dave astels

Bob Payne in D.C. has begun recording podcast interviews with folks in the agile community. He started out at Agile 2005 and has started posting them. You can find them all at agiletoolkit.libsyn.com.

I did an interview with Bob while at the conference. Here is the direct download link: DaveAstelsAgile2005.mp3.

If you are an iTunes user you can search the podcast section for “agile toolkit”.

Better late than never… Pics from thursday are here and pics from the banquet are here.

The day started with invited talks by Norm Kerth and Josh Kerievsky.

I’ve been hearing about Norm for several years, but first met him earlier this week. What a wonderful person. Norm’s talk was about leading from a position of no power. He began by pointing out various figures from history who started with no power at all, yet went on to achieve great things… and be agents of great change. Examples are Gandhi, Joan of Arc, and Einstein. Norm chose Gandhi to use as an example,and we spend a large part of the talk watching the first part of the movie “Gandhi”.. where Gandhi begins in South Africa with no status and no power, and proceeds through to where the government repeals a particularly discriminatory law requiring (among other things) the fingerprinting of every Indian in South Africa.

There are many lessons we can learn from this short period of Gandhi’s life. This is what the audience came up with:

• choose something that is worthy of your effort
• give up inauthentic authority (credentials, power from position)
• accept the risk (e.g. being fired)
• look for commonality to both side - have respect for both sides
• know the system
• get supporters
• force can win battles - but truth wins out in the end
• need to know how to rally people (speaking/communicating/selling)
• watch for the line between evangelist and fanatic
• don’t tell people to follow you - tell them where you’re going and let them follow you
• get the word out - advertise, articles, books, talks
• it is the peaceful revolutions that last - more like evolution
• pick your battles
• don’t exceed your core mission/charter
• aim for a series of small successes - feedback - learn from the failures
• know when to loose a battle to keep your principles - be willing to take a beating
• work for the good of the whole - not just your own
• stay humble
• when you win, ask for money (Gandhi asking for cab fare)

There are four essential things required to be an agent of change:

1. Be able to articulate the vision of where you are going
2. Be Persistant
3. Be confident
4. Be optimistic (so that others can find their confidence)

An awesome talk by a most impressive fellow. I look forward to crossing paths with him again.