Do you have a mentor? They are truly important if you ever wish to grow and learn in your field. I remember back in May of 2014, I created my first company: Big Agile. I did this out of mentors I had pushing me in that direction a few years prior and was scared to death. I had 4 kids, a lovely wife (still have all of them). What was I thinking? This is a huge risk!
Well, earning my share of cuts, bruises, and scrapes in the agile industry, my mentors believed I would be more valuable in a consulting capacity; helping other organizations grow in their agility. I viewed myself as more of a corporate person/coach, being loyal to one organization and digging my heels deep into their adoption. I would have never dreamed about leaving an organization. Yet, here I am. Growing a business since May of 2014 and widely successful to date.
I owe much of this to my mentors. One of the biggest influences in my agile career is that of Mike Cohn. Mike and I have known each other from early 2009 when he would come and speak at our DFW Scrum User Group. He would then frequent us at least once a year and share some amazing stories with our members.
He was able to see what we were doing at my first agile "gig" and thought we were doing some really good things. He encouraged me to share those with the community. As I explored the opportunity to serve Dallas/Forth Worth locally, I offered a Scrum Exchange Program that allowed any organization to come see what we were doing and witness some of our Scrum events to see them in action (learning is one thing, but seeing them is really helpful).
Mike eventually was able to see what were doing in an even larger organization that I was working with (52 products and over 1,600 developers). That is when the push to start my own company began.
I am forever grateful to Mike and the countless others that helped me on my journey. I am mentioning Mike at this moment, as he has offered me the opportunity to help with Mountain Goat Software public workshops. We were able to talk through my philosophy and what we are seeing in the industry to date. You can watch this video blog at Mike's website.
I would love to see you as a part of Mike's workshop or feel free to join me at any of my other public workshops. I am looking forward to the partnership and stand forever grateful at Mike's trust in me with his brand (arguably one of the most recognized brands in agile).
