I was in Trondheim for the XP2010 conference (btw I had a good and educational time, I'll write more details later) and afterwards we visited Oslo with my wife and daughter. I found this extremely neat postcard. It says:
§1 Be brave and aggressive.
Be direct.
Grab all opportunities.
Use varying methods of attack.
Be versatile and agile.
Attack one target at a time.
Don't plan everything in detail.
Use top quality weapons.
§2 Be prepared.
Keep weapons in good condition.
Keep in shape.
Find good battle comrades.
Agree on important points.
Choose one chief.
§3 Be a good merchant.
Find out what the market needs.
Don't promises what you can't keep.
Don't demand overpayment.
Arrange things so that you can return.
§4 Keep the camp in order.
Keep things tidy and organized.
Arrange enjoyable activities which strengthen the group.
Make sure everybody does useful work.
Consult all members of the group for advice.
In the future I wont refer anymore to the Agile Manifesto, the Viking Laws will be the thing ;)
Wow, those laws readlly do fit well with software development! Who knew that the Vikings learnt all the same lessons as we do?
ReplyDeleteI have seen the postcard, and I saw the similarities with agile software development. The only problem, though, is that the vikings ceased to be successful. In other words: they do not rule the world, and they were eventually beaten. So the question is: What is more efficient than the Viking Laws?
ReplyDelete@Janniche I thought it was cool, when I wound this card and I think so did many more :)
ReplyDelete@Alf Kåre Lefdal I was thinking the same, but then I thought that is there any empire that have lasted? So is it more like characteristic of empires, that they cannot sustain themselves?
Hi, very educating.
ReplyDeleteI think fighting in battle requires much more true cooperation and helping each other. Todays work environment in a big firm does not reflect a battle field (even though it might feel for you like it). The firm is fighting for survival, however the individuals are mostly not. I think that is the advantage of smaller firms in which more (or even all) of the employees do have this fighting spirit.
Further, I think that fighting requires a different leadership style then what I see currently in my organization. Right now, I feel we are more of employees under Napoleon, Cesar...
-w-