I was reflecting on how I’m out of the box in many ways. Here’s my list:

 

  1. I believe it’s possible to create an expert system to guide consultants in engaging with a client (in fact, this is what the Disciplined Agile Value stream Consultant Workshop teaches)
  2. I believe there is cause and effect in complex systems. It’s just buried underneath some of the complexity. You can work on this to make things more visible. Ignoring this wastes a lot of work.
  3. People learn best by doing real work. PPT and exercises are not the same. The exercises only break up the tedium.
  4. To learn how to coach/consult participants must do real coaching & consulting in the workshop. Not a simulation in an exercise.
  5. Consulting engagements are great but they typically don’t leave useful documentation to continue the improvement.
  6. This documentation should also include how you got to the decisions you made
  7. Whether starting an engagement with training or consulting how you start must be able to be used to how you do continuous improvement later
  8. The core you start with must be capable of filling in the gaps while still being small.