This debate has been going on for quite a few years now. But who cares.
- It’s a false dichotomy. Instead of being binary choices, think of “doing” and “being” as two axis along which to make progress.
- Teams don’t “do agile”; instead they improve their practices to help them become more agile.
Just doing (the wrong thing mindlessly) or just being (without doing anything) doesn’t solve a customer problem or accomplish anything. You need the right attitude and the right action. And how do you know what the right action is — by making the right decisions based on the right information at the right time.
Of course, you could luck out by (1) doing the right things without understanding why you are doing them, or (2) not do the “right” things but still improve from where you are currently.
