Progressive Agile: Evangelizing Agile in your Company

An Evangelist is a sales man who sells a way of doing things. Like any sales, you sell the following

1. Convenience

2. Dream

3. Better Self Esteem

Rules of Evangelism (in short what sells)

Evangelist has to sell ideas, basically implant the ideas in some one else head. Unless we don't have the technology of "Inception", we will have to make do with following

Non Intrusive

Never intrude or force your employees to listen to your evangelism speech. That's not evangelism. Do not force them to watch some thing or spam their inbox or force them into unwanted meetings or sessions or workshops.

Psychology says brain rejects anything which is forced. Brain accepts any thing which is strange, extra ordinary and interesting

Attract, Evangelize and Reward

First you need to find ways to make people come to you. Often organizations are autocratic in forcing ideas, they should instead be selling ideas.

Forced Ideas never stick, Sold Ideas not only stick they grow.

Some Fun ways of doing Evangelism for Agile

Agile Fiesta

Inviting People to the occasion

Every now and then call on to Agile Fiesta in your company. This is a reward to them to let them freak out and enjoy.

Remember, If you want people to come, please invite them for free food and drinks. Important point to note is they are your guests and not just your employees.

Yes, Certain Investment is required.

Investments in knowledge and learning pays out big time throughout life

Some stalls are for food, some are for agile (Food for brain)

Evangelize

Have your evangelist, sell Agile. Their key work is to talk to people one on one who approach them. Apart from selling Agile, they should talk to them about how things work and not work in their group.

Evangelist are public speakers but also great Listener

Question: How to make sure people go to the stalls?

Answer: Probably you are asking the wrong question, in the first place.

Question should be : How to make it interesting and fun to people to go to the stalls?

Answer: Simple, like in any carnival and fiesta, people go to the most fun stalls to play games and win some thing

Question: How to make sure people find their way to agile stalls?

Answer:At any stall, a person gets a Agile-Learning Sheet. He has to take this with him to each stall, if he wants to win a reward and be eligible for the lottery.

When a person talks to an Evangelism, based on the interaction and depth of questions. The Evangelist gives stars to him/her. This could even work in this way, a stall has 3 people telling 3 aspects of Scrum. Each can give one type of star. If the person talks to all 3 people at the stall, they win all the stars for Scrum.

Here is how it can look