We just recently read Scrum at Lamp Post Group. Here are my notes on the book.

1. Scrum :
How to do twice the work in half the
amount of time.

2. origin of scrum
The term comes from the game of Rugby and refers to the way a team works together to move
the ball down the field.
Careful alignment, unity of purpose, and clarity of a goal come together. Perfect metaphor for
what I want teams to do.

3. at it’s root...
-Scrum is based on a simple idea: whenever you start a project, why not regularly check in, see
if what you're doing is heading in the right direction, and if it's actually what people want?
-If Scrum is used well, you can build cars, run a load of laundry, teach students.. blah blah blah
take over the world..
-Companies have two choices: Change or Die.

4. fixing the FBI
-Thousands of pages of contracts that no one has read.
>Waterfall Method
>American Gypsum
-Traditionally, management wants two things on any project: Control and Predictability.
"How many billions of dollars are spent each year producing nothing?"

5. methodology
Methodology allows teams to get near real-time feedback on their work.
>Are we heading in right direction?
>Is what we are planning to do NEXT really, what we should be doing, given what we have
learned?
>The Cycles are called "Sprints"! You plan Sprints at the beginning of the cycle.
-The team decides how much the think, they can accomplish during the next 2 weeks.
-They'll work of a prioritized list.
-The TEAM decides, how much they can get done during the next Sprint.
>After they are done the team comes together. "How can we work together better in the next
Sprint?

6. joke
Chicken: "Hey Pig, I was thinking of opening up a restaurant"
Pig: “What should we call it?”
Chicken: "How about 'Ham and Eggs?”
Pig: “No thanks. I'd be committed, but you'd only be involved!"
What Scrum does is bring teams together to create great things, and that requires everyone
not only to see the end goal, but to deliver incrementally toward that goal

7. change the way we work
O.O.D.A
>Observe, Orient, Decide and Act
>Vietnam Pilot Observe, Orient, Decide and
Act
ATM place
> "It's like that old joke about banging your
head against a brick wall just so it feels
good, when you stop.”
>We've got to figure out a better way of
working"

8. Japanese Professors
Found that paper from 2 Japanese professors
-Studied Honda, Fuji, 3M, HP
-Teams were cross-functional
-Over-lapping development
-Teams were autonomous
-Management were servant lead not dictators

9. Scrum Teams
Scrum Teams are hyper=productivity
300-400% improvements
Best team 800%

10. paper airplanes
Deming.. Plan-Do-Check-Act
Build as many Airplanes as you can & fly across the room
Three roles
1. Check how many planes actually fly
2. Pay attention to assembly process
3. Everyone else will concentrate on buildings as many as they can
-Do this cycle 3x

11. chicago bulls
Small group of people, anything is possible. Super performing teams.

12. tribal leadership
From Tribal Leadership.. by Seth Godin

13. long gray line
General Douglas MacArthur’s speech on page 47
“Duty, Honor, Country”
-Keeping knowledge secret as critical to their power. Instead of being aligned with the interest
of the greater good. They're aligned with their own motivations, which often boil down to greed
and ambition.

14. Haka
What does this make you feel?

15. daily standup
1. What did you do yesterday to help the team finish the Sprint?
2. What will you do today to help the team finish the Sprint?
3. What obstacles are getting in the team's way?
-Getting everyone in the room helps to self organize
-Get a regular heartbeat
-Only 15 minutes (once everyday)

16. passivity
Passivity is not only lazy, it actively hurts the rest of the team's performance.
Aggressive teams. "Let's nail this.. "Let's do this"
Do you really want to suck forever?

17. the “busy brag”
Impossible to do two things at once. Multi-tasking makes you dumber.
Number of
Simultaneous
Projects
Percent of Time
Available per Project
Loss to Context
Switching
1 100% 0%
2 40% 20%
3 20% 40%
4 10% 60%
5 5% 75%

18. happiness
"I realized that true greatness is deeply rooted in joy. And that to be joyful is to take the first step toward
success."
"People aren't happy because they're successful; they're successful because they're happy."
1. On a scale from 1 to 5, how do you feel about your role in the company?
2. On the same scale, how do you feel about the company as a whole?
3. Why do you feel that way?
4. What one thing would make you happier in the next Sprint?
Zappos research shows, people that when people are more connected at work, the happier they are.
-They have an intense bootcamp. People stay connected for years and self organize at reunions.
-Thrivers stay positive and vital.
Happiness bubble. "Hey, we have improved so much, we don't need to improve anymore" ...Reminds him of 2004 Olympic team.. Lebron, Allen
Iverson, Tim Duncan

19. mvp
MVP
>Delivering a Minimum Viable Product or MVP
>Just getting something in the hand of users to deliver a tiny bit of value.
>As soon as you get something in the hands of your alpha users, GET FEEDBACK!
"Change the World" chapter was a little nuts

20. to do lists

21. implementing scrum
-Pick Product Owner
-Pick a team
-Pick a Scrum Master
-Prioritize Product Backlog
-Sprint Planning
-Make Work Visible
-Daily Scrum