Being Agile, Doing Scrum: An Agile Library
This is another in a series of posts aimed at helping Scrum Masters coach “team members in self-management and cross-functionality []including [l]eading, training, and coaching the organization in its Scrum adoption.”
With a simple cut and paste, Scrum Masters can share this post weekly or once per sprint, concurrently adding some frivolity with several fun facts and content.
Note: Some posts come with an intro to provide background and additional information/tips, followed by the ‘cut/paste’ content that can be shared with the team.
Note: There are lots of fun facts and content. Feel free to pick and choose what to include/omit.
Check back next week for another post, and more content to share!
[For an index of all Being Agile, Doing Scrum posts click here.]
Background:
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
The origins of this quote aren’t clear but the sentiment applies in this weeks post. We can teach our team about Agile and Scrum, but getting them to teach themselves is a far better objective.
And the best way to do that is habitual reading. Not only is it fun, and a way to help you grow personally and professionally, but it also strengthens your brain and can even help you live longer.
Books are the backbone of my own journey as a lifetime learner. I admit it, I am a bibliomaniac. But with so many books, and so little time. how can we ensure we are reading the right book?
I am frequently asked “Can you recommend one book on <insert topic>?” This post answers that question for multiple topics providing a small library of book choices, all of them I have read and loved.
The ultimate hope; by promoting reading, and independent learning, we help create a team centered on self development. Put another way, more people will know how to fish.
Cut/Paste:
“I will find any excuse to go into somebody’s study or ask them what they are reading. I can’t think of too many other things that say what goes on in someone’s head than the books they have.” — George Packer
When it comes to books centered on agile, scrum, project or product management, or any number of related topics, the options are overwhelming. Today’s Being Agile, Doing Scrum post addresses that.
The following list, based on one part Amazon rating, one part Goodreads rating, and a large pinch of personal opinion, highlights top books in multiple categories, including agile, scrum, coaching, transformation and coaching.
Note:
- The list is alphabetical, and not in order of preference.
- There is a mixture of quick and not so quick reads.
- My absolute favorite? Leading Beyond Change by Michael Sahota.
If there are books that top your list, please share!
4 Essentials Keys to Effective Communication — Bento C. Leal III
Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World — John P. Kotter
Agile Coaching — Rachel Davis
Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for ScrumMasters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition — Lyssa Adkins
Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework — Kim S. Cameron, Robert E, Quinn
Doing Agile Right — Darrel Rigby, Sarah Elk, Steve Berez
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 — Travis Bradberry
Essential Scrum: A Practical Guide to the Most Popular Agile Process — Kenneth Rubin
Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision-Making — Sam Kaner
Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers — Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, Jams Macanufo
HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence — Harvard Business Review
Leading Beyond Change — Michael Sahota
Leading Change — John P Kotter
Leaders Eat Last — Simon Sinek
Multipliers: How The Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter — Liz Wiseman
Organizational Culture and Leadership — Edgar H. Schein
Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations — Frederic Laloux
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team — John C. Maxwell
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever — Michael Bungay Stanier
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team — Patrick Lencioni
The Secrets of Facilitation: The SMART Guide to Getting Results with Groups — Michael Wilkinson
The Skilled Facilitator — Robert M. Schwarz
Training from the Back of the Room! 65 Ways to Step Aside And Let Them Learn - Sharon Bowman
A parting quote from American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn, and a question:
“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”
Do you want to be ordinary?
Inspirational Quote:
“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life.” — Sidney Sheldon
Fascinating Facts:
About the brain:
Sixty percent of the human brain is made of fat
Your brain isn’t fully formed until age 25
Your brain’s storage capacity is considered virtually unlimited
It’s a myth that you only use 10 percent of your brain
The human brain weighs 3 pounds (that’s about as much as a half-gallon of milk)
The human brain can generate about 23 watts of power (enough to power a lightbulb for all you Matrix fans).
Word of the Day:
Majuscule — Large lettering, either capital or uncial, in which all the letters are the same height.
Example: “The cafe’s outside sign used majuscule to advertise the daily specials.”
National Day Calendar: July 7th
National Day of Rock ’n’ Roll
Global Forgiveness Day
National Dive Bar Day
World Chocolate Day
National Macaroni Day
National Strawberry Sundae Day
National Father Daughter Take A Walk Day
Comic Sans Day
National Dora Day
Tell The Truth Day
It is also:
National Cell Phone Courtesy Month
National Anti-Boredom Month
Born On This Day:
Gustav Mahler: Austrian composer (Symphony №2 — “Resurrection”), and conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1909–11), born in Kalischat, Bohemia (now Austria). (1860)
Otto Frederick Rohwedder: American engineer (invented the bread-slicing machine), born in Davenport, Iowa. (1880)
George Cukor: American film director (My Fair Lady, Philadelphia Story, The Wizard of Oz), born in NYC, New York. (1899)
Ringo Starr: British drummer, vocalist (The Beatles — “Yellow Submarine”), songwriter (“Early 1970”; “Photograph”), actor (Caveman), “peace & love” activist, and knight, born in Dingle, Liverpool, England. (1940)
On This Day In History:
Joan of Arc: A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death. (1456)
Isaac Newton: Receives MA from Trinity College, Cambridge. (1668)
Orders barring Jews from serving under US General Ulysses S. Grant are revoked. (1863)
Executions: Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold and George Atzerodt are executed for their role in the conspiracy to assassinate US President Abraham Lincoln. (1865)
Jesse James: Robs train in Otterville, Missouri (1875)
Sliced bread sold for the first time: Described as the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped. (1928)
President Eisenhower: Signs a bill approving Alaskan statehood. (1958)
Otis Redding: Records the song “Respect” at Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee; it later becomes a signature piece for Aretha Franklin. (1965)
Sandra Day O’Connor: Nominated for the Supreme Court, 1st female Supreme Court justice. (1981)
Nelson Mandela: Steps down as President of South Africa. (1996)
Boris Johnson: Announces his resignation at Downing Street after pressure from, and mass resignations of his ministers. (2022)
