Pinch Mindset

The Pinch mindset is a mix of core Agile values, augmented with a few new ones. While all of the values of Agile hold true in Pinch, not all of the principles make sense. Agile principles like iterative delivery, sustainable development, technical excellence, and meaningful retrospective all routinely get sacrificed in the rapid delivery workspace where Pinch thrives.

Let's look at the new values Pinch offers in return. Like Agile, we value all of these things, but we value the things on the left more.

Constraint over Commitment

Pinch is going to gravitate towards the entrepreneurial space, commitment really isn't the issue when you bring a bunch of motivated artisan/entrepreneurs to the table. Passion has to exist. Everyone's going to be bought in and working hard to get something delivered, it's going to be more important to constrain their efforts for maximum results.

Momentum over Continuity

The execution of Pinch and your MVP is finite. There is maximum value to be gained from getting everyone to jump in and just start executing. There is no perfect here! When deciding between what is right for now and right for long term, always choose the prior. Everything except the MVP in your hands at the end of your Pinch is 100% disposable.

With hard work and a little luck, your MVP will be something worth going to market with. When that happens, you owe it to your product to adopt a more sustainable, iterative methodology than what Pinch will give you. Pinch is not for long term growth of your project.

Forgiveness over Facilitation

Pinch thrives in the experimental space. We're going to need some permission to fail, so long as we agree that we fail fast. Pinch offers us a framework and we do our best, but things sometimes go south anyways. When it does, get your team together, address it, refactor, and move on.

Co-building over Collaborating

Working and talking together is part of any healthy team, beyond that is the ability to build together. In the entrepreneurial space, you're probably getting to be choosy about who you work with, so challenge everyone to redefine their standards of a high-performing team. Pairing, swarming, doing whatever is necessary so that each workstream is delivered and functional is an extension of collaboration that Pinch demands. The cross-functionality of your team is only limited by your motivations to be exactly that.

Product over Pitch

Great ideas are the start of all great products, great promotion not so much. So long as you know you have a market to serve, focus on the build. Marketing can be a part of your Pinch, but not at the sacrifice to the goal: working product.

The mindset and framework of Pinch combine to provide a "Pinch of Agile", in an arena that Agile has not championed yet: micro-production.