In this presentation filmed during Agile 2008, Jim McCarthy talks about 11 commitments team members should adhere to if they want to achieve a state of shared vision. Such a state empowers a team to reach their full potential and ultimately attain greatness.
Watch: Jim McCarthy and 11 Commitments For a Shared Vision (1h 21 min)
Jim starts the presentation amusing the audience with stories from his early days when he started programming in BASIC, then continues with more funny stories about his years with Microsoft.
After leaving Microsoft, Jim started a laboratory dedicated to teams to discover the right ingredients for true team bonding which is expressed through a state of shared vision. When each individual shares in the common vision of the team, everybody reaches maximum potential and the team is on its way to greatness. The 11 principles were developed in Jim's lab with the direct contribution of hundreds of teams over 12 years.
The 11 commitments, in summary, are:
- Engage when present.
- Seek to perceive more than I seek to be perceived.
- Use teams, especially when undertaking difficult tasks.
- Speak always and only when I believe it will improve the general results/effort ratio.
- Offer and accept only rational, results-oriented behavior and communication.
- Disengage from less productive situations.
- Do now what must be done eventually and can effectively be done now.
- Seek to move forward toward a particular goal, by biasing my behavior toward action.
- Use the Core Protocols (or better) when applicable.
- Neither harm—nor tolerate the harming of—anyone for his or her fidelity to these commitments.
- Never do anything dumb on purpose.
McCarthy's BootCamp web site contains a document with the 11 Commitments explained in detail.