Beginner's Mind--The Zen of Agile
, Jean Tabaka 
Based on “Zen Mind, Beginners Mind” —- Suzuki Roshi
THE POINT: “Beginner’s mind is Zen practice in action. It is the mind that is innocent of preconceptions and expectations, judgments and prejudices. Beginner’s mind is just present to explore and observe and see “things as-it-is.” I think of beginner’s mind as the mind that faces life like a small child, full of curiosity and wonder and amazement. “I wonder what this is? I wonder what that is? I wonder what this means?” Without approaching things with a fixed point of view or a prior judgment, just asking “what is it?”—— Abbess Zenkei Blanche Hartman on Suzuki Roshi’s epic work “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind”
We believe that if teams don’t stay in the moment, look below the surface at the here and now, and maintain openness and wonderment, they will ultimately adopt a fake Agile and fail in their adoption. They will kill the whole intent of Agile for software teams; that is, they will miss the maturation and growth born of team and self inspection and adaption without judgment and without adherence to pre-conceived notions of some gross-level Agile practices. In fact, we contend that Waterfall software development actually is a great example of a severe case of “Expert Mind”, a mindset that all can be known, defined and made expert to the point of no need for inspection of self or team. That “Expert Mind” view causes stagnation and lack of real team ownership and improvement in practices. We in Agile must embrace “Beginner’s Mind” if we want to reap the great rewards Agile software development has to offer.
- THE TESTS (the things participants will walk away with from this workshop): o Staying in the present is true focus and integral to Agile team success
o Agility is also a series of small successes and failures (reframed as experiments or learning moments) that we must be open to
o Building a sense of team or self expertise may blind your sense of possibilities
o Lean to keep values as core and have your practices continually evolve around your values
o Use frequent inspect and adapt of yourself as well as process, practices and teams
o Use frequent brainstorming of wild ideas; staying stuck can cause teams to often overlook
o Making “the here and now” practice takes work, takes investment, takes discipline
o Things that work/don’t work are often overlooked
o Zen moments are everywhere, you simply have to be open and ready so you can recognize them and decide what to do
o What does “Beginner’s Mind” means to Agile teams? (prep and exercise) A small group exercise in which members take basic Beginner’s Mind practice information and brainstorm about what that looks like for Agile teams. Teams report out to open group
o What does “Expert Mind” thinking mean to Agile teams? (prep and exercise) Same small groups now brainstorm how they could recognize thinking that inhibits openness or keeps teams at surface assumptions about Agile practices. Teams report out to open group
o What are some Agile project journeys that exhibit both these attributes and challenges? Both David and Jean share several project journeys where they have watched teams successfully apply “Beginners Mind” or fall prey to “Expert Mind” thinking. We bring examples that have more than what they seem (surface evaluation and constricting assumptions) going against it. And, we provide examples that show teams using “the moment” and openness to continually improve their practice without getting stuck. Our goal is to show that quick decision-making, or clinging to assumptions about practices have hindered teams’ growth.
o What did you hear (listening and exercise)
o Where do you see yourself keeping a “Beginners Mind” versus an “Expert Mind”? An exercise of One-on-one interviews where participants ask each other about their project journeys and write down what they hear. Groups of 6 then bring their interviews/stories together, mine similar events/observations, and on a flipchart capture what Beginner’s Mind practices they see emerging from their stories and discussion. The entire group shares their work through silent observation of the flipcharts, sort of like visiting a Zen temple or Zen garden.
o What are the possible small events you should now look for in your Agile adoption and practices? An exercise of individual contemplation that participants keep to themselves in personal written form or pictures
o Our brilliant wrap up :- ) Provide our set of Zen and quasi-Zen (fun) quotes on little pieces of paper and have small groups randomly pull a quote from a hat. The small group now builds its Agile story, fun or serious, about the quote they have selected based on all that has been discussed during the session. We finish with final readouts and celebration!