Tobias Mayer

What a wild year for Tobias Mayer. Perhaps most are, but this is the year I came to know and appreciate Tobias. I sought out Tobias for my CSM training because my closest Scrum contact, Scott Dunn, did his training with Tobias. Lucky for me given my then state of unemployment, I was able to complete Tobias' signature Welfare CSM training in early February 2010. Since that time I have been close enough to Tobias' orbit to keep my special Tobias-tan. I saw him last at the Phoenix Scrum Gathering in October. I am just getting used to working within Conscires Agile Practices, the creation of Bachan Anand, another being in the Tobias Orbit. Bachan is executing on a vision that may be at least as outlandishly idealistic as Tobias'. I'm not certain because my comparison scale is being pushed well past my previous work and life experience. Gaining a new lease on youthful hope at my age is disconcerting.

There are times I thought Tobias' idealism pushed him a little over the edge compared to my version of common sense. Generally I was correct in this, and I benefited immensely by his example. Tobias is a moving beacon, one fixed point of principle against a shifting landscape of co-option and compromise. At their best, idealists are like this. Tobias must have "feet of clay" somewhere. It makes me just a little nervous I haven't spotted them in any area that really matters professionally. You may bring me the hemlock when Tobias sells out.

I don't really understand how either Tobias or Bachan believe what they apparently do, but I consider myself extremely fortunate to have an opportunity to execute a small part of their vision in the work I am just starting. Without them and the mentoring of Lyssa Adkins, I might not dare believe I could succeed in my own, more limited vision. I am going to extend my personal experience of collaborative, cross-technology, high performance humanistic work to the organisational level. I'm not nearly as idealistic, but I have a career's worth of relevant experience and only the Reaper is going to stop me. Since Welfare SCM 018, I have spent nine months training, reading, and adjusting my attitude. I am ready.

I have no idea where the entire package of issues regarding the Scrum Alliance, certification and the like will go. I would simply observe that we can now communicate and organise independently and we will. I'd like to see the SA funnel it's cash horde in more ambitious, idealistic directions, but it really does not matter. When some nexus of ideas creates positive business results directly from more humane, collaborative work environments, a stinking million here or there isn't going to make much difference.

I wrote a letter of recommendation for Tobias mid-April, 2010. With him backing away from the CST certification, this is what I thought of his skills in my training. This is piling on, really, as there must be as much praise and criticism of Tobias published as anyone needs. So I'm actually reproducing this for my pleasure as I thought it was a good letter. Ah, honesty.

Training: WelfareCSM-018, February 4-5, 2010.

To whom it may concern:

I highly recommend Tobias Mayer's CST work based on my experience as his student. The sessions were lively, interactive learning experiences for me and for every other participant I talked to. Tobias organized and conducted the entire class with sticky notes and a taskboard plus a number of flip chart illustrations he drew as required. Tobias clearly came from a place of intimate understanding rather than a slide deck.

Tobias intensely engaged in getting us to view potential workplace activity from a Scrum mind-set. We spent much time in games and exercises. The benefits of these exercises were not immediately clear to many in the class. Virtually all came to realize the exercises helped us instantiate productive collaboration. We experienced the power of jointly solving a shared problem.

Tobias presented Scrum as a set of ideas and behavior that apply well beyond software development. I was familiar with basic Scrum based on a close study of the readings. (Incidentally, he didn't leave anything out.) Tobias challenged me to think through how Scrum might apply in other contexts. That took work on my part, but it deepened my understanding beyond elements, artifacts and ceremonies. Tobias Mayer made me think Scrum rather than simply remember what it looks like."