime in late February or early March is when we tend to first notice it. We’ve lost momentum. Progress has stalled, and we aren’t really sure when it happened. We might have lost the initial progress. In some cases things have slid even further back then when they started. Most of the time by May it’s as if nothing ever happened.
Many Agile transformations are the same way. They start strong. Everyone has really good intentions. A couple of process changes are made. Some benefit is seen. Some resistance is met with facets of change that are uncomfortable. Concessions get made. The result is little change, minimal benefit, and stalled change initiatives.More