Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time

by Jeff Sutherland

framework for team performance “Scrum.” The term comes from the game of rugby, and it refers to the way a team works together to move the ball down the field. Careful alignment, unity of purpose, and clarity of goal come together.

Whenever there are handoffs between teams, there is the opportunity for disaster.

But I’d also be willing to bet that when you’re blaming someone, you’re finding fault with them personally, while if you are being blamed, you’re much more aware of the situational factors that led to the problem and why you acted the way you did. And you know what? When you’re talking about yourself, you’re absolutely right. When talking about others, though, you’re making one of the most common—and destructive—human errors in judging other people’s actions. It even has a name: “Fundamental Attribution Error.”

We all perceive ourselves as responding to a situation, while we see others as motivated by their character.

Instead of looking for blame and fault, it rewards positive behavior by focusing people on working together and getting things done.

how much of a “default position” it is for people to start looking for someone to blame for a problem rather than search for a solution.

The thing that cripples communication saturation is specialization—the number of roles and titles in a group. If people have a special title, they tend to do only things that seem a match for that title. And to protect the power of that role, they tend to hold on to specific knowledge.

I want aggressive teams—ones that come out of the daily meeting knowing the most important thing they need to accomplish that day.

To be effective, this meeting requires a certain amount of emotional maturity and an atmosphere of trust. The key thing to remember is that you’re not seeking someone to blame; you’re looking at the process.

It is crucial that people as a team take responsibility for their process and outcomes, and seek solutions as a team. At the same time, people have to have the fortitude to bring up the issues that are really bothering them in a way that is solution oriented rather than accusatory. And the rest of the team has to have the maturity to hear the feedback, take it in, and look for a solution rather than get defensive.

As I’ve said before, I’m not very interested in individual performance; I’m only interested in team performance. I can double a team’s productivity in a month, but an individual? That could take a year. And a whole bunch of individuals? A whole division? A whole company? That could take forever.

If a company isn’t making money, you don’t have a successful venture; you have a hobby.

“He who can handle the quickest rate of change survives.”