I no longer fight winter

Just give me summer! And skip the winter. Why? In summer I have energy for a hundred, in winter it has to come from my toes. That’s why I taught myself to very artificially transfer my summer energy into winter. For a long time that was a hefty struggle. Or rather, I made it a struggle. Because I just wanted to have a blast, do cool things, go out, accelerate, get over it and get on with it! But then I noticed that I forgot something. Something very important.

To get to the point: I forgot that every season has its own power and there is no point (and certainly no purpose) in resisting it. Going only for the summer energy automatically means missing out on the richness of the other seasons. And, as nice as that vibe is, just banging on like summer exhausts you. And constantly being in action mode is not deep enough to come up with truly innovative ideas.

For a few years now, therefore, I no longer fight the other seasons. Instead, I take advantage of them. Certainly not perfect yet, it’s a work in progress, but I take a step every year. Call it iterative. The only downside to those seasons? On a lifetime, they are not very short-cycling. Certainly not for an Agilist like me. Nevertheless, I now look at them as follows.

Spring: making room for renewal

In spring, I consciously take space to renew. I look around me, get fresh ideas and let go of what has been dormant. I set course, not by forcing, but by choosing.

Summer: doing, growing, persevering

Summer is action. Commitment. Perseverance. This is the season where I water what sprouted in the spring. Where rhythm, discipline and attention make all the difference.

Autumn: harvesting and making visible

In the fall, you reap. Not just results, but insight. What has worked? What can be seen? What provided value? The time to be proud together of what stands.

Winter: stilling, learning, deepening

Winter brings peace. The season when I slow down, reflect and draw lessons from what was. It is precisely in that stillness that insight emerges. And once that is there, spring automatically begins to call again.

And then something struck me…

For the observant reader, this cycle looks suspiciously like Agile working. And especially similar to Scrum.

Spring as Sprint Planning: you choose direction and determine what you really care about.
Summer as Daily Scrum: you get moving, make meters, resolve blockages.
Autumn as Review: you harvest, make value visible and engage your stakeholders.
Winter as Retrospective: you reflect, learn and sharpen before the new cycle begins.

Scrum is actually a seasonal system, but short-cycle. You don’t have to wait a whole year to learn something. In sprints, you can enjoy spring, summer, fall and winter every month (or even every two weeks). So with Scrum you follow the rhythm of nature, but at a pace that suits our work and our energy.

What time of year is your profit in?

The seasons may not be as short-cycle as I would like, but fortunately working with Scrum is. It helps me to regularly renew, pop, harvest and reflect.

When are you at your best? And what season would you, and your team, like to live through more consciously? Share it with me or make an appointment. I’ll be happy to explore it in more detail together.