Buddha’s fourth noble truth discusses how there is a path to the cessation of suffering. This is explained
in further by what is detailed in something called the eightfold path. In a nutshell (enlightenment
for dummies), I like to think of it as the middle ground. Not too self-indulgent but also not too self-
mortifying either. Or simply put ‘don’t fall into the trappings of compulsive living’. It also describes
the nature at which craving, clinging, ignorance, delusions and such will gradually lesson as you make
progress on the path. This path also covers many lifetimes so patience is a virtue.
This describes a perfection that is strived for but not necessarily obtained within this lifetime. Not too
different than the agile process when you look at from a philosophical view. One should visualize their
adaption of agile as something that has not yet achieved nirvana but should be moving along the path
towards it. It will take time to get there so once you accept that suffering is inevitable along the journey,
peace will follow.
Agile acknowledges that things may not always go smoothly by planning a retrospective meeting after
every sprint. This meeting provides the chance for the team to improve the process that makes them
work more efficiently one sprint at a time. To make this meeting strive towards nirvana, allow the
team to focus on an inward introspection versus an outward one. What I mean by this is that too many
organizations get wrapped up by what is written in text books or labeled by the word ‘repeatable-process’.
What should be happening, in my opinion, is introspection into what makes the most sense for the
individual company or team regardless of what is going on externally. This can facilitate a true root-
cause-analysis of what are some of the stumbling blocks to this team based upon the conditions specific
to that team and how to solve them. What is a solution for one individual or team to get to perfection may
not always be the same for others as they are each at a different juncture on the path.
What can be achieved by allowing the team the autonomy to improve their own process through creativity
and innovation is increased efficiency and velocity in my opinion. Some might even call that nirvana....
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