January is usually considered a good time to attend training, huddling indoors out of the cold. Not in Florida, however: there the bright sun and warm breezes outside can easily lure students to take extended breaks, and the air-conditioning indoors can dull even the sharpest minds.But when Derek W. Wade and Doug Shimp delivered 3Back’s Certified ScrumMaster course in Orlando on January 15 and 16, the breaks were short and all the energy was firing in the classroom.

Attendees to the course formed and demonstrated the characteristics of truly well-formed teams. By the end of the two days, many people in the room (not just the instructors) were acting as Agile coaches, leveraging the principles of Scrum and reminding each other to apply the agile “attractors” that they found most powerful:

• Let the product lead
• Make it visible
• Pay attention and adapt / feedback cycles
• “Teamlet” heads are smarter than one

The teams also invented their own catch-phrases and in-jokes, and to understand “I’ve got an Expert Sticker” and “let’s eat… food,” you would just have to ask one of the team members.

The instructors were delighted with the energy and “social intelligence” that attendees brought to class. Any additional insights, thoughts on applying your knowledge, or other comments here are greatly appreciated!