More, Better…

Goethe wrote at the very end of Faust:

Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis

Das Unzulängliche, hier wird‘s Ereignis

Das Unbeschreibliche, hier ist‘s getan

Das Ewig-Weibliche zieht uns hinan

(For those drawn to this quote, see: https://rvgeiger.blogspot.com/2015/01/das-ewig-weiblich-zieht-uns-hinan-or.html)

One line in English:  “The unachievable here comes to pass.”

It’s a very famous passage in German literature, and Goethe is one of the top peaks in Western Civilization.

 

So, what makes us want to accomplish more?  What will make your Team want to accomplish more?

If you are the Brooklyn Nets that just got swept by the Celtics, I suppose there might be a good handful of answers.

 

That last line by Goethe was translated as “The eternal-feminine draws us aloft”.   One translation by one person.  Many others.

And so, it is a mystery, to some degree.  Ex: what does one mean by “the eternal feminine”?  Yin and Yang?  The mystery of Margaret?

A suggestion

It is good to reflect at the end of the season.  Or as one begins a new season, as we begin spring or summer.

And then to commit to a new goal (or set of measurable goals).  And part of that goal must include getting better.

However good we are, we can become better.

I recommend the Team set goals for itself.  Attainable, but not easily attainable.  A challenge.

And implicitly and explicitly we are trying to become better.

Yes, always there is a mystery.  Maybe numbers are not everything.

There remains something unknown in the Quality without a name. (A phrase from A Timeless Way of Building.)

There is much satisfaction in becoming better.  So long as we remain otherwise in balance.  And in using that betterment of the Team to deliver even more business value to the customers.

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Minor point

Scrum is a bare framework for you and your Team to work together and see if you can become better.  If you try, and a a bit clever, you will get better. The main question is how much better.

Use it that way.  Use everything in Scrum, including more of the patterns in A Scrum Book and become better.  And use other things, and become better still.

Does it sound hard?  Maybe.  But make it also fun!  Make it a game.

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