Agile and Passion

Last week I was involved in a discussion with a Product Eng team about their work practices when one person from that team told me that I am quite passionate about agile.

I thought for a moment and I said...
"I am not at all passionate about agile. It is just my preference, not my passion".

I am passionate about cycling, reading Bill Bryson & Frederick Forsyth. But working in agile manner is my preference, not my passion.  

In fact, I prefer being agile because it helps me to swim in unknown waters, it helps me to avoid producing big waste, it saves me from unnecessary cash burn, and it safeguards me from damaging team spirit. All these are the business benefits of being agile.
For me being agile is nothing to do with passion; it has everything to do with better business and serving customers better and more profits.

When the propeller engine planes were considered as the peak of aviation engineering, Frank Whittle thought & experimented with TurboJet engines. World adopted TurboJet engines rapidly because it made flying faster possible. After about 2-3 decades, Benz thought and experimented with TurboFan Jet engines. The world started adopting TurboFan engines because it made flying faster & cheaper possible. Even today, the world is not at all passionate about TurboFAN engines. We use them because as of today it makes the best business sense. Plane builders and Airlines across the world have adopted TurboFan engines for business benefits, not for any passion.  

Thomas Edison is one of the most well-known and prolific inventors who ever lived. Edison was very passionate about supplying DC current to American consumers. After all, it was his invention. But his passion for DC Current could not make it a success. The idea of AC current (by Westinghouse) won the race, and eventually, Westinghouse completely wiped out the idea of DC current.

Being passionate about something can lead you to be a passionate follower, and very soon that can lead you to be a blind follower. It can curtail experimentation; it can curtail keeping your curiosity alive about other things. And being passionate about any “A”gile Framework would be the worst kind of passion. Being a passionate “A”gilist can lead you to have “Being Agile” itself as your end-objective.

Being “a”gile with a purpose pushes you to decide your end-objective, it pushes you to decide your North Star, it pushes you to keep tracking your journey towards your North Star.

Being “a"gile with a purpose nudges you to gather feedback more often in shorter cycles,
which can greatly safeguard you from creating waste,
which makes a great +ve impact on your team morale,
and your team's ability to deliver better value,
and helps your customer's business,
and ultimately your business. 

What can be a better reason to be agile than helping you, your team, and your Organization to do better business, to serve the customers better, and to earn more profits?