It may surprise you to learn, but from planning and executing climbs to adapting to unexpected challenges, rock climbers are some of the best practitioners of agile methodology out there. As more and more businesses adopt agile methodologies, new agile leaders can take inspiration from rock climbers' agile-style practices that they've been using for decades.
I came across the Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin award-winning documentary film ‘Free Solo’. Once I got past the nail-biting ‘will he or won’t he’ moments, my agile background couldn’t help but think about the ways in which the team achieved their goals. While rewatching the film, I really focused on the way they worked together. I found rock climbers are amazing practitioners of agile methodologies. Here are five ways rock climbers use agile practices that your organization can adopt.
1. Planning and preparation
Prep, plan and prep some more. The first step in any successful climb is careful planning and preparation. Rock climbers must assess the terrain, plan their route, and ensure they have all the necessary equipment and supplies. They use a combination of their own knowledge and experience with learnings documented by other climbers. This prep can be anything from training, removing loose rocks from the route, or making sure you have the right equipment and that it is in good shape.
Product Owners must assess what is being asked of the teams. They work with the business to understand what is being asked of them before the planning session. They also must ensure the team has the skills to complete the work and plan when it can be completed. In both cases, it is essential to start with a clear understanding of the project scope, resources, and goals.
2. Flexibility and adaptability
A core principle of agile is the ability to adapt. Experienced climbers know that conditions can change quickly, so they must be able to adapt and change course. Decisions made when these unexpected challenges and obstacles occur can often mean the difference between life and death. Whether it's a sudden change in weather, a difficult section of rock, or a gear malfunction, rock climbers must use their inputs to determine if they should stay on the current path or adjust. Sometimes this means abandoning their goal (pivoting) to regroup and try again another time.
Similarly, businesses must also be adaptable in order to survive–from changes in the market and new technologies to customer needs and competition. We have seen over and over again businesses that did not adapt and are no longer around (e.g. Blockbuster). Knowing when to pivot or persevere is important. Continuing to invest in something that is no longer desired by your customers is throwing good money after bad.
3. Continuous improvement
This key principle of agile methodology is fundamental in terms of learning from past experiences and using that knowledge to improve future performance. Rock climbers are masters of this concept.
When tackling a route, after each session, they identify what went well and what needs to be adjusted to be successful. They then use these learnings iteratively to improve so that they can get closer to their goal. When climbers come across problems in the route they chose to tackle, it may take them several sessions to get it right so they can progress.
Alex Honnold climbed the Huber Boulder Problem pitch nearly 30 times to ensure he knew how to navigate the pitch during his ascent. He not only practiced how to complete the various pitches the way he wanted, but he also practiced navigating through any mistakes he may make along the way.
Conducting retrospectives at the close of a sprint helps the team grow and improve. This also provides space for the team to celebrate any successes along the way. When implementing these identified improvements, teams can iteratively become more effective and efficient.
4. Teamwork and communication
Rock climbing is a team sport. Climbers collaborate with each other by providing information, support, and safety. Effective communication is essential in this environment because climbers must be able to share information about various routes, potential hazards, and equipment status with those on the ground or with each other.
You can equate this to team dynamics in agile projects, where effective communication and collaboration are key to success. Effective communication in agile helps to ensure there is a commonly understood vision, what needs to be delivered, and who is going to do the work. Team communication is a must to identify deliverables, provide status updates, identify roadblocks, demo work to the customer (internal or external), and share knowledge.
5. Focus on results
For rock climbers, the ultimate result is to complete their chosen route safely and efficiently. This may mean it takes days to complete a climb once started. It took more than two years for Alex Honnold to plan, prepare the route, and practice the route before he attempted to free solo the Freerider route on El Capitan. It took Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson 19 days to complete the Dawn Wall route on El Capitan once they started.
For agile teams, they focus on delivering a high-quality product that meets the customer's needs. Some initiatives may take a year or more of work to fully complete while others may take an iteration or two.
Both rock climbers and agile teams are laser-focused on achieving results through problem-solving, testing, and iterating.
“The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.”
Conrad Anker
Rock climbers use agile practices better than many organizations, thanks to their ability to plan, adapt, learn, communicate, and focus on results.
Practicing good agile methodologies enables organizations to be more adaptive in an ever-changing business landscape. I have witnessed organizations implement sprints and program increments and then declare themselves agile only to continue to manage projects in a waterfall manner. Coaching teams to iterate, learn from their previous sprint, and implement those learnings has helped them work better together and become a more effective team.
Whether you are a project manager, Scrum Master or a rock climber, these principles are essential for success in any endeavor. Keep in mind the lessons of agile methodology and apply them to achieve your goals.
One of the best documentaries to see these steps in action is the 2018 Academy Award-winning film Free Solo. This story is about the journey of Alex Honnold to achieve his dream to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
The key components we discussed above are apparent in the way Alex and team work together to ensure all aspects of what is needed for a successful climb are planned. Alex prepares for his climb daily, both physically and mentally. He practices not only his intended path but also how to adapt if he makes a mistake. He practices the climbs several times to be able to continuously improve his execution and constantly communicates with the team to help work out any problems encountered. The entire team is focused on supporting Alex’s goal.
If your organization needs support to improve its business agility, get in touch. No matter where you are on your agile transformation journey, our experts can help.
