Talk by Sue Johnston at Agile + Beyond 2018, June 17.
Looks at the problems associated with people who work crazy hours to save the day, week after week, esp in Software.
Heroes are Expensive: Extinguishing the Firefighting Culture
1. Agile + Beyond
Ypsilanti, MI – May 17-18, 2018
HEROES ARE
EXPEN$IVE
Extinguishing the
Firefighting Culture
Sue Johnston
It’s Understood Communication
AGILE + BEYOND
Ypsilanti, MI
June 17-18, 2018
2. • These slides are designed to be viewed in conjunction
with a human being talking and interacting with you.
• They will make little sense to you if you were not at the
live session.
• But if you find them useful, I’m happy.
PLEASE NOTE
SLIDES ≠ PRESENTATION
3. Who is Sue?
• Coach Skills for the Agile Workplace
• Facilitation Skills for the Agile Workplace
• Agile Fundamentals
• Product Ownership
• (Soon) Business Agility
Coach Author Trainer Host
June 7-8, 2018
Ontario Science Centre
Toronto
5. • Firepoles + Ladders
• Characteristics of hero
• Causes of heroics
• Impact of heroics
• What to do about it
What we’ll talk about
What we’ll explore
6. GAME RULES
Goal – Deliver water to douse flames
Move what we roll
Land on a firepole - Slide down
Land on a ladder - Climb up
Firepoles and Ladders
7. Characteristics of a hero
Derive self-worth from
fixing things.
May intervene without
getting the whole story.
Become “the expert” on a
topic but don’t share
information.
8. Characteristics of a hero
May start interpersonal
conflicts to be seen as
peacemakers.
Often create a
desperate situation so
they can resolve it.
9. Characteristics of a hero
Create impression “I
alone can fix this.”
May feel like martyrs. “I do
all the work around here.”
11. Individual personality
• Chaos addicts
• Adrenaline “junkies”
• Rescuer personality
• Fear of losing status
• Fear of losing job
More causes of heroics
12. Impact of heroics
People copy heroes; it becomes
entrenched in the culture.
If “hero” is the leader, they create
a state of dependency.
Unscheduled work hours
become normalized.
13. Impact of heroics
Proactive effort is seen as a liability –
people are not fighting today’s fire.
We lose visibility into problems.
Rushing to solution, hero may
solve the wrong problem.
Too busy mopping up to fix the leak.
14. Impact of heroics
Teams become demotivated.
People leave – even the heroes.
Code becomes “write only.” Harm to product – and
to customers.
15. What can we do about it?
Stop rewarding heroics with
attention, praise, money.
Reward real success.
Use meaningful metrics:
reliability, quality, capacity.
Focus on design, architecture,
planning, testing – disciplined
practices.
16. What can we do about it?
Talk with the team about
the impact and sources of
firefighting behaviour.
Continuously clarify roles.
Break the dependency chain.
(Time off.)
Keep an eye out for
“information hoarders.”
17. What can we do about it?
Classify working extra hours
as a “worst practice.”
Reward teams for working
standard hours.
Build relationships to get
needs met in healthy ways.
18. What can we do about it?
Be consistent between words
and actions.
Monitor risk on an ongoing
basis.
Find out what is broken in
the system that inspires the
heroics.
19. What can we do about it?
Realistic estimation – don’t
plan backwards from a
deadline.
Manage expectations – client,
sponsor, user.
Build slack into the schedule.
20. Courageous communication
“Six months seems much longer
in anticipation than it does in
retrospect.”
Robin Korthals, former TD Bank President
“One of the most important
responsibilities of an
Executive Champion is to
receive bad news well.”
Robert Reid, ED, All Humanity Holdings
21. Create a different sort of heroism
Develop “healthy heroics:”
explore
• be curious
• take initiative
• understand risk
Heroism is a counterbalance
for error – eliminate errors.
22. Create a different sort of heroism
Promote the heroic effects of a
dedicated team with the
support they need.
Make heroism a team sport.
Stress teamwork over individual
problem solving efforts.