A lot is being written about Scrum already. Scrum is dead and so on. Well when you have a vacancy for a "Manager" a "Janitor" or some other clearly non Scrum title but decide to call it a vacancy for a Product Owner or a Scrum Master. It's you who are fucking up. just renaming the beast isn't going to make it work like magic.
We’ve all heard it: "Let’s do Scrum, and Poof! We’ll deliver value in no time!" (Spoiler alert) it doesn’t work like that. Scrum isn’t some magic potion that turns chaos into order just by sprinkling a few ceremonies around. It takes a lot more than following the steps in the Scrum guide to get to real results. It’s all about teamwork, discipline, and having the right people in place and believe it or not, it’s not that different from how things are trained in the army ;-).
Sprint equals Mission
Let’s start once again with the elephant in the room, the word “sprint.” We’re not actually running a race, are we? This term still suggests rushing to me, but in reality, we’re aiming for a deliberate, well-planned mission. Like in the army, it’s not about speed it’s about precision and success. A well-executed mission isn’t just thrown together, it is strategically planned and relies on everyone playing their role and pulling their weight to the finish line.
Doing a mission requires adaptation along the way. You are going to encounter unknown's and you need to be prepared to deal with them instead of avoid/ignoring them and fuckup your mission.
Solving unknowns as a TEAM is what's going to make an Agile/Scrum approach work.
Specialized, but all-round
In both Scrum teams and military units, we all have our own specialties and advantages. But here’s the kicker. We deliver value as a team. Just like the army, where soldiers are cross-trained to fill in gaps, we’re all-rounders too. If something goes wrong, we don’t just throw our hands up and call it a day. We adapt and get it done, together (as a team!).
Scrum doesn’t work without the right mindset
Scrum doesn’t run itself. Just adopting Scrum won’t suddenly create value. I’ve seen it happen. People think if they run the ceremonies and just follow some Scrum related steps, magic will happen. But without your team managing the process itself, it’s like trying to run an army mission with no captain, no briefing, and everyone just winging it. Sure, you might finish, but what have you actually done?
The army knows this well. There’s a structure, leaders who guide, but also a reliance on every team member being proactive. In Scrum, you need the right mix: a Product Owner with a mandate and an actual vision that backs the company, a Scrum Master who keeps the flow going, and a team that’s not just doing tasks but thinking about the bigger picture. You will achieve this mindset only by working together and keep talking as a single team.
A team that talks about the hard stuff
As a team we need to work together, talk openly, and tackle the hard stuff. I’m not talking about easy conversations where everyone agrees. I mean difficult, uncomfortable discussions about what’s not working or clear, what needs to improve, and how to get there. Only then right kind of delivered value is going to surface.
Discuss unknowns during your mission and get rid of them. Upholding a "daily scrum" wont magically teach that by itself.
How do you think Apple created the iPhone? Jobs and Ive didn’t sit around patting each other on the back. They argued, they iterated, they pushed each other until the product was right. And that’s how Scrum teams should operate. You don’t just do what’s easy or what’s fast. You work through the problems, challenge each other, and iterate until you’ve nailed it. You also ask a lot of (WHY) questions so you understand where each person is coming from.
Briefings and debriefings are crucial, but only if you commit to them
In Scrum, we have our Planning (briefing) and our Review and Retrospective (debriefing). Sound familiar? You can’t just jump into the mission without a game plan, and you sure as hell can’t improve without looking back at what went wrong or right. But, and here’s the caveat you have to actually use these sessions for what they’re intended. Too often, they’re rushed or treated as checkboxes. In the army, a failed briefing or debrief could cost lives, in Scrum, it’ll cost you the ability to iterate and test on things for the better the next mission. Take them seriously, or they’re just empty meetings not delivering any value.
Teamwork is everything
At the end of the day, both Scrum and military missions succeed because of teamwork. You need people who are committed, who communicate, and who have each other’s backs. Without that, you’re just a bunch of people shouting the are doing Scrum, and that doesn’t deliver any value at all. Scrum’s not about heroes, it’s about the collective goal. You win together, you lose together.
Scrum isn't a holy hammer that solves everything.
So, here’s the thing. Scrum is a framework. It’s a humanly created structure designed to help teams work together efficiently. But just doing Scrum isn’t going to magically produce value for your company. You need the right people, the right mindset, and a clear mission that everyone’s working towards. Otherwise, you’re just doing tasks without any thought behind it—and that’s a recipe for failure.
Another thing: adapt your style of working to the needs of your business. there is a structure set by scrum you can adapt to. But dont be afraid to change some things if it works for the better for your company. The goal is creating a team that likes to work in the created structure and is able to deliver value instead of features.
You as a team or even a Company need to make it work by putting the right people (with a vision and mandate) and processes in place, or you’re setting yourself up for a crash landing not delivering anything then frustration.
Dont let solo managers trying to make themself look good take over your thrive for value and actually helping the business. Not hurting the business.
