“But” vs “and”: one little three letter word can make a world of difference

Todd tells me that learning never ends for him. He loves that he has the freedom to structure how he works so that he can build learning into his own routine, by consistently reading books on being agile. He excitedly shares with us a tidbit he just learned from a book he’s reading called Radical Candor, by Kim Scott. “It’s all about giving and receiving feedback, and making an environment that’s psychologically safe for everyone to contribute,” he summarizes. The idea of psychological safety is to encourage people to speak up about what they notice, a key component of being agile. Rather than responding to someone with a “yes but,” saying “yes and” builds on what is being said rather than tearing it down. And when everyone feels safe to speak up, that’s when new ideas emerge around the room that can have a huge impact on the work.

When everyone feels safe to speak up, that’s when new ideas emerge around the room that can have a huge impact on the work.

Todd’s day-to-day job is about experimenting with different techniques he reads about to see what works. “It’s very empowering to apply what you learn, and see what impact can be made,” he says, “and ironically, that very process is what you’re trying to get others to try as well.”

Ultimately however, Todd’s favourite part of his job is being able to create a better environment for people, and helping them solve problems. Serendipitously, as he tells me this, an elderly woman with a walker comes up to the door of the café, and Todd immediately rushes up out of his chair to open the door for her.

At the end of our chat, Todd says, quite matter-of-factly, “Agile is never the end goal. The goal is to have better outcomes. Agile is simply the means to achieving that.” There is a method to the madness of the ”agile” trend, and I couldn’t have concluded it better myself.