It may surprise you to learn, but from planning and executing climbs to adapting to unexpected challenges, rock climbers are some of the best practitioners of agile methodology out there. As more and more businesses adopt agile methodologies, new agile leaders can take inspiration from rock climbers' agile-style practices that they've been using for decades.
I came across the Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin award-winning documentary film ‘Free Solo’. Once I got past the nail-biting ‘will he or won’t he’ moments, my agile background couldn’t help but think about the ways in which the team achieved their goals. While rewatching the film, I really focused on the way they worked together. I found rock climbers are amazing practitioners of agile methodologies. Here are five ways rock climbers use agile practices that your organization can adopt.
1. Planning and preparation
Prep, plan and prep some more. The first step in any successful climb is careful planning and preparation. Rock climbers must assess the terrain, plan their route, and ensure they have all the necessary equipment and supplies. They use a combination of their own knowledge and experience with learnings documented by other climbers. This prep can be anything from training, removing loose rocks from the route, or making sure you have the right equipment and that it is in good shape.
Product Owners must assess what is being asked of the teams. They work with the business to understand what is being asked of them before the planning session. They also must ensure the team has the skills to complete the work and plan when it can be completed. In both cases, it is essential to start with a clear understanding of the project scope, resources, and goals.
2. Flexibility and adaptability
A core principle of agile is the ability to adapt. Experienced climbers know that conditions can change quickly, so they must be able to adapt and change course. Decisions made when these unexpected challenges and obstacles occur can often mean the difference between life and death. Whether it's a sudden change in weather, a difficult section of rock, or a gear malfunction, rock climbers must use their inputs to determine if they should stay on the current path or adjust. Sometimes this means abandoning their goal (pivoting) to regroup and try again another time.
Similarly, businesses must also be adaptable in order to survive–from changes in the market and new technologies to customer needs and competition. We have seen over and over again businesses that did not adapt and are no longer around (e.g. Blockbuster). Knowing when to pivot or persevere is important. Continuing to invest in something that is no longer desired by your customers is throwing good money after bad.
3. Continuous improvement
This key principle of agile methodology is fundamental in terms of learning from past experiences and using that knowledge to improve future performance. Rock climbers are masters of this concept.
When tackling a route, after each session, they identify what went well and what needs to be adjusted to be successful. They then use these learnings iteratively to improve so that they can get closer to their goal. When climbers come across problems in the route they chose to tackle, it may take them several sessions to get it right so they can progress.
Alex Honnold climbed the Huber Boulder Problem pitch nearly 30 times to ensure he knew how to navigate the pitch during his ascent. He not only practiced how to complete the various pitches the way he wanted, but he also practiced navigating through any mistakes he may make along the way.
Conducting retrospectives at the close of a sprint helps the team grow and improve. This also provides space for the team to celebrate any successes along the way. When implementing these identified improvements, teams can iteratively become more effective and efficient.
4. Teamwork and communication
Rock climbing is a team sport. Climbers collaborate with each other by providing information, support, and safety. Effective communication is essential in this environment because climbers must be able to share information about various routes, potential hazards, and equipment status with those on the ground or with each other.
You can equate this to team dynamics in agile projects, where effective communication and collaboration are key to success. Effective communication in agile helps to ensure there is a commonly understood vision, what needs to be delivered, and who is going to do the work. Team communication is a must to identify deliverables, provide status updates, identify roadblocks, demo work to the customer (internal or external), and share knowledge.
5. Focus on results
For rock climbers, the ultimate result is to complete their chosen route safely and efficiently. This may mean it takes days to complete a climb once started. It took more than two years for Alex Honnold to plan, prepare the route, and practice the route before he attempted to free solo the Freerider route on El Capitan. It took Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson 19 days to complete the Dawn Wall route on El Capitan once they started.
For agile teams, they focus on delivering a high-quality product that meets the customer's needs. Some initiatives may take a year or more of work to fully complete while others may take an iteration or two.
Both rock climbers and agile teams are laser-focused on achieving results through problem-solving, testing, and iterating.
“The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.”
Conrad Anker
Rock climbers use agile practices better than many organizations, thanks to their ability to plan, adapt, learn, communicate, and focus on results.
Practicing good agile methodologies enables organizations to be more adaptive in an ever-changing business landscape. I have witnessed organizations implement sprints and program increments and then declare themselves agile only to continue to manage projects in a waterfall manner. Coaching teams to iterate, learn from their previous sprint, and implement those learnings has helped them work better together and become a more effective team.
Whether you are a project manager, Scrum Master or a rock climber, these principles are essential for success in any endeavor. Keep in mind the lessons of agile methodology and apply them to achieve your goals.
One of the best documentaries to see these steps in action is the 2018 Academy Award-winning film Free Solo. This story is about the journey of Alex Honnold to achieve his dream to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
The key components we discussed above are apparent in the way Alex and team work together to ensure all aspects of what is needed for a successful climb are planned. Alex prepares for his climb daily, both physically and mentally. He practices not only his intended path but also how to adapt if he makes a mistake. He practices the climbs several times to be able to continuously improve his execution and constantly communicates with the team to help work out any problems encountered. The entire team is focused on supporting Alex’s goal.
If your organization needs support to improve its business agility, get in touch. No matter where you are on your agile transformation journey, our experts can help.
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