Joe’s Diary of European Activities

Joe was on stage at the Wiki Agile launch party.

They are an agile company founded by two women. This event was made possible in just two weeks of preparation, and as expected from these two Agile experts!

They were so full of energy and passion that I wanted to continue taking on challenges no matter how old I was!

Joe was also on stage there. Thankfully, there are many people in Finland who know Joe, and we’ve even had people say to him, “I’m a big fan!” 

I think ABI may collaborate with Wiki Agile in the future!

We traveled north from Helsinki, the capital of Finland, to conduct a JoeDX class at Keppo. More than 50 people participated! The company develops various products including polishing tools, and not only employees but also suppliers participated in JoeDX. Having the companies we collaborate with participate is the quickest way to reach a common understanding.

Also, at this company, I was able to experience the flat organizational culture unique to Scandinavia. Everyone exchanged opinions freely in an environment with no sense of hierarchy. Communication was so natural and open that it was difficult to determine who was actually the CEO. This experience made me realize how important it is to have equal relationships within an organization.

This looks like a conference place, but it was a nice place with accommodations as well. By the way, no matter where you stay in Finland, there is a sauna. (My research)

Since we was in Europe, we stopped by Portugal to attend the wedding ceremony. The groom is an agile expert based in Portugal.

Many agile colleagues were in attendance!

This is the first event in Germany. This time he were invited by Mercedes-Benz to attend an event to share the latest innovations and solutions in automotive technology.

Joe participated as a panelist in the panel discussion.

The theme was “New Work,” and discussions included new ways of working and how organizations can promote digital transformation. Joe participated as an agile specialist, and the other five people were able to hear opinions from various positions, including CEOs and technology specialists.

Opinions such as university education is important because the younger generation will be in charge, an attractive office is important, a non-hierarchical organization is important, a review of organizational culture, and flexible budget settings were exchanged.

Many of the panelists seemed to be based in Germany, but I felt that they had a lot in common with Japan.

Capgemini is a comprehensive consulting firm headquartered in France.

Joe gave a presentation here.

I was a little surprised that the show started at 19:00, but from 18:59 onwards, no one spoke to me and everyone stopped chatting and took their seats. It may be selfish, but it was the moment when I felt the national character of Germany.

There seemed to be a lot of talented consultants and agile coaches, but “I was really inspired by Joe’s presentation!” “It had a deep emotion!” They called out to him.

They held a JoeDX class in Munich.

They had a copy of Joe’s book “Scrum Master” available at the venue, and participants requested Joe’s autograph. There was a line for autographs in front of Joe, and I was so grateful and happy!

Joe gave a presentation at RTE Summit 2023.

RTE stands for SAFe Release Train Engineer, and it seems that there were many SAFe coaches and SAFe practitioners.

However, in the comments to Joe’s presentation, some people were so surprised that they said, “It blows my mind!”

Also, the facilitator at this event was very engaging. Although he was an SPCT (SAFe Program Consultant Trainer), he was also like a comedian.I realized once again that simply teaching concepts is not enough to influence people.