My continuous learning journey

One joy of life has been continuous learning. It helps that I am naturally curious. And getting one question answered leads to more questions – a cyclical learning chain.

Starting as an entrepreneur, it was all learning from the knocks of life, every day. My software craftsmanship years taught me a lot about self-learning. My exposure as a consultant program manager in large organizations in varying domains taught me to cross-use domain knowledge, both from a business perspective and a technology perspective.

And my last 15 years as a practicing agilist, it has been non-stop learning – from my work, from books, from YouTube videos, from Audible/Scribd, from podcasts and mostly from my teams I work with on the ground – the real action is the greatest teacher. As I coach, teach, mentor, and facilitate I have as many learnings or more from it as my audience I work with.

Over the years, I did acquire a bunch of certifications, initially for which I attributed some value, but in recent times only attribute forced learning of the subject. There are some I practice more than others and some that I don’t practice at all, since I find them cumbersome, unrealistic, and not true to their own published values and principles. Generally, if I use a method and it fails on the application of its own values and principles on itself, then I move on from it. I generally accept opposing-counter points as true and have some value when applied in the context it is meant to be applied, so I generally critically evaluate every model, framework, method, or tools/techniques for its utility before using them. There is no or limited value to unbridled dogma.

Here are some of my learnings of methods and some associated certifications ordered from the most cherished to the least cherished:

  • CYNEFIN-Informed Agile Development and Authorized Cynefin Trainer (ACT) Complex facilitations, Organization Strategy/Innovation (Dave Snowden) – Cognitive Edge
  • Certified LeSS Practitioner Large Scale Scrum, LeSS company B.V.
  • CLT – Candidate Certified LeSS trainer – LeSS company B.V.
  • Design Thinking in Complexity – Applying ideation/design to complexity – Cognitive Edge
  • Organic Agility Leadership Foundations – Organic Agility practitioner – agile42
  • Mobilize- Viral Change Master Class – The Chalfont Project
  • Sensemaker – Culture/Change/Idea/Innovation scans – Cognitive Edge
  • Wardley Maps – Value chain strategy planning – Leading Edge Forum
  • CTC – Candidate Certified Team Coach – Scrum Alliance
  • PST – Candidate Professional Scrum trainer – Scrum.org
  • The Vanguard Method – application of Lean Six Sigma to service design – Vanguard Network
  • CAL1/2 CAL – Certified Agile Leadership – graduated program 2+ years – Scrum Alliance
  • PSM-II – Professional Scrum Master Levels I & II – Scrum.org
  • Scaled Professional Scrum SPS, Nexus framework – Scrum.Org
  • The Phoenix Project – DevOps/Business Simulation game facilitator – GamingWorks BV
  • Management 3.0 certified and Facilitator – Happy Melly
  • ICP-ACC Certified Agile Coach – ICAgile
  • ORS@Work – Organizational Relationship and Systems Coaching for work, CRR Global
  • Lean Change Agent and Facilitator – Lean Intuit
  • PMI-ACP, Agile Certified Practitioner – Project Management Institute
  • CDAP/CDA, Certified Disciplined Agilist Practitioner – Disciplined Agile Consortium
  • CSP-SM and CSP-PO Certified Scrum Professional – Scrum Alliance
  • CSPO Certified Scrum Product Owner – Scrum Alliance
  • CSM Certified ScrumMaster – Scrum Alliance
  • Art of Developmental Coaching – Leadership and Developmental coaching Coaches Rising
  • SAFe SPC4.5, Scaled Agile Framework Program Consultant – Scaled Agile Academy
  • Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Technology Management – La Trobe University, Australia
  • Graduate Diploma in Management (Technology Management) – Deakin University, Australia
  • Bachelor Applied Sciences (B.Sc.) – Coimbatore Institute of Tech, Bharathiyar University, India
  • PMP, Project Management Professional Certified – Project Management Institute

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