Welcome to another Monday (albeit it late — or Tuesday morning — for my European readers). Today’s comic strip represents a common misperception that a Chicken and a Pig can be one person. It really does not work.

Do I see this happening in reality? Unfortunately, more often than not. The largest crowd I have to work on coaching for this “affliction” is the line or middle management. If they are coming from a typical command-and-control // waterfall methodology environment, the middle managers are used to giving orders and having them fulfilled. This Scrum thing can be perceived as a large threat to them. Can you understand why?

Think about this. At some point in a “typical” middle management career, a person taking on this role was “rewarded” for being a super effective sole performer (insert role name here — programmer, team leader, analyst, or having pictures of their boss in a compromising situation (I am kidding on the last one, really!)). Once the sole performer has made the leap to a middle manager, the game in large corporations change to mostly pure politics and making sure that they get next year’s budget by spending the budget they have this year (another common thread I see with clients — spend like there is no tomorrow in the fourth quarter to “use up” the money that will disappear by January 1st (or whenever their fiscal year ends)). I usually shake my head and sigh, but this seems to be reality.

Now, take this middle manager and start that person with a new Agile methodology (in this case, Scrum). Typical response from said middle manager, “Oh, I have been doing this with my teams for years. We get them together, put them into a room, give them food and lots of compressed deadlines and viola…. out comes a product at the other end. Really Mike (patting me on the back), I know how to do this…”

Now comes the story of the Pig and Chicken. For a refresher read here. Go read it and come back. I promise I will not go anywhere… just come back real fast. I am waiting!!!!Done with the refresher? Good. So, please recall…. a Pig has SKIN in the game. Their bacon. Their asses-to-the-fire. Accountable. When relating the Pig/Chicken story to a middle manager starting with Scrum, I get to tell them they are a Chicken. They lay eggs. They contribute. Responsible to deliver the project? Sure, but not accountable on a daily basis to get it done. This naturally leads to contention.

[Tangent ON]

OK… remember… I am a consultant. I can say things that some people (maybe you) may not feel comfortable saying. If you are not comfy talking to a middle manager (or above) about this topic, feel free to use this as a job-aid and send it to them for review. I’ll take the heat. They will laugh (and maybe want to hire me — google is a good thing — spelled VIZDOS). Remember, I am an outsider with only opinions (of which they pay dearly for, and I sincerely appreciate!). Also, I am not knocking the middle manager role; it is just an easy on for me to use for the Pig/Chicken analogy. Laugh guys and gals. This is good stuff and you know it![Tangent OFF]

Where was I? Ahhh.. yes. Contention. See, remember in the corporate world there is huge game of politics that must be played — on a second-by-second basis — in order to “win” at the end of the year [they have to beat their peers and look better than the others so the next promotion can come to them]. Does this happen in all corporations? Surely not. However, since I get called in most of the time when things are blowing up, I can tell you it occurs more often than I care to talk about. Does it matter if it is a large or small corporate environment? Probably not. In smaller companies, I have a better chance at speaking and working with the “C-Level” executives (CIO, COO, CEO, CxO, etc.) but in a lot of cases those smaller companies are as large as some of the smaller divisions I work with in the larger corporations.

Basically contention can occur anytime more than one person is involved. Sometimes it only takes one, but that is why doctors can write prescriptions for Xanex (smile). So in the eyes of a middle manager, they now see some outside consultant (or internal Scrum Master) coming in and rocking their comfy world. This is not the best place to be for most people. I enjoy it. Really. Gives me great content to write about and share with you….

So, the conversation usually winds up with the middle manager agreeing to be a Chicken. “Sure Mike… no problem.” Until the first time the team blows chunk (for those unfamiliar with the term, think about the last time you went fishing and the ocean had some really large waves and the porcelain princess was your only true cold friend).

The story continues soon. Come back for more….Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here. You can also enter The Forum to discuss this cartoon and other Scrum topics. Thank you!