Implementing Software For Your Head

Luke (yes, that Luke, creator of my ex-Aggregator, but we're still friends) posts a comment to my entry about the book Software For Your Head:

“Admittedly, I (obviously) never actually tried to implement any of the ideas they laid out. If you did and have had success in doing so, please post about it and I may just have to dig that book up again...“

I actually am trying to implement some of the principles of this book (gradually, not all at once).  The first big win is "CheckIn".  In this protocol, you disclose your own mood to give a weather report of your emotions.  Though this seems incredibly simple at first, you'd be amazed at how valuable this simple act can be--people know where you're coming from.  One of the second easiest ones to implement is (I forget what the protocol is called--the book is structured as design patterns for teams) questioning all neurotic-seeming behavior, including your own.  Another obvious one, but most people don't do it, or don't do it every time.

Luke also remarks:  “...interesting and useful, there were too many other ideas in it that seemed like they'd never work in practice. They just seemed too far off from the way things work in the real world.“

Maybe it's not the book that is wrong, maybe it's that things really are that off-kilter on most teams in the “real world“.

--Marcie

Published Saturday, May 22, 2004 1:35 AM by datagridgirl

Comments

# re: Implementing Software For Your Head

I agree that most people when they read the book have the reaction: that can't possible work.

I believed they could work, but still I was afraid to try most of them at work, untill i followed a BootCamp.

During that week I saw the protocols work.

Having seen the power of them, I have the courage to use them at work.

In a new team I still get the same reaction. This won't work "in europe", "in our company", 'in ....'

For me The biggest block was in myself.

Once I get over that block, I notice every time again they work.

The easiests to implement are "perfection game" and "ask for help".

Did you know the core is also open source?

www.mccarthyshow.com/.../TheCoreV3.pdf

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:00 PM by Yves Hanoulle

# re: Implementing Software For Your Head

I've had the same experience as Yves. Using check-in, perfection game, AskForHelp, they really work. One of the mistakes I think people make when looking at The Core protocols is that it's an all or nothing thing. They aren't. The protocols are tools - to be used when appropriate. If you use them, you'd be amazed at how often they are the best tool for the job in so many circumstances. But when a team is humming, they don't need to stop to execute a protocol all the time.

What is all or nothing are the Core Commitments. And if your team isn't using them at some level, I can't imagine how anything of value can get done. How can a team work well if they're not accepting the best idea no matter where it's coming from?

The real work is getting to the state of Shared Vision. It's phenomenal. I've done a few of the McCarthy bootcamps, and I've seen the teams make there every time. It's amazing what a group can accomplish once they commit to supporting each other in getting what each other wants - when the individual objective can be distilled to a universally valued virtue - like courage, love, wisdom.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 6:33 PM by Harold Shinsato

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