Individuals and Interactions = Relationship (the Blah-Blah-Blah Manifesto)

Alexey Krivitsky1 min read
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TL;DR:Individuals and interactions is really just one word: relationships. Relationships are the root of any process improvement and any change. Before you induce change in a team or organization, build the relationship first. Don't do change on someone — do it with someone. Obvious, yet constantly forgotten.

The image

The other day, I got reminded of this image I made somewhere in 2011:

The Blah-Blah-Blah Manifesto — Individuals and interactions over processes and tools, surrounded by "blah blah" noise

What did I mean by this? Let's see:

Slide showing "Individuals and interactions over processes and tools" — the first value of the Agile Manifesto

The same slide with "Individuals and interactions" crossed out and replaced by "Relationships"

Aha! Relationships!

Relationships are the roots of any process improvement and any change.

Let's remember that. Before you decide to induce a change in a team, department, or organization — build relationships and bring the people along on the journey. This is also why reactive-to-creative leadership matters so much: you can't build real relationships from a place of fear.

Don't do change on someone, do it with someone.

It's so obvious and so often forgotten. And when it is forgotten, frameworks become the substitute for real agility — process replaces trust.

The talk

The entire historical video from Agile Tour Vilnius, 2011:

Sources:

References that helped to preserve the idea:

Alexey Krivitsky

Co-author of 10X ORG and co-creator of Org Topologies. Helps organizations rethink, redesign & rewire themselves for the AI era — from the codebase to the boardroom.

Alexey Krivitsky

As a full-stack consultant, I operate across all three layers — Fluency, Flow & Fit. Talk to me to get a custom offer that matches your organization’s maturity to drive the impact.

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