How nice it is to see...

I can't tell you how satisfying it is to see the fruits of my labours! I had a particularly proud moment when I read 32 Burndowns by Rob Hardy on the BBCi Labs blog... The rich collection of example burn-downs tell 32 different stories... and Rob's summary of how these projects work is dramatically different to the one he might have told only 2 years ago... but for me the gratifying aspect of this is seeing the ongoing growth in their development and understanding of what they do, how they do it and why they do it that way...

I remember where BBC Future Media & Technology TV Platforms were at the beginning of their journey and it is such a wonderful feeling to see that I (and the others involved - such as Malcolm Sparks) had a lasting and self-replicating and self-sustaining effect. Although I worked alongside Rob, spoke to him from time to time and I think he attended a talk or two of mine... I never directly coached him. Much of what he has applied on his projects, however, is a direct result of the pioneering work of others including Kerry Jones and Lasse Westh-Nielsen (all of whom I did coach). To see this replicate to Rob's team is a special feeling... it tells me I did a good job - especially in my ongoing emphasis of not doing agile for agile-sake... but to recognise that in a creative media organisation agile principles are in perfect alignment... something that Rob seems to have concluded for himself (although I'd like to think that my words echoed through the words of those I influenced).

On the other hand, it's also sad for me. Just when it's getting really interesting they simply don't need me anymore... Don't get me wrong - they'd benefit from my involvement I'm sure... but it looks like they've all grown up and are more than succeeding in going it alone.

Well done guys!!! You should be proud.