Much of my misspent youth was part of the cultural landscape of the late 1970s and 1980s. Before you get too nostalgic, it was a strange time to grow up because parenting was much more permissive, and the technology we take for granted today was non-existent. One of my favorite memories of that time was when I would visit with a relative, and they would allow me to stay up late and watch Saturday Night Live. Before I fell asleep on the couch for a few magical minutes, I witnessed John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray create comedic gold. Still, my favorite cast member was Gilda Raner, who played the no-nonsense New York Purdo Rican pundant Rosanne Rosannadanna. The character colored my view of New Yorkers for years. During the character's appearance on Saturday Night Live, she often repeated, "It's always something," pointing out that our expectations of the world are always challenging or corrupted. As scrum masters or coaches, we always deal with "something" and should discuss that.
The current business world is in a weird place. Inflation is starting to fall, profits are substantial, and business leaders are panicking about a possible recession. The strain begins to show as CEOs remove their masks and show off their frustrations to employees. The layoffs in technology and the desire to flatten organizations must be helping. Fear and anxiety are the leading emotions of the contemporary knowledge worker.
I suspect that the reason why this is happening is that business leaders are more concerned with efficiency rather than resilience. When earning my Master's in Management, I learned many tricks to improve the company's bottom line. I became good at learning how to amortize software licenses and change the brand of toilet paper a company uses to save thousands of dollars over a year. It generated less revenue or helped our customers but made accountants happy. These people get promoted in organizations because they are good with accounting shell games rather than delivering value to customers.
Since the 1970s, business people have increasingly made the office and factories more efficient, but to accomplish this goal, they have squeezed employees and customers to the breaking point. These systems are so efficient that a hiccup in supply chains or a thunderstorm over Denver can throw an entire business into spasms.
Engineers and scientists understand that there are limits in nature. A liter of water is not going to fit into a smaller container. Business people raised on "The Power of Positive Thinking" believe otherwise. If you want it badly enough, that liter of water will fit into the smaller bottle and, if appropriately marketed, can sell for more margin. As you can see, this kind of magical thinking is ludicrous, but it permeates business environments. Thus, plenty of skilled people are attempting to make the hallucinations of others a reality.
When that happens, I keep thinking about Gilda and her phrase, "It's Always Something." We live in a natural world that has limitations. A person can only work so many hours or be productive before they collapse into exhaustion. You cannot manipulate people like a cell in a spreadsheet; they have lives, families, and emotions. It is why I always correct business leadership when they refer to the people doing the work as resources.
Because people are NOT resources and have limits, making systems super efficient creates the problem of the business needing help to handle surges in business or changes in the marketplace. Edward Demming points out it was a recipe for corporate extinction. Thus, it is up to people like scrum masters and agile coaches to point out that a business should be efficient and resilient to changing market conditions. It will always be something in the industry, but it will be less awful with some resilience.
Until next time.
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