Unfortunately, saying thank you seems to be an afterthought more and more. So at least once a month, I will take a few minutes to publicly appreciate someone that has had an impact on me.
This round: Agile 2025 (Event Part)
Was Agile2025 perfect? Obviously not. Were there things I would have done differently? Obviously – I’m me. Did things upset me and make me nervous for our community? Obviously – I’m not oblivious. But honestly, none of that matters right now. The good enormously outweighs all of that.
As a former organizer of this event, I respect the experiments, choices, etc. that each team makes given the situation at the time. Here are the event specific highlights for me this year:
- Hands down the absolute best add: Hack-a-thon. I stopped in to observe exactly what this community is about – engaging with customers to solve real problems. And that is exactly what they did in three days. I couldn’t be happier for the track chairs of Quinton Quartel and April Jefferson creating an amazing environment for this magic to happen. I highly encourage you to read any participants’ summaries of this experience. It will inspire you.
- Chris Murman Opening: I don’t know if I can do justice to his exact words, but I can share how this year’s conference chair set the best tone right out of the gate. He reminded me that I want to go into the week focused on what matters most…people. That the connections we make are what stays with us the most. And as I looked at his photos, I smiled. It was personable, relatable, funny, and inspiring.
- Lightening talks: I’m glad this still happens. I attended one session where I saw new voices and experiences speakers all get up to share their passions. I’m grateful for a space that lowers the barrier of entry and fear. And I was definitely going to be front and center to see Eval Silvera share for the first time. It was an honor my friend, you did such a great job!
- Book Signing Option: This year there wasn’t a standard book sales table. Agile Alliance gave people an option to sign up to sell & sign their books in the exhibit hall. I signed up. Because I live in Denver, I brought all three remaining boxes I had left of my Lead without Blame books, but I only brought two of the boxes down (and was nervous that was too much). I remember laughing at Bob Hartman when he asked, “is that all you have?” and I said no, I have a box in the room, but I won’t need it. He laughed. Within a few minutes of lunch starting, the line was long. I had to ask my friend (thanks Christina) to run to the room to get the last box. I went through all 150 books. It was a surreal moment but one I’m grateful for the offering this year.
- Podcasts: I was only able to do two of them this year. One with Dave Prior and one with Lonnie Johnson-Weaver & Judy Neher. In both cases, the conversations were unscripted real discussions between people that respect each other. I was able to share behind the scenes thoughts, explain the intention behind the four slightly larger photos in my community slide, and just simply enjoy the conversation. These podcasts help me in the moment process, appreciate and connect as the whirlwind is happening.
- Lean coffee: I technically didn’t have time to participate this year. But because of the time for lean coffee, Matt Barcomb was present just when I needed help (not many people were around at 7 am…lol). Thanks, Matt, for being willing to oblige my strange request! But more importantly, for creating a space for people to continue to engage in lean coffee (especially for all of these years).
- Sessions & Speakers: This event has traditionally had a 4-10% acceptance rate for speaker submissions. I don’t know what this year was, but it always feels like an honor when you are selected. I sometimes wonder if this contributes to people raising their game when they deliver here. And every session I went to reinforced this – Diana Larsen’s information on leadership, Jake Calabrese’s exploration of Agile Coaching Syndrome, Jeff Patton on superpowers of storymapping, Nicole Smith’s engagement on gaming and learning systems, and so many more.
- Sponsors: Maybe it was because some of the sponsors at Agile2025, also sponsored MHA2025 but I felt more connection with the sponsors than in years past. I got to talk, engage and even dance through the entire event. Thank you for the support of this community.
- Dancing: I was late to the party and was unable to start the dance floor with Diana Larsen. I even got a “where have you been?” when I did finally get there. But she highlighted how there are new people willing to kick it off and it made both of our hearts happy. Don’t worry, I got all my dancing and singing in!!!
- And as always, purple shirts show up and deliver. I am always focused on thanking the volunteers, but Jim Highsmith showed me how it’s really done this year. He got his lunch and thought, I want to eat with the volunteers. The number of volunteers that expressed how much they appreciated that – I can’t even count. Purple shirts: you are seen, heard and appreciated very much!
I can’t wait to see what Semira Allen and the team brings to the table in 2026! And I will be there to support her and this organization.
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