Opportunism vs. Professional Integrity
Fads and fashions are inevitable in any market.
Scrum was fashionable for a long time.
Many companies adopted Scrum, and many practitioners were trained and certified in Scrum.
Numerous people got into the Scrum consulting, training, and coaching business.
But now, more and more social media posts and articles announce the demise of Scrum.
So what's next?
Where should Scrum consultants and practitioners transition to, a place that is also Agile?
Well, I see many posts by people contemplating a move to SAFe.
But that's a problem since SAFe was repeatedly denounced as not being Agile.
I would argue that SAFe being Agile or not, is not the point.
Plenty of arguments that neither Scrum is Agile are also made.
One's professional choices must be guided by long-term career principles: professional integrity or opportunism. Both options are valid.
An Agile professional should invest time/effort/money only in what conforms to their understanding of Agile.
If, in their mind, SAFe is not Agile, then they better invest in something else.
This position is based on professional integrity, and there is a price to pay for following it.
The contrarian position is to invest in what the market presently views as Agile. This is opportunism, a legitimate approach.
With the opportunistic approach, given the rising popularity of SAFe, Agile professionals should definitely invest in SAFe.
Following the opportunistic path, Agile professionals will someday abandon SAFe when it's on the decline, just as Scrum is presently on a downfall, and invest in something new that's on the rise.
The career dilemma is not about SAFe, Scrum, or any other Agile fashion de jour.
The career dilemma is between two career principles.