The Cannibalization of Progress
Decide What Matters Or It Will Be Picked For You
Cannibalization is a big problem in organizations.
Wait, cannibalization? Yes, cannibalization!
Too many goals.
Too much Work In Progress
Too many competing interests that cannibalize progress from each other.
It's actually one of the biggest problems I see. Why is that the case?
It happens because the illusion of progress makes us feel good. Even if we move forward with a glacial pace, we're moving. The thing we care about matters, even if it slowly inches forward.
Keeping things moving feels like a yes. The pain and loss of speed is opaque unless you pay close attention.
When we say 'no', or 'no, not now', then we feel the pain immediately. All movement stops. It sucks right now.
Do you want to create a traffic jam or have cars that zip to their destination?
That's the question.
Pick the few goals that truly matter, or they will be picked for you.
You won't have control and it will go slowly.
If you don't feel the pain choosing to not do things then you will probably feel the pain of not completing many things.
Except that blow follows much later when we forget the connection with our too many yesses.
I just met with a program yesterday that’s planning 90 features for the final quarter of the year. 90! How is that even remotely possible?
And I think this is the difference between Waterfall values vs. agility.
Waterfall begins with optimism now, and ends with pessimism later.
Agility starts with pessimism now, and gradually gets more optimistic as things become clearer.
There is indeed an epidemic of optimism when we begin, Maarten.
“Sure, we can take on that project. Sure we can do this, as well as that, why, we can do it all!”