Speaking at the 2018 AgileIndy conference, with the theme of Agile Superheroes, Robert Annis combines the Agile Superheroes concept with the need for greater diversity and the recognition that in this lies the greatest chance for success.
7. So, you want to
be a superhero?
• The Superhero checklist
• Fights for everyone
• Selfless - put others first
• Understand that their super
skills aren’t as important as
their core values
• Battle to understand their
own values
• Above all, superheroes support
those in need by guidance and
assistance without judgement.
They tend to fight the bad guys
and mostly leave the good guys
alone to be successful.
11. Beware the
impact of these
challenges
• These are vast challenges and can
cause…FEAR
12. How do superheroes learn to
deal with these challenges?
• Learn to allow failure and to adapt to it
• Seek guidance
• Recognise their own weaknesses
• Look for completely new concepts and ideas
13. So, can you indulge me for a
few minutes…can I talk about
sharks?
19. The push for innovation
• Learning new techniques
20. Fighting for resources
• Resources to maintain their current existence
• Resources to enable growth
• Avoiding debilitating resources
21. Lack of diversity
• 400 species of shark
• >420 million years
• Longest living animal
• 7 senses
22. A recent report
published in the
journal Marine
Policy revealed that
an estimated 100
million sharks are
killed by humans
every year.
The paper added
that the number of
sharks killed could
actually be
anywhere between
63 million and 273
million.
Based on this
11,417 sharks are
killed every hour
23. So, soon a Lack of Diversity
will be the problem…
• A lack of numbers could spell the end for sharks
• This will lead to a catastrophic change to the oceanic ecological
system – we don’t truly know the impact of this
24. • Geologists at Brown University and
the University of Washington have
a cautionary tale: Lose enough
species in the oceans, and the
entire ecosystem could collapse.
Looking at two of the greatest mass
extinctions in Earth’s history, the
scientists attribute the ecosystems’
collapse to a loss in the variety of
species sharing the same space. It
took up to 10 million years after the
mass extinctions for the ecosystem
to stabilize.
• The world’s oceans are under siege.
Conservation biologists regularly
note the precipitous decline of key
species, such as cod, bluefin tuna,
swordfish and sharks. Lose enough
of these top-line predators (among
other species), and the fear is that
the oceanic web of life may
collapse.
We need
superheroes…please help
26. Diversity is everything – equal opportunity for all equals
successSo, superheroes…what have we learned?
27. So, you want to
be a superhero?
• The Superhero checklist
• Must fight for others
• Selfless - put others first
• Understand that their
advanced skills aren’t as
important as their core values
• Must battle to understand
their own values
• Above all, superheroes support
those in need by guidance and
assistance without judgement.
They tend to fight the bad guys
and mostly leave the good guys
alone to be successful.
39. So the lesson here is that we should be
wary of situations with a lack of diversity
• Diversity is key to survival and success
• We should all seek diversity in our decisions and
organizations
40.
41. So, you want to
be a superhero?
• The Superhero checklist
• Must fight for others
• Selfless - put others first
• Understand that their
advanced skills aren’t as
important as their core values
• Must battle to understand
their own values
• Above all, superheroes support
those in need by guidance and
assistance without judgement.
They tend to fight the bad guys
and mostly leave the good guys
alone to be successful.
42. Ok fine, we need
diversity but we
already have it.
43. In the United States, the unadjusted
average female's annual salary has
commonly been cited as being 78% of
the average male salary
44.
45. And, is that really something that a group of superheroes like The
Avengers, The Justice League or The X-Men would do?
46. So, you want to
be a superhero?
• The Superhero checklist
• Must fight for others
• Selfless - put others first
• Understand that their
advanced skills aren’t as
important as their core values
• Must battle to understand
their own values
• Above all, superheroes support
those in need by guidance and
assistance without judgement.
They tend to fight the bad guys
and mostly leave the good guys
alone to be successful.
49. When facing predators you need the most
diverse number of options available to you to
heighten the chance of survival; diverse ideas
comes from diverse teams.
Competitive predation
50. Resources don’t matter as much as how you
use them. An ability to use them in different
and unique ways enables innovation…that is
how you win.
Fighting for the same resources
51. A team more varied, with different histories and
different perspectives, has the ability to imagine
and contrive different futures. Their power to
innovate is greater.
The push for innovation
55. If you now recognise the
importance of diversity
• Make sure that your teams are diverse:
• Genders
• Race
• Age
• Experience
• Backgrounds
• etc
• Also make sure that the responsibilities are diverse and
not role-specific i.e. developer
• Decisions are made only by diverse teams
• Same with estimates, plans, requirements and designs
• Never discriminate
62. Robert Annis
• Agile Coaching and Training Background
• Founder of GWS Partners Ltd
• Specialise in Change Enablement and Leadership Development
• Author of MACO – the Model for Activating Change in your
Organisation
• https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/enterprise-agile-
transformation/9780134893426/
• http://www.informit.com/store/enterprise-agile-transformation-livelessons-video-
training-9780134893433
• www.linkedin.com/in/robannis
• @TheAgileShark
• robert@gwspartners.co.uk
Notes de l'éditeur
A team makes more money than an individual movie but nonetheless the predominant focus is upon white males
Agile arrives in 2001
Almost 20 years later I’m still waiting for the big change
I still have management and team misalignment
Lack of trust in organisations
Why in almost 20years has no CI occurred to Agile?
Where are the superheroes?
Agile arrives in 2001
Almost 20 years later I’m still waiting for the big change
I still have management and team misalignment
Lack of trust in organisations
Why in almost 20years has no CI occurred to Agile?
Where are the superheroes?
She was the first Spanish actress in history to receive an Academy Award and the first Spanish actress to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Cruz has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one week working with Mother Teresa; she donated her salary from The Hi-Lo Country to help fund the late nun's mission.
Saying X amount of our workforce should be women or minorities drives the wrong behaviour – it is a bad metric. It enforces a false stereotype that they need to be aided. That is not the case – they just need the barriers to be removed.
From now on we must seek out the best possible people and assess them purely on their merits and reward them in the same manner. The evidence previously shown proves we’re not doing that yet. The world needs superheroes working together.