Football Quote by Jeff Sutherland
““The problem that I frequently see crop up is that people have a tendency to treat the Daily Stand-up as simply individual reporting. “I did this … I’ll do that”—then on to the next person. The more optimum approach is closer to a football huddle. A wide receiver might say, “I’m having a problem with that defensive lineman,” to which an offensive blocker might respond, “I’ll take care of that. I’ll open that line.” Or the quarterback might say, “Our running game is hitting a wall; let’s surprise them with a pass to the left.” The idea is for the team to quickly confer on how to move toward victory—i.e., complete the Sprint. Passivity is not only lazy, it actively hurts the rest of the team’s performance. Once spotted, it needs to be eliminated immediately.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, Jeff Sutherland, 2014
Effective daily stand-ups should be collaborative problem‑solving, not solo status reports, to keep the team aligned and obstacles cleared quickly.
In simple terms: Team stand‑ups need teamwork, not just updates.
Key Takeaway
Turn stand‑ups into quick huddles.
Themes
agile
teamwork
communication
Mood
focused
productive
Type
practical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- software development
- project planning
- remote teams
- cross‑functional teams
Key Concepts
Scrum
collaborative problem solving
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you shift from reporting to problem‑solving?
- What blockers are hidden by silent participants?
A Different Perspective
If the team remains passive, issues linger and velocity drops.
![“Suarez did fit in the style of the team quickly. I think his arrival was practically perfect. And us 3 fit in a fantastic way. We used to understand each other even without having so much of playing time together. I think we were missing the icing on the cake, and it was [ Luis Alberto] Suarez.” quote by Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2bf/neymar-2716_arrivals_suarez-did-fit-in-the-style-of-the-team_700021.jpg)
