Oh, and I am just about to send the logistics email for our workshop next week on geographically distributed agile teams next week in Pleasanton, CA. I am sure we will discuss issues such as these. Have questions? Still want to participate? Email me.

People need time to think. They need time to adapt to their current circumstances. They need time to create their teams. Some of the time, people are thinking about this iteration’s stories. Some of the time, people are thinking about the product roadmap. Some of the time, people are thinking about the next iteration’s stories.

Thinking is work. Not all work occurs when fingers touch a keyboard. Not all work occurs when mouths are open and moving. Even I have learned to sometimes think with my mouth shut, although that is an infrequent occurrence.

The more “utilized” a person is, the less a person can think. And that means a person is not going to innovate. A person cannot provide the best they can for their organization, which is not why you hired that person.

If you are one of those people who is working with a manager who still thinks in terms of 100% utilization, consider my peer project portfolio coaching. If you are a manager, who is considering another way, consider Manage Your Project Portfolio and consider my peer project portfolio coaching with your leadership team.

In any case, please read the column, and leave comments on the column over at TechWell.

In February, Gantthead.com published Timebox or Kanban: A False Dichotomy. I would have let you know, but I was traveling and was unaware they published it! I write the columns ahead of time and don’t know when the actually get published.

In early March, InfoQ published an article Shane Hastie asked me to write about my agile journey. That was The Accidental Agilist: A Personal Look Back at 10 Years of the Agile Manifesto.