The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad

My Name is Lee and I Will be Your Server...

Jan 14, 2025

A recent dining experience sparked a thought on the distinction between waiters and servers. The focus shifts to how genuine service enhances engagement. Listeners are encouraged to submit topics and questions for future content, creating a collaborative environment. This highlights the importance of serving the audience effectively and tailoring discussions to their needs. The conversation aims to ensure that each interaction is meaningful and impactful as the year wraps up.

04:33

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Quick takeaways

The podcast emphasizes the distinction between simply meeting requirements and actively serving others to enhance their experiences.

Listeners are invited to engage by sharing topics of interest, fostering a collaborative environment to produce valuable content.

Deep dives

The Importance of Service in Agile

The podcast highlights the distinction between merely waiting on someone and actively serving them, inspired by an email from a friend who shared his dining experience. This distinction illustrates a broader theme in the Agile community, where there's a tendency to simply meet requirements rather than genuinely support and enhance the experience for others. By focusing on service, practitioners can create deeper connections and provide more meaningful assistance to those they aim to help. This approach encourages Agile professionals to adopt a mindset that prioritizes understanding and addressing the needs of their audience.

The Art of Serving: Engaging the Audience for 2025

4min

This episode was inspired by an email I received from Mike Cohn. It is my turn to challenge you..

"Hi, I’m Joel, and I'll be your server tonight.”
I was out to dinner last week, and that was how the waiter introduced himself. Actually, he wasn’t our waiter. As he’d said, he was to be our server.
A small distinction perhaps, but as a writer I think words are important. The difference here struck me for some reason that night.
Throughout the meal, Joel did serve us. He had help with things like carrying plates from the kitchen and filling the wine and water glasses. But he was clearly interested in serving.
He recommended wines, subtly steered us away from some menu choices (“I prefer our fish dishes”), encouraged splitting one of the salads but ordering two appetizer choices, and did everything he could to ensure we had a great meal.
As the year winds down and I think about the emails I’ll send you next year, the YouTube videos I’ll create, the blog posts I’ll write, and the new courses I’ll create, I want to make sure I am serving you.

What topics would you most like to hear from me about next year?
Are there specific questions you’d like addressed?

Please comment below and let me know. I can’t bring you an appetizer or recommend a good Pinot to pair with your next retrospective, but I can promise to address topics that will help you succeed with agile.

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