Why build this site?
For the most part, my blog posts on here will be Scrum-related leaning towards insights and tools I have picked up over the past decade, as I want visitors to get a firsthand look into the life of a Scrum Master. However, for my first blog post, I think I’ll tackle the one question I’ve been asking myself these past few weeks as I’ve been developing the plans & infrastructure for this site: why am I doing this? I am currently a Scrum Master/Agile Coach at a great company, have a to-do list that’s a mile long for things I want to do around the house, and am blessed to have an incredible wife that I try to maximize my time with when I’m not tied up with the first two things. So why add on one more thing?
If you’ve visited my LinkedIn profile, then you know I don’t come from an IT background. As a matter of fact, after college, I ended up in retail management, then banking… bouncing around until I came across the role of Scrum Master. For me, it was truly a Robert Downey Jr cast in Iron Man moment - the role fit me like a glove and my life transformed. For the first time in my professional life, going to work wasn’t painful and I was grateful to have finally found something I enjoyed.
My first couple years as a Scrum Master were the years I learned the most. Fortunately, this was pre-COVID, so I was on-site all day every day. I say “fortunately” not because I enjoy being on site. On the contrary, I firmly believe the role of a Scrum Master can be successfully executed entirely remote, as I currently do with my teams whom I have never met in person. Back then, though, I’m glad it was on-site as it provided me the opportunity to physically sit in conference rooms and witness firsthand how my fellow Scrum Master colleagues conducted various ceremonies, allowing me to put in my “Scrum toolbox” what I found valuable while leaving the rest behind.
Fast forward to the next few years, it seemed that more companies were undergoing Agile transformations and all of a sudden, the demand for Scrum Masters soared. Around that time, I connected with a buddy who was developing a training system to teach people how to transition into the role and he invited me onto his podcast to speak on the interview process and to share how I was able to repeatedly land my next Scrum Master role as soon as I found out my current contract was wrapping up. Upon releasing that podcast, I had two dozen aspiring Scrum Masters reach out directly and over LinkedIn to set up 1:1 Zoom calls to discuss Scrum interviews. After meeting with everyone who had reached out and getting overwhelming positive feedback from those sessions, a discussion with my wife got me thinking that there were likely more people out there stumbling through their interviews… people who were just looking for a chance… people bouncing around like I had before I had figured some things out.
As much as I’d love to say that I jumped into action that very moment, the truth is this sat in my mind to stew for a few months before I finally decided to do something. Early this year, I set up a Fiverr account to help aspiring Scrum Masters with their resumes and to prepare them for their Scrum interviews. I set everything up telling myself that even if 5 orders came through this year, then that would be 5 people that I could be a stepping stone for to a potentially life-changing career – thinking that would be the extent of my operation. With year end around the corner (a great time to retrospect, I might add), I figured I’d go back and review the orders from the past year and was surprised to see that we had completed 50+ orders on the platform in under a year.
So back to the initial question: why build a website and add one more thing to the plate? And the answer is because the website will allow me to add more value to everyone who visits. From a Resource page that I intend to build out to these blog posts that will allow me to provide insight into the daily life of a Scrum Master, I’m hoping this site will light the path for aspiring Agilists all around the globe. After jumping from job to job and not having a clear direction, the Scrum Master role really has changed my life and I’m hoping that it doesn’t stop with me.