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Hi.

Wow. I just did an informal count (and recount) of all the comic strips that have been posted on this site. This is comic strip #65 since we started with the initial comic series of the Chicken and Pig since September 11, 2006.

I was having a conversation with another “Scrum Person” last week over lunch and the topic of this site came up. He was surprised that this blog has been updated on such a consistent basis since we started the site. Turns out a lot of people in the industry thought this idea had no staying power. I met for dinner with an ex-CIO of a past client this evening (just got back and am writing this now!) who was surprised we only had 60-something cartoons up there… so…. information is taking off in all different directions about this site.

Back to my pundits…. [Still getting over the fact that I do have people out there that want me to fall flat on my face!]

“This is Scrum… how much can you really talk about this each week Mike?”

“Scrum is a simple framework. That’s it. Duh!”

And.

I agree.

It is.

A simple framework.

It is designed to be that way.

For a reason.

What makes this fun for me — and I hope for the people who read this on a regular basis — is the fact there is almost a never-ending product backlog of ideas for me to write about and Tony to illustrate new comic strips for us.

Huh?

Remember… Scrum deals with people. Not resources. People.

This is not a static topic that will go away. People will continually show me there is new material to write about in the context of Scrum.

And for that, I thank you sincerely.

In fact…. over the time we have been publishing this blog, it has grown in popularity (we consistently receive over a million hits per month) and some of the comic strips have been translated into over a dozen different languages.

What amazes me is that the comic strips (most of the times without the write-ups) are showing up in other Scrum Training presentations and being used selectively in team rooms and corporate presentations.

When I start seeing these posted in team rooms, seldom do people in the rooms realize I am the author of this site.

I ask, “Why do you post this (or these) comic strips?”

A consistent answer to me is, “They are great conversation starters with our outside stakeholders.”

“Oh, and they are funny and our team really relates to them.”

Wow.

Um.

When I started the vision for the site I originally thought I’d connect with an illustrator (it took me six months to find Tony) and start to see if we could push the envelope on some topics that a lot of people in the Scrum Community have been avoiding.

Or.

Should I say, “had” been avoiding.

Why do I say “had”?

I have seen that these comic strips and blog entries are now bringing out some very tough conversations about transparency or real-world issues between team members, product owners, ScrumMasters, and outside stakeholders.

Wow.

Bringing the fringe to the forefront.

In my case, one comic strip and/or blog entry at a time.

Do you see this happening in your team, organization, or enterprise today?

Has one — or more — of the comic strips help create some change that was really effective for your team?

What about thinking if one of the comic strips has been disruptive to your team?

I hope you do not agree with everything I write or Tony illustrates.

I do a lot of what I do to help people start thinking about the ordinary in an unordinary manner.

Is this happening for you?

If not… Why not?

Meanwhile, my plan is to keep cranking out new comic strips and blog entries no matter what my pundits are saying. I’ve never been one to follow the crowd. While it may not make me popular…. I stopped worrying about that sometime in high school and now think about how well I can sleep at night — and feel good about me. And not only about me (that sounds selfish in retrospective)…. but does this stuff add value to you (the person or group of people reading this blog and our comic strips)?

Is that a bad thing?

Gotta run!.Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here.

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