Agile Thoughts

It seems that a requirement like “meet me at Starbucks on Wardour Street” is simple enough and leaves little room for misunderstanding.  Or so I thought.  Turns out there are two Starbucks cafes on Wardour Street now, and as a result Jo Cranford and I ended up half a street apart, each breakfasting alone, and puzzling at the unreliability of the other.  I originally met Jo when she was a participant on the Certified Scrum Master course that I ran with Boris Gloger in Manchester (UK) earlier this year.  Our meeting yesterday was to catch up, share experiences and discuss some vague ideas of a London Scrum event in early 2007.  Jo is the first Scrum Master at Expedia UK, and is recording her Scrum adventures in her wonderfully named “Spike The Poodle” blog at http://spikethepoodle.com/.  It is fitting that Jo is the subject of my first Agile Thoughts blog post, as this blog was inspired by Jo’s blog.  I enjoy her writing, and I like the way she combines the professional and the personal in one space; this is not a combination that always works, but in her case it does.  I hope to achieve the same thing with my own blog.

So Jo and I failed to meet up this time, but I got to wander the London streets and visit the National Portrait Gallery before going on to meet my friend-of-many-years, Miche, at her office near the Bank.  We ate lunch at Wagamama’s, and then drank coffee at yet another Starbucks.  Miche is always an inspiration; she is continually learning and expanding her horizons, and she has me believing that anything is possible.  Conversation flows… and she paid for lunch too.  Thanks, Miche. 

London was hot today, but you know, as always very cool.  Being here always makes me realize how much I love this city, and how I miss it.  I am fortunate that my work brings me back here from time to time.  Maybe next time Jo and I will define our meeting requirements a little better… inspect and adapt.  Progress.

Footnote: When I told my mother the Starbucks tale, she listened with a bemused look before finally saying “But what is this ‘Starbucks’?”. Seriously.