"Don't know if it's possible to "sell" agile. Politics should show us that people do not use rational thinking when it comes to ingrained beliefs, and anti-Agile literature and social media is rife with confirmation bias.
It seems it's not facts or rational arguments that change minds or behavior. Has more to do with social interaction and status. Just look at politics.
Many intelligent and highly educated ppl are climate-change deniers. Facts do not change their opinions. Confirmation bias runs rampant. Same applies in the Agile realm, I think. E.g. If someone believes in cmd/control, you can't change that with facts.
There are very few approaches that work: If the new information comes from somebody you know and trust, you might pay attention. If the people around you believe something, you'll pay attention. If your status goes down if you don't do it, you'll pay attention.
In general, a rational argument will be of no use whatever. Even demonstrating that somebody's "wrong" (e.g. with a pilot project) will not change minds.
Ultimately, the only solutions that work are rooted in social interaction. We programmers tend to not believe that. We talk with incredulity about how ppl ignore "the facts," but facts will sway nobody."
"Yes, you can "sell" them on adopting the lingo, or maybe you can sell them classes or certificates, but selling them on the hard changes that have to happen to make things actually work is much harder. "
Allen Holub
It seems it's not facts or rational arguments that change minds or behavior. Has more to do with social interaction and status. Just look at politics.
Many intelligent and highly educated ppl are climate-change deniers. Facts do not change their opinions. Confirmation bias runs rampant. Same applies in the Agile realm, I think. E.g. If someone believes in cmd/control, you can't change that with facts.
There are very few approaches that work: If the new information comes from somebody you know and trust, you might pay attention. If the people around you believe something, you'll pay attention. If your status goes down if you don't do it, you'll pay attention.
In general, a rational argument will be of no use whatever. Even demonstrating that somebody's "wrong" (e.g. with a pilot project) will not change minds.
Ultimately, the only solutions that work are rooted in social interaction. We programmers tend to not believe that. We talk with incredulity about how ppl ignore "the facts," but facts will sway nobody."
"Yes, you can "sell" them on adopting the lingo, or maybe you can sell them classes or certificates, but selling them on the hard changes that have to happen to make things actually work is much harder. "
Allen Holub
