“You can Change Your Organization or Change Your Organization.”

Martin Fowler's words slalomed through my brain as I trudged to work on a cold and dreary morning. The weather, my mood, and the work ahead were all the same: colored in gray. I wanted a change.

It was 2002. The .com bust was in full slump and work was hard to find. I had started my own small business as an independent consultant at the worst possible time: the end of 2000, right as the bubble popped. I had some noteworthy successes doing what I loved: coaching agile Extreme Programming (XP) teams in doing great work for a valuable purpose. And then the work dried up.

Eventually I admitted that I was going to have to find some "real" work to fill the gap. I took a contract job as a programmer on a team customizing some web software for a large institutional customer. This team was the opposite of agile. I was bored and frustrated. It didn't take me long to remember Martin Fowler's advice. As a peon, could I make the kinds of changes I made as a (damned good!) XP coach? Or would they kick me out, causing me to change organizations a little more abruptly?

I decided to find out.

Change Your Organization: A Diary

  1. IntroductionMarch 9, 2006
  2. Weeks One Through EightMarch 16, 2006
  3. Week Eight: WednesdayMarch 23, 2006
  4. Week Nine: MondayMarch 30, 2006
  5. Week Nine: TuesdayApril 6, 2006
  6. Week TenApril 13, 2006
  7. Week Eleven: MondayApril 20, 2006
  8. Week Eleven: TuesdayApril 27, 2006
  9. Week Eleven: ThursdayMay 4, 2006
  10. Week FifteenMay 14, 2006
  11. Week SixteenMay 24, 2006
  12. Week Seventeen: WednesdayMay 31, 2006
  13. Week Seventeen: ThursdayJune 7, 2006
  14. Week EighteenJune 14, 2006
  15. Week NineteenJune 28, 2006
  16. EpilogueJune 28, 2006