Scrum Master Dragon Slayer

This is a typical agile implementation

Growing up in the 1980’s, when you set aside the prospect of the United States and the Soviet Union having a nuclear exchange, it was an excellent time to grow up.  Dungeons and Dragons were part of the popular culture and the movies reflected this trend with films like “The Sword and the Sorcerer,” “Conan the Barbarian,” and the cult classic “The Beastmaster.”  For a nerdy teenage boy, it was beautiful escapism.  It was also a way to learn a few serious lessons about life.  "Excalibur" showed the cost of infidelity to a thirteen-year-old who had not started shaving.  The most significant lesson came from a dark Disney film entitled “Dragonslayer.”

The film had a simple plot.  A dragon is terrorizing a local kingdom, and a wizard and his apprentice must slay the creature. The mission has additional urgency because the king’s daughter has arranged to sacrifice herself to the dragon.  The story has all sorts of threads woven together.  It is the sixth century, so Christians are using the dragon to recruit converts.  The pagan king sees the Christians and their desires to undermine his legitimacy as more important than the life of his daughter.  There are an aging wizard and impetuous apprentice along with a princess and a fire-breathing dragon to round out the cast.

Late one night in a moment of insomnia, it dawned on me this movie was the perfect metaphor for an agile implementation.  The wizard and apprentice are consultants hired by the king to help him solve his dragon problem.  These consultants discover the depths of the political and social rot in the kingdom which threatens to consume them.  Finally, there is the climactic moment where the dragon has to die.

People behave certain ways and do certain things because people have behaved that way for centuries.  Everyone is looking out for themselves, and the dragon is always in the background ready to bring destruction from the air.  I cannot describe a better way to explain a contract engagement with a client if I tried.  

The most galling portion of the film is after the dragon dies; the local king stands over the corpse of the beast with a sword and stabs the dead creature while his Chamberlain proclaims the king a “dragon slayer.”  Countless people have died in the process, and the Christians use the death of the dragon as a recruiting tool.  It almost makes a person wish the dragon could win and turn the entire kingdom into ash – almost.

Like someone who has had an agile practice for the last eight years, I identify with the wizard and his apprentice.  I am training others to be better developers, product owners, and scrum masters.  I am also looking to help develop my skills to make myself better and more useful to my clients and employers.  Often, I encounter internal rot in organizations and have to focus on the dragon flying overhead instead of the more long-range problems.

As a scrum master and coach here is what I do.  Considering I have hired to slay a dragon, the first thing I concentrate on is killing the dragon.  A common phrase in business is “…first things first; last things never.”  Fix the dragon problem.  I expect that the king will take credit for my work.  They did not become King being kind people.  Next set an example so that other villagers will aspire to be wizards.  The practice of agile will only grow if it spreads person to person.  Certifications and trade shows are necessary, but the only way it is truly going to take over the business world is when conscientious practitioners make the agile manifesto and principles work for companies.

Finally, know when to ride off into the sunset.  An agile coach and scrum master are often a threat to the executive leadership because they are more interested in getting work done than the political niceties executives seem to give more priority.  When this happens, tip your hat to the king who took credit for your job and ride off into the sunset.  It may explain why many of the better wizards of literature wander or are hermits.  Working for the King is a sure road to stagnation.

So as one sorcerer apprentice to another; always slay the dragon, recruit more apprentices by your actions, and ride off when you are not needed or wanted anymore.  It certainly beats winding up in the belly of a dragon or the king’s dungeon.

Until next time.