• Death Sucks There Isn’t A Better Way To Say It

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn. Above all, death sucks. Point blank.

    “Showing up” this past weekend was quite tough for me.  The intersection between the professional portion and private portion of my life got tangled.

    In this case, the intersection was a bit crowded on the “private street”. While the “professional street” was not very active.

    Overlooking Salzburg, Austria from the castle

    My dear friend, Wes, died on 7/20/2021 and his family planned several events for anyone to attend from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

    I’m not good with death, and death, despite my time in uniform.  Maybe that was why the weekend was tough for me.  Maybe it’s more than that. 

    I “showed up” to honor Wes despite my hesitancy.  I showed up to celebrate Wes based on the expressed wishes of his wife and family, to share how he had positively impacted my life, for the better.

    This is not the way I prefer to be reminded of how short life is and how I should make the most of every day. 

    As an Agile coach and scrum master, I was reminded that I should seek to improve the lives of the team member I serve so that they can “show up” and do their best work.


    📂This entry was posted in Personal 📎and tagged

  • My Childhood Occasionally Makes Sense As An Adult

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn. “Knowing is half the battle.” – G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

    Walking in downtown Zagreb, Croatia

    I think “showing” is the other half.

    Showing up, regardless of how I feel on a given day, at a given hour or minute, makes a difference.  Teams do not work without teamwork; members show up.

    Agile teams REALLY do not work unless the team members are showing up.  They might work for a short time due to cross-functional design.  At a certain point, specialized generalists can only accomplish so much with members missing.

    When team members are not doing their work, it might be due to “social loafing” or maybe some other factor. It can be hard to tell what influences are behind the scenes as the “point of cause”.  After my post last week, I watched my willingness to “show up” and it was tough.

    Knowing is half the battle

    Often, we don’t stop to consider the challenges people face. Daily, team members, family, friends, and acquaintances struggle.

    Often people struggle in silence. Look around and learn something about what may be happening to another person.

    Get to know someone. Be empathetic, kind, and lend a listening ear. Show up and be human.

    My challenge to you this week is to “show up” for yourself and someone else.  Give H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everyday) as it is the right thing to do.  


    📂This entry was posted in Personal 📎and tagged

  • The Powerfully Insightful And Wicked Smart Wife!

    Posted on by Tim

    This was originally posted on LinkedIn. Occasionally, an actual conversation happens for me.

    I reached out to a colleague as I had not heard from him in a while. Consequently, I was concerned about him, I sent him a message in Teams to see how he was doing.

    As well, I took time and had an actual conversation with one of my teenage daughters, as her “best friend forever” has been traveling for the past couple of weeks.

    I had a good, actual conversation with my wife about “showing up.”  She challenged me further with her own experience.

    Undeniably, I was surprised, shocked, and delighted by what she shared. 

    On the train somewhere between Croatia and Austria

    An actual conversation

    My wife was born and raised in Yugoslavia. Today, her country is known as Hrvatska or, in English, Croatia.

    Certainly, there is a cultural difference she shared was how her Mom would visit with the neighbors daily.  Mostly unannounced, for short, long, and in-between visits.  My mother-in-law would show up.

    When people visit Croatia, visitors are pleasantly surprised by how nice most of their encounters with Croatians are in person.  In general, Croatians show up.

    Separately, my wife reminded me of a chapter in Cody McClain Brown’s “Chasing a Croatian Girl.” In chapter 12, Cody describes neighbors and how they show up. Not to spoil the story, it’s worth a read. Try to continue to show up at work AND at home. 

    Consider this as a guide for your teams to higher performance.  Think of it as a way to strengthen the relationships you have with your family, neighbors, and friends.


    📂This entry was posted in Personal 📎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.


    📂This entry was posted in Agile Personal Scrum 📎and tagged