Proceedings

CultureCon Boston convened by: Agile Boston User Group

September 14, 2012

Contents:

Agile Boston Vision & Values

Sponsor Information

Open Space Proceedings

Agile Boston Vision & Values

Agility is about committing to respecting people, and continuously improving. One way to accomplish both is to work from values that bring life to these ideas.

The following statements matter. If they resonate with you, please attend our next meeting, or our next event. Check and see if you align with our values. If you do, consider contacting us to genuinely engage in helping us achieve our vision and mission.

Vision

Our vision is simple: A regional community of practice, in the Boston area, that is a thriving ecosystem of Agile learning, continuous improvement and innovation, in service to building energized organizations that create great results.

Mission

Agile Boston’s mission is to encourage & help the Greater Boston Agile community to become the most active, most innovative & most vibrant Agile learning community on the planet, by any measure that can be named.

Values

We use these values for every aspect of how Agile Boston operates.

Volunteers commit explicitly to these values in advance, as a condition of service.

Volunteers are expected to act in alignment with these values at all times when representing Agile Boston. Some Volunteers become leaders over time. Leadership must fully embody these values.

These values explain, inform and guide everything we do.

We use this set of explicit values as guidance for selecting and interacting with Volunteers, Sponsors, Speakers, and the creation of Policies, Programs and more.

These values are built on two core ideas:

RESPECT FOR PEOPLE

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Our Core Values are:

Serve Others

Be Purposeful

Create Results

Create Relationships

Increase Learning

Communicate Honestly

Create Fun

Be Focused

Be Committed

Be Courageous

Our values, expanded in detail, with the “big idea” underlying each one:

Be of Sincere Service to Others Service to others is a teachable behavior and an attribute of genuine greatness in individuals, teams and organizations. Sincerity in the pursuit of genuine service to others is essential.

Be Purposeful Aligning actions with a clear purpose serves everyone, reduces stress, and creates the potential for great results. Be purposeful in every action.

Create Great Results Effort is profoundly overrated; seek in all ways to efficiently manifest greatness in all of our results. We seek to create great results through simplicity and a clear focus on what is essential.

Create Healthy Relationships with Respect Personal self-care and a genuine concern for the dignity of others is fundamental to great relationships, shared understandings and the creation of healthy communities.

Use Openness to Increase Learning Consider every idea, regardless of the source; share your best thinking with others to increase collaboration and the potential for great results. Use openness to increase healthy and effective communication.

Communicate with Integrated Honesty Speak the truth as you understand it; fully disclose how you think and feel. Develop the skills and courage to express your truth in every situation; use these skills to model virtue in every interaction you have with others.

Create Fun by Being Passionate Devote all your energy to the task at hand and immerse yourself in it; be passionate and determined to really enjoy all that you do, both individually and with teams. If this is not possible, exit the situation.

Attain and Maintain Focus Concentrate all of your attention on the task at hand. Recognize that a clear focus is always an essential ingredient in the creation of truly great results. Use focus to be effective in all that you do.

Deliver on Commitments Intentionally bind yourself to a course of action, individually and with teams. Make commitments only after careful consideration, then deliver on each and every commitment you make to yourself and others. Keep your promises.

Be Courageous Execute in the face of fear, regardless of how uncomfortable it feels. Never allow fear to prevent you from executing in the direction of great results, both individually and with teams. Realize fear is almost always present when pursuing great results. Be very afraid if you must– then “do it anyway”.

You are invited to jump in, and join us in accomplishing our ambitious mission:

Agile Boston’s mission is to encourage & help the Greater Boston Agile community to become the most active, most innovative & most vibrant Agile learning community on the planet, by any measure that can be named.

Sponsors

Thanks to all who attended CultureCon 2012.

You made this a great event!