The finest of standups.

I have been in truly good standups. It was nice. I would like you all to have that experience too.

Moreover I would like that you all can stop experiencing such limp-coffee standups. You know the ones. The perfunctory ones. The low energy ones. The norm.

Have you held these beliefs? Be honest:

• Standups are to make sure we’re at our desks on time.

• Standups are to make sure nobody’s slacking off.

• Standups are a necessary part of scrum.

• Standups are to make sure we’re going to hit our scrum goals.

• Standups are my only time to ask questions.

• I go to standups to make sure nobody blames me for being late.

• I go to standups because they’re mandatory.

• I worry about what to say at standup.

• I worry double about what to say if I’m blocked.

• I worry about what to say so I don’t look stupid.

Answer yes to those? Well your standup is ass-backward. It’s designed to monitor you. It installs a world where it’s you VS the standup. It’s a whip.¹

Start the day like that and you’ll be rushing off for lunch in no time.

However. There is another way. I experienced it. And it was nice.

The most senior person in the room - who I will eternally have respect for - laid it out plainly.

I don’t give a shit about what happened yesterday unless it’s on fire today. All I care about is that nobody is blocked. That’s it. You’re all professionals. Manage your own shit. Ask for the help you need. Everyone is responsible for unblocking everyone else.

She swears a lot. She owns it. It’s very refreshing.

The win here is simply that we focus on moving forward. Not on looking backward. Not looking at each other. Not looking for mistakes. To boost eachother in the morning so we can hit the day running.

UNblock. Help. Professionalism.

These are the watchwords of a good standup work.