• Category Archives Scrum

  • Challenge Accepted, Level-up To Mentor

    Posted on by Tim

    I needed to be challenged.  For me, one way to be stretched is to mentor a colleague or friend who is on their own journey, just a bit behind me.

    My dad shared with me this saying from my grandfather, 

    “The best investment any of us can ever make is in a fellow human being.”

    I don’t know about you, that statement feels both comforting and like a punch in the gut, all at the same time.  I think about what I could have done if I had paid closer attention to people around me.

    Pinning ceremony and re-enlistment
    Receiving my Enlisted Submarine Warfare Specialist designator and my first re-enlistment

    Consider this, former colleagues who might have developed faster professionally.  Contemplate this, acquaintances and friends who might have benefitted from me sharing my experience if I had made myself available for a conversation.

    Now, I’m doing life differently.  Currently, I’m pouring into others as people approach me for advice.  I had two people connect with me in recent weeks, one from my company and the other from my client.  In addition to my day job, I am showing up and being present for my family!

    As I write this post, I recognize how unique mentoring is in the context of human behavior.  In future posts on mentoring, I plan to unpack what the concept is and what the concept is not.

    Take a challenge

    Today, I want to challenge you to examine your relationships.  Who might benefit from a few hours of your time? Mentor a colleague or friend who would genuinely benefit from your expertise and experience.

    If they are open to receiving it, time spent with you listening to their concerns, providing feedback, pays rewards. Time invested for in that person, for their own personal and/or professional growth, benefits you both.

    Will you take up this challenge? Will you invest in another person this week?


    Agile Scrum Teamwork Training 📎and tagged

  • Learning Made Easy For Hard Heads Like Mine

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn. A Scrum training learning enhancement tool I endorse.

    Actual game results

    Learning is my thing. It just is. I enjoy concept application as much as the experience of expanding the boundaries of my understanding.

    What about you?

    My interest leads me to continually improve my skills as a Scrum Master. As a result, playing games are complimentary to my willingness to learn. 

    I was introduced to a tool that may enable Scrum teams to learn by practice.

    Scrum training – online scrum card game

    Tim, the creator of Scrum Card Game – Scrum Simulation. Simple and realistic. He walked me, James, Sweta, and Valerie through the most recent updates to the simulation. 

    We learned the “why” behind its creation and had Tim as our coach while going through the Sprints.

    I’m not going to spoil the enjoyment you might receive from trying this experience out, so there are no details provided in the remainder of this post!

    I will give you a peak behind the curtain with this video. 

    Tim shared that the online version of the experience came from community feedback. He noted that the online game is based on iterative development of the original, physical product that he used in training classes.

    As the tool evolved, it was met with more positive feedback, going from a PDF file to a physical card deck to the online version of the same, but better!


    Scrum Teamwork Training 📎and tagged

  • Oh, The Challenges Of Being Human While Being Human!

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn.

    How do you show up? Being human is tough.

    Generally, I can tell you that I am hit-and-miss, inconsistent about how I show up.  In both my personal and professional life.  There is no distinction between how I live privately or show up at work.

    Could showing up be a part of our problems? Is it one of the “whys” behind our challenges?

    Basically, I do not know, but I am trying to figure out if showing up is a factor in our challenges.  Let me pause here to offer some context as to what I perceive as “showing up.”

    To clarify, for me, showing up is parts authenticity, curiosity, determination, grit, transparency, and probably more nouns than this post allows.  Specifically, I work hard to avoid “cognitive dissonance”; inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, in the personas, roles, and stances I find myself in daily.

    For me, it takes self-discipline to show up daily in life; it is a constant struggle.

    Steps in the Salzburg Castle, Austria

    Being human

    I was encouraged by a conversation I recently had.

    So, I asked one of my mentors, Ravi Verma, this question during an Agile for Patriots coaching call.

    “What made certain graduates successful at finding roles as Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Product Owners?”

    I was surprised by the insight he shared.

    Ravi stated that in some ways, successful graduates relentlessly pursue improvement. 

    For example, he explained that successful graduates are like a runner who sets a goal to shave a half-second off or her race time. Additionally, The runner then sets another goal for a half-second reduction and repeats the process to achieve the desired results.

    Maybe this might help you in the coming week. Please let me know how it did.


    Agile Personal Scrum 📎and tagged