Agile is never just Agile and is very similar to life...

Soccer Team

The opening line in the movie "Short passes in a narrow area", shot by Serdar Akar in 2000, is as follows.

Life is very similar to football. Football requires individual skills, but it is actually a sport played with foot. It is also a game played collectively. Four correct passes are 90% goals. Isn't that how life?

Simon Kuper's 1996 book "Football against the enemy" was translated into Turkish as "Football is never just football", showing how life and football are intertwined.

When you think about it, it is very natural that football and life are similar. Both are sets of activities that people carry out collectively.

The following quote from a former goalkeeper sums up the issue perfectly: "Whatever I have learned about life, I have learned thanks to football; because the ball always came from the corner I did not expect.

Agile is very similar to football.

Both are done as a team.

The goal is to reach a goal in both.

It has a certain/limited time box.

Good planning brings success in both.

A good presentation satisfies the audience in both.

Those who learn from their mistakes and correct them always win.

It is essential to use the right talents in the right place.

Both of them are insufferable fans.

In both cases, the disciplined one wins.

We can extend this list further. However, my aim is not to emphasize the common points of Football and Agile, but to show how much they are both involved in life.

There is a question frequently asked by people who want to implement Agile. "Is Agile suitable for our company?" Let's see ;

In the 1986 World Cup, the Argentine national team completed the tournament with a formation that had rarely been seen until that time. This system, called 3-5-2, was untested and risky until then and was heavily criticized. This system brought the cup to Argentina that year. Afterwards, Germany (then known as the Federal Republic of Germany) won the 1988 European Cup and the 1990 World Cup with this formation.

The aim of this system was to keep the midfield crowded and to support the defense when it was necessary to attack quickly. It was seen that serious success was achieved when the coordination within the team was high and with players suitable for the system. It was attack-oriented and it was easier and faster to score goals with this system. But it also had its drawbacks. If the defenders were not fast enough and the midfield did not provide the necessary support, goals were easily conceded.

So, can your company take the risk of playing 3-5-2? Can he afford to be in danger in defense to score more goals? Will your players be successful in playing this tactic?

A more important question is "Can you win all matches with a single system?"

Just like in life, long-term plans will often become invalid due to the variability of life. Making frequent plans at short intervals and adding the lessons learned from the previous plan to the next plan is the smartest thing to do in this regard. This is called Agile.

For this reason, the best approach would be to question whether you can implement Agile rather than whether it is suitable for your company.