Today, my wife and I went to our daughter's future Middle School this coming school year. As we walked along the school's long hall, four posters caught my attention. My first thought was this: this school is fostering an environment in which students can flourish into strong self-aware and socially-aware individuals. The principal and her staff are like gardeners. A gardener creates an environment in which the plants can flourish: prepping up the soil, followed by constant and vigilant maintenance. "This school is well prepped", so I thought as I saw those four posters. The principal spoke about the school:…
In Lean-Agile, the needed mindset is that of a gardener/farmer (nurturing) rather than that of a top-down commander (controlling and directing). On Controlling and Directing: Top-down control has no place in Lean-Agile... and rightly so. SAFe Principle #9 -- 'Decentralize decision-making' -- emphasized it. A commander from a remote position controlling and directing what is going on in the frontline / battlefield is not effective and efficient... he/she does not know the realities on the ground ... those soldiers fighting the battle are the ones in the know ... they are in the best position to make decisions... they have…