I know this site can get confusing from time to time. I genuine apologize for that. But an ever increasing number of Project Managers is doing an increasing amount of projects effecting many peoples lives. So what we do matters. We need to know what we are doing. We need to know our Project-Management-Self.

Photography by GhostBoy.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that you can create a balance between plan-driven and agile approaches. You also know that humans need to categorize everything just to make sense of the world. When combining the two statements together, it will become obvious that "plan-driven" and "agile" are also some arbitrary concept created by humans to support the limited mind. There is no natural law defining "agile", there is no eternal balance putting each of them on the extremes of some kind of scale.

When discussing with hard core "plan-driven" Project Managers I appeal to this mental need to categorize by positioning "agile" as their opponent. This is to get them to think outside the box. This is something that really works. Many people will get this "thinking outside the box". It is the next step of awareness that is more difficult to explain…

There is no box.

As Brian Clark explains:

"Just like Neo needed to understand that “there is no spoon” in the film The Matrix, you need to realize “there is no box” to step outside of. You create your own imaginary boxes simply by living life and accepting certain things as “real” when they are just as illusory as the beliefs of a paranoid delusional. The difference is, enough people agree that certain man-made concepts are “real,” so you’re viewed as “normal.” This is good for society overall, but it’s that sort of unquestioning consensus that inhibits your natural creative abilities."

There is no plan-driven. Agile doesn't exist.

There is just a problem that needs to be taken care of. There is just a team that must be managed. Just observe the situation and look for the cause. Don't get caught up in "finding the right method".

Remember, there is no box.