Don’t Fall In Love With Your Plan 💔

Don’t fall in love with your plan

It’s something Christina Mumm and I got re-confirmed last week when we facilitated a workshop with 25 participants at the LEGO Group. It was our first time running this workshop, so many unknowns existed.

🤔 How do the exercises connect? 
🤔 What kind of conversations and questions will it trigger? 
🤔 How does the timeboxing work?

And many more…

In the past, I would have pushed myself to clarify these questions upfront. I spent days imagining what would happen and adjusting the plan accordingly.

I would prepare various scenarios:

• If scenario A happens, I’ll do X
• If scenario B unfolds, I’ll do Y
• If scenario C unfolds, I’ll do Z

Obviously, none of these scenarios eventually happen, so last-minute improvisation is almost always required. 😅

Nowadays, I’m way more relaxed. When preparing a workshop, the most important part is to define a shared goal. What is the desired outcome we want to achieve? Based on the goal 🎯, I created a rough workshop outline. I don’t refine this plan in detail. The more you refine your program, the more difficult it is to drop it.

Embracing the uncertainty is something that gives me energy 🚀. It’s an adrenaline booster. It keeps me sharp and focused. I’ve learned that I enjoy improvising, especially when your new ideas help the group achieve better-than-expected outcomes.

At the same time, it’s energy-draining. Continuously ‘reading the room,’ checking body language and facial expressions, listening to conversations, actively doing nothing, thinking of potential improvisations, making decisions, checking the progress towards the goal, etc., is tiring and simultaneously highly rewarding when things work out.

It’s why I love workshop facilitation. ❤️

Ultimately, Christina and I had to change about 80% of our initial plan. Based on the feedback we received, our new insights made sense. We achieved the desired outcome, and participants experienced an enjoyable and valuable day.

When thinking of it…
👉 As a Scrum team, don’t fall in love with your Sprint Backlog; focus on the Sprint Goal
👉 As a Product Owner, don’t fall in love with your Product Backlog; focus on the Product Goal
👉 As an Agile Coach or Scrum Master, don’t fall in love with…

You get it. Focus on a shared goal, and be flexible with the road towards it.

How does this story match your experiences?