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It happened to IT guys about a decade ago. In a nutshell, software developers thought they have everything well planned out while building new IT solutions, apps, etc. But in reality, nothing happened as they planned. So a very smart guy called Jeff Sutherland co-created a method called Scrum, which shifted the paradigm of work in favour of the software development community. A couple of years later, the rest of the world also started changing extremely fast due to digitalisation and nothing went according to plans anymore. Businesses rise and fall so fast it is beyond imaginable. The amount of information available in any second is unprecedented. Business strategies which were previously set for at least 5-7 years in advance are now changing every two years. So now we are all starting to wonder how to adapt in this fast changing, agile world.

What does it actually mean - scrum, to be agile? Does it mean working faster, harder and more? No. It is about working smarter, with a little less planning and a tiny bit more self-confidence. Because we already know today that we don't know what tomorrow will bring. Hence, to feel uncomfortable about the future should become the new comfort zone. It means being flexible, bold and to touch new things faster without hesitation. You know, to tick-off all those intimate to-do notes you've been promising to yourself but never brought to life so far. So why not just move from "to-do" into" doing" or even "done"? Let yourself try and fail fast, so you can fix it quickly. Why wait? Life is too short. Customers and competition do not wait. That new business idea you've been thinking of may soon be someone else's huge success. Things you've always wanted to say to your boss, colleague, friend or partner need to be said. Try, fail, change and evolve. Repeat. In work and in life.

As Jeff Sutherland put it, "no one should spend their lives on meaningless work. Not only it is not good for business, it also kills the soul." The reason why I am so thankful for digitalisation and automatization is because technology will truly save us from boring, routine jobs. No, it will not make people unemployed because new, exciting jobs are being created daily. Who said we will work from 8 to 4 in the future? Simple tasks and jobs will be soon replaced by AI. What we will contribute is complex problem solving, creativity and intuition. People touch. It does not require a fixed working time, sitting at the same desk every day or drinking coffee from the same mug and with the same team. Living life to its fullest also does not necessarily include finishing school, getting a job, getting married, having kids and retiring after 40 years of work. Previously normal work and life plans might become scrumbled very soon. The new way of thinking and living is just around the corner.

To feel uncomfortable about the future should become the new comfort zone. 

So eliminate waste from your life, work and mind. Change your perspective. Try working in a different office or getting a new job. Travel. Talk to new people. Read a book you know nothing about. Move and be agile on the move. Scrum your life. The effect can be dramatic.

Source:
• Sutherland, J. (2015). Scrum. The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. London, Random House Business Books.