Love in the time of Corona

We are living in extraordinary times when the novelty of the COVID-19 virus causing disruptions to economies around the world. Many of us find ourselves in self-isolation, working remotely, buying food in panic and more. We are required to make decisions at work and home, but we often lack relevant or accurate information, and at times, we have to deal with too much data.

On 25 March 2020 the Agile industry in South Africa came together to help the community deal with the current uncertainty, 2 days ahead of the 21 day lockdown in South Africa. This took place in a webinar, titled Surviving Uncertainty

The panelists included:
Antoinette Coetzee – Just Plain Agile
Pavel Dabrytski – Think Agile
Biase De Gregorio – IQ Business
Malene Jacobsen – SUGSA
Joanne Perold – Agile42

The MC for the webinar was Socotra Williams.

There were more than 50 people in the webinar. It was an insightful, helpful and motivational session. Things that were key for me: This is a new world for all of us (the last time something of this magnitude happened was World War II, and most of us weren’t around then); As agilists we have an advantage – our agile mindest, we’re more capable of adapting and thriving in change; We couldn’t prepare for this crises but we can deal with it. Rapid innovation under stress can create beautiful things – never let a serious crises to go to waste

Top Tips and tricks for working remotely:

• Set up a working space (where you have good wifi)
• Dress up for work, this helps put you in a good mindset to work
• Use visual cues like remote facilitation cards
• Create a remote working agreement with core working times
• Avoid using too many tools, tools that are cheap, fast and offer real time collaboration are preferred
• Reach out when you need help and help each other
• Be kind and compassionate. Help people figure out what the new world looks like
• Retrospect often. How are we living? How are we working? How can we help?
• How can we help people respond well, rather than react?

Here is a link to the recording of the webinar:

I really enjoyed the session, it helped me so much. Despite being far apart I felt the love of the South African Agile comunity and the aptness of #LoveInTheTimeOfCorona

Be sure to follow the panelists and their companies for support and assistance during this uncertain but wonderful time as we connect deeply and become stronger and more resilient.