How To Fail With Any Method, Guaranteed

  1. Start out with a lack of experience
  2. Because of this lack, put your faith in a method that should be able to help you
  3. Apply the method half-heartedly, get bad results
  4. Blame the method, don’t accept responsibility for your own results
  5. Because you’re not responsible, don’t bother learning anything, get no valuable experience
  6. Search for a new method that should be able to help you
Have you failed with a method? What did you learn? Don’t know what you learned, but you hate the method now? What can you learn from that?

Published by Tobias Fors

I'm a software management consultant. I help other people succeed with software development. In my work, I help teams and organizations be more effective and ship software.

4 replies on “How To Fail With Any Method, Guaranteed”

  1. Hej Arne! Yes, one thing I’ve learned I must ask when people come to me and want to start using Scrum, is what end goal they hope to reach by doing this. If there is no clear answer to this question, initiating a change is not helpful.

  2. Can I ship in a lack of reason for adopting the new method?

    Most changes that I have been part of, that have failed, have not had a good reason for doing the change initiative. There’s no answer to: “So, why do you want me to change now?”.

    On the other hand: with a strong reason for doing the change the success is halfway there. Everyone knows WHY we’re doing this and their creativity and skills can be set free to reach the target.

    Great articles, Tobias!

  3. Or trust a CSM advisor that paid a two days course to get certified in scrum :)))

    An other way is NOT checking the personal references (publications, twitter activity… anything) of your coach/counsel/change agent you apply to help with a given methodology.

    And worst of all: not having clear goals WHAT you want to achieve, or at least reasons WHY you want certain things to be changed.

    Cheers
    @Bal_A_gile

Comments are closed.