Comments on: Agility Is Not Just About Software Development

By: MH Lines

MH Lines — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:57:58 +0000

David – I agree that is a perfect example. Thanks for the great post Pam. It was one of the first I read as I entered agile and it really resonates with me.

By: When you run away and join the circus… « Pamela Poole

When you run away and join the circus… « Pamela Poole — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:38:54 +0000

[...] is a day in my life. Read about how I deal with it on Web Worker Daily and [...]

By: Pamela Poole

Pamela Poole — Sat, 16 May 2009 08:05:37 +0000

Hi David.

Thanks for that example. I’ve heard plenty of smart and effective people proudly admit that they’re lazy! And I agree that it can definitely foster creativity and ingenuity.

By: links for 2009-05-13 | Ip's.

links for 2009-05-13 | Ip's. — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:02:58 +0000

[...] Agility Is Not Just About Software Development "In the web world, we tend to associate the word “agile” with software development, but in this ever-changing world, it’s not a bad idea to apply the basic principles of agility to our busy professional lives. Does this mean you have to be some kind of superhero to manage a lifestyle like ours? I think not." (tags: work philosophy agile) [...]

By: Vincent

Vincent — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:17:10 +0000

I know so many people who only thrive when everything is as unnecessarily complicated as possible.

And if you are someone of the “laziness is the mother of invention” variety, you are at a systematic disadvantage whenever your projects depend on the “pourquoi faire simple quand on peut faire compliqué” (why go for simple when you can go for complicated) crowd.

Probably one of the top reasons I dropped out of corporate life to fly solo…

By: David Bernstein

David Bernstein — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:34:26 +0000

Yeah, I am with you—laziness is a virtue! I had professor in college who used to say that bacterial geneticists are lazy people. When looking for a mutation that occurs one-in-a-billion times they can’t check each bacteria. Instead maybe they link the gene they want with a toxin resistant gene, grow a bunch of cells and throw the toxin in. Most of the bacteria will die but the survivors will have a much higher probably of having the gene they are looking for. Good science comes from this kind of laziness and so does good software development because it breeds creative thinking. My own laziness has saved me many times.

By: Pamela Poole

Pamela Poole — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:48:27 +0000

Hi Olga. That’s one way of interpreting things that’s as valid as my little metaphor, certainly! But why does lazy preclude flexible and mobile? Here I’m saying pre-existing laziness just conditions you to be very efficient and being easily bored means you’re ready and eager to change activities often.

By: Olga

Olga — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:15:01 +0000

Nice post. But first off, agility is about being agile! You can be lazy and can be easily bored, but people with those qualities as their primary skill set can hardly act agile. Agility is about mobility and flexibility. Same way you’ve got agility drills in sports, with rapid legs movements, moving your core right to the exact point – same here. Agility is about the ability to move your feet to be in the right time, at the right place, and act right.