In 2006, a small group of 30 Certified Scrum Trainers (CSTs) gathered in Denver, led by Ken Schwaber, Mike Cohn, and Esther Derby. Back then, Scrum was still growing, and this group had been brought together to talk about two big topics: one, a major policy issue that Ken hoped they’d all agree on, and two, a list of core ideas that all Scrum trainers should cover in their classes.
As you might guess, that first topic quickly spiraled into intense debate. For two full days, everyone argued, dissected, and rehashed the pros and cons, only to leave without reaching any real agreement. Meanwhile, the second topic—essentially what Scrum principles to teach—barely got a mention. As the session wrapped up, Ken handed out a single piece of paper with just 15 bullet points. Titled "Scrum is Hard and Disruptive," it summarized what Ken felt every Scrum trainer needed to emphasize about Scrum. That sheet ended up being far more influential than any policy decisions from the event, and it’s still a personal favorite.
In "Scrum is Hard and Disruptive," Ken doesn’t sugarcoat things. He argues that Scrum isn’t just a tool for boosting productivity but a disruptive force that intentionally surfaces the messier aspects of organizations. It’s designed to expose inefficiencies and outdated practices—areas most companies would rather avoid. Ken’s main points include:
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Scrum Highlights Organizational Weaknesses: Scrum forces organizations to confront issues they may have ignored, like communication gaps, silos, and resistance to innovation. It’s not just a framework; it’s a wake-up call.
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Challenges to Traditional Management: Scrum often meets resistance, especially from middle management, because it changes the traditional flow of control, and this can feel threatening.
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Commitment is Key: Scrum works best when fully adopted. Half-hearted attempts or selective implementations only obscure the problems Scrum is meant to highlight.
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Self-Managed Teams as the Heart of Scrum: Scrum’s incremental approach relies on cross-functional, self-managing teams that own their processes, and for many, this shift can be uncomfortable and disruptive.
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No "Scrum Lite": Organizations trying to "soften" Scrum often miss its core benefit: the ability to uncover dysfunctions and drive real, deep change.
In essence, Scrum is as disruptive as it is powerful. It brings hidden problems to the surface, requiring organizations to tackle issues they might prefer to avoid. The full article, "Scrum is Hard and Disruptive," is definitely worth reading. You can find the full paper, here.
In recent months, I’ve covered similar ideas on change resistance, organizational transformation, and the push-pull of adapting new methods. Next week, I’ll be diving into a comparison of Larman’s Laws, Conway’s Law, and Scrum is Hard and Disruptive to explore how these perspectives all connect in the world of organizational change. See you then!