Mastodawn

> The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” This change corrects a problem so I’m OK with it.

From @donaldegray's essay "This Title May Change at Any Time! (How Do You Feel About That?)"

When a change idea is tied to a problem we feel, we have a much bigger appetite for the change.

Sometimes, I've sat on an observation of a problem and proposed solution for as much as a year until something happens in the life of the team for the problem to be felt. Whereas they had no interest in my idea when I first pitched it, a year later when they were feeling the pain of it, they were open (and excited) about the idea!

I've found that often I have ideas for change before there is a broad appetite for the change.

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Alex Bird Mar 17

I have a friend who decided to sell his portable air conditioner in the winter. He decided in the winter, but he waited until a day into the biggest heat wave of the summer before listing it for sale. Clever guy.

I try to do this with my change ideas. I'm in a team, and I see some pattern, friction, pain point, or opportunity... but if others don't see it, I keep the idea in storage until the "heat wave". Practically, that means I'm waiting to see if anyone brings it up in retro, or if folks resonate with the observation of the pain that I talk about in retro.

When (if) we agree it's a problem that's worth thinking about, then I bring my idea out of storage.

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Elizabeth Zagroba

@alexanderbird Never waste a good crisis