Today I am Grateful for: A Fibonacci Spiral of Connections

cloth with artistic design
Photo by Frank Cone on Pexels.com

The best part of the online and book filled world is that I can add people I have never met (and will never meet) to my like-hearted community. Adam Grant, Rumi, Brené Brown, Simon Sinek, Dr. Michael Gervais, Malcolm Gladwell, Aristotle and Susan David. This expanding list people reminds me of a Fibonacci sequence of connections. You have seen those expanding Fibonacci spirals in nature from flower petals to shells to hurricanes to galaxies. This sequence is described as a “progressive proportional increase.” The reach of these “progressive proportional increases” can be amazing and awe inspiring.

Agile Best Self Principle #12: At regular intervals, reflect on how to become your best self, then tune and adjust.

Last September, I was on a call with Brené Brown and 2 people from my company. Just the 3 of us. Or at least that is what it felt like. I’d bet there were over 10,000 people on that call, but with Zoom, I felt like I was part of a conversation with Brené.

This week, Susan David’s work has bubbled to the top. I just had my Sunday morning coffee with her. Fer real? You say…Yep. I listened to her TED talk from 2017: The gift and power of emotional courage. I’m going to put this one on constant rotation. She weaves in a heartbreaking personal story, humor at the right spots and ends up sharing an uplifting definition of Emotional Agility. Then I took her emotional resiliency quiz. Then I downloaded her book “Emotional Agility” onto my phone. Over the next few days, I’ll be spending 9 and a half hours soaking up her wisdom and experiences. I can’t wait! As a connector and catalyst, I can’t wait to connect her experiences and ideas to our community. This is what energizes me!

Agile Best Self Principle #10: Simplicity – focusing on what energizes your best self — is paramount.

The beautiful thing about the Agile Best Self framework, is that my co-creator Brian and I are constantly finding more people and more ideas to bring into the conversation. There is room within our values, framework and mindset to allow for expanded conversations from well known thought leaders and good friends.

Who is part of your like-minded community?

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson

Glad I Showed Up

Dr. Jeff Sutherland and me: June 2017

Today I am grateful I showed up one day in June 2017.

On November 18th, 2020 there is going to be a new release of the Scrum Guide. For us Scrum nerds it is a big day. This day is also an opportunity for me to pause and reflect on what has happened in my journey since that day a few years ago.

I’m glad I showed up that day because I got to meet Dr. Jeff Sutherland (the co-creator of Scrum) and Steve Daukas, Scrum Master extraordinaire (and more, I came to learn later). I was there to take a Product Owner course and learn Scrum. I was there because I was curious about what Scrum REALLY was about. In my career as a technical, functional manager I worked with Scrum teams, even impersonated a Product Owner at one point years ago. But, the dude who co-created Scrum was teaching a class at MY company. I had to go see what this was all about.

What I found during the course was something for which I did not bargain, and this moment of self-discovery set off a series of events that took my career (and my life, for that matter) into a brand new direction. That first day of class I saw what true authenticity looked like in both Jeff and Steve — they both truly believed in what they were teaching — and they clearly had the receipts to back it up. Even in the face of a barrage of doubters also in the room that day, they stood confident, committed and proud. I had to be a part of that.

The next day I decided to follow my instinct, and pursue this new direction. I remember vividly upon making that commitment, my Inner Critic showed up saying loudly:

“What the &^%& are you doing?”

Brian’s Inner Critic

I knew at that moment I was in it — outside my comfort zone, but learning and personal growth was ahead.

Here is just some of the the things that happened to me after I made that decision:

Because I showed up, I had the opportunity to teach and speak about Scrum in four countries.

Because I showed up, I had the opportunity to share my personal Agile journey with an author, and it was told in a book.

Because I showed up, I had the opportunity to meet Michaele which led to discovering Agile Best Self, and then together creating this community.

Because I showed up, I took advantage of the opportunity to train for a week with Dr. Jeff Sutherland to learn how to teach Scrum to others with the same passion and authenticity.

Because I showed up, I have met some of the most authentic, passionate people that truly want to make the world a better place — unlike any other group of professionals I have ever encountered.

Because I showed up, I am unafraid about how my career will wind down, but how I might contribute to the world for another 30 years.

Because I showed up, I get to do this stuff again tomorrow and the next day.

So, on November 18th, 2020 we are not only receiving a new Scrum Guide, but also celebrating 25 years of Scrum. I’ll also be grateful for all that has happened to me because I showed up that day welcoming change with curiosity – Agile Best Self Principle 2.

It’s going to be a good day.

Copyright © 2018 – 2026 Michaele Gardner and Brian Hackerson