The Tao of Agile

The Tao Te Ching, the book by Lao Tzu that is the foundation of Taoism, starts by stating that the Tao that can be spoken of is not the Tao. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu attempts to point at something that cannot be grasped, a mindset. The same goes for the Agile Manifesto. The rules and principles of Agile are not Agile, they point to Agile. Agile is not a set of rules and principles but a mindset. The rules and principles merely point to that mindset. Agile ways of working are not about the rules and principles but about the mindset. Agile ways of working even have processes and rituals on top of the rules and principles. Agile ways of working are not about the rituals. The rituals point to the rules, the rules point to the principles, the principles point to the mindset. The rituals, the rules, the principles are a way to get to the mindset. In Taoism they say that Taoism is the way to Tao and once Tao, the mindset, has been established within, Taoism must be discarded. The same goes for Agile. Once the Agile mindset is established, the rituals, rules and principles are no longer required. Performing the rituals can distract from the mindset. Following the rules can distract from the mindset.

Chapter 38 of the Tao Te Ching*

Chapter 38 of the Tao Te Ching offers some interesting views on the Tao that are also useful for Agile.

Beyond the rules

“A man of the highest virtue does not keep virtue and that is why he has virtue. A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue and that is why he is without virtue.”

Keeping virtue means being moral, taking pleasure in doing what is right. Morals are the rules by which we determine right from wrong. How can this be wrong? Why does the Tao Te Ching say that the people who abide by the rules of society, the morals, are less virtuous than the people that do not abide by the rules? Because the Tao is about seeing, living, being beyond the conventions, the rules of society. Abiding by the rules it is not the goal of the Tao. Sometimes things that break the rules, actions that are wrong according to the rules, are actually the right thing to do. The Tao is aimed at performance, efficiency, creativity, just like Agile. Abiding by the rules can lead to doing a lot but achieving little.

Doing what needs to be done

“The former never acts yet leaves nothing undone. The latter acts but there are things left undone.”

We are always busy. All the rituals and processes of Agile ways of working create a lot of activity. Following all the rules, doing everything right can be a lot of work. A lot of the things that are done in rituals are distractions from the things that actually need to be done. Hours and hours can be spent without addressing the real issues. We are programmed to believe that taking a lot of action is what get things done. The Tao argues for the opposite. The one who doesn’t abide by the rules and does less is the one who gets the things done that need to be done. People who follow all the rules and are very busy with that seem virtuous but can leave a lot that needs to be done undone because they are so busy with the rules and taking action.

Doing things for the right reasons

“The man of the highest benevolence acts but from no ulterior motive. A man of rectitude acts but from ulterior motive.”

Benevolence is about the will to do good. Rectitude is about being morally correct. If one comes from a place of a secret agenda, one will use the rules in such a way that that agenda is served. Righteousness is about showing the world how moral you are. These are ulterior motives. Ulterior motives distort the process of interpersonal relations. If people come in with ulterior motives, the rules will be abused for personal gain. Intention is important in the Tao. Two people can act the same but from a different intention. In one case the energy doesn’t flow and in the other it does. Coming in with the wrong intentions distroys the flow. This is important in interpersonal relationships and therefor also in Agile. Agile is just like the Tao about flow, flow of energy, flow of creativity, flow of joy.

Forcing things

“A man most conversant in the rites acts but when no one responds rolls up his sleeves and resorts to persuasion by force.”

Rituals are a means to an end an not a goal. If the rituals create a space for the energy to flow, the rituals serve a purpose. If a ritual doesn’t make the energy flow, it’s useless to force things. The Tao is famous for not forcing anything (wu-wei). Forcing rituals tries to make not participating in the rituals, not following the rules a bad thing. This creates negative energy and destroys the flow. Rituals are the lowest form, the lowest step towards the right mindset.

Rituals as a first step

“Hence when the way was lost, there was virtue; when virtue was lost, there was benevolence; when benevolence was lost, there was rectitude; when rectitude was lost, there were rites.”

Rituals serve a purpose. Rituals are a manifestation of the rules. The rules are a manifestation of the principles. The principles are a manifestation of the mindset, the way. Rituals is what we use when we do not know how to interact in a way that creates flow. The flow is best when people meet with purpose, good intentions, and freedom from conventions and rules. But if that is not possible, you can meet in a scripted ritual. But this is only a first step towards personal relationships that flow based on the right mindset.

“The rites are the wearing thin of loyalty and good faith and the beginning of disorder.”

Being stuck in rituals, when rituals feel like an end in itself, leads to disengagement and losing of trust. When engagement and trust are gone, the mindset will never be reached. Rituals are an attempt to create order and that might be a good first step but not transcending that stage will lead to disorder.

The future cannot be predicted

“Foreknowledge is the flowery embellishment of the way and the beginning of folly.”

The Tao is about being in the now, in the present. Trying to predict the future is a waste of time and can also be the source of worries, madness. The Tao takes life step by step. The Tao states that being in the now is the best way to let the energy flow. In Agile, one is tempted to make a plan for the future but true agility is responding to what happens in the now.

“Hence the man of large mind abides in the thick not in the thin, in the fruit not in the flower. Therefor he discards the one and takes the other.”

The flower is the promise of tomorrow. The fruit is what there is today. If you focus on all that can be, you miss that what is and you can respond less adequate, see less. That would make one less Agile.

*This is my reading of chapter 38 of the Tao Te Ching in the translation of D.C. Lau from the perspective of Agile. The Tao Te Ching is paradoxical and poetic and can be translated and interpreted in many ways. This is mine. If you have another interpretation, please let me know. I’m curious.

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