---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Scrum’s rich history can be traced back…"
description: "\"“Scrum’s rich history can be traced back to a 1986 Harvard Business Review article, “The New New Product Development Game” (Takeuchi and Nonaka 1986). ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/kenneth-s-rubin-59011_business_scrum-s-rich-history-can-be-traced-back_1274157.jpg"
---

#  Scrum’s rich history can be traced back to a 1986 Harvard…

![“Scrum’s rich history can be traced back to a 1986 Harvard Business Review article, “The New New Product Development Game” (Takeuchi and Nonaka 1986). This article describes how companies such as Honda, Canon, and Fuji-Xerox produced world-class results using a scalable, team-based approach to…” quote by Kenneth S. Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/kenneth-s-rubin-59011_business_scrum-s-rich-history-can-be-traced-back_1274157.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/kenneth-s-rubin-59011_business_scrum-s-rich-history-can-be-traced-back_1274157.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/kenneth-s-rubin-59011_business_scrum-s-rich-history-can-be-traced-back_1274157.jpg)

> ““Scrum’s rich history can be traced back to a 1986 Harvard Business Review article, “The New New Product Development Game” (Takeuchi and Nonaka 1986). This article describes how companies such as Honda, Canon, and Fuji-Xerox produced world-class results using a scalable, team-based approach to all-at-once product development. It also emphasizes the importance of empowered, self-organizing teams and outlines management’s role in the development process.””

[Kenneth S. Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-s-rubin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes early origins of Scrum, emphasizing team empowerment and management support for rapid, concurrent product development.

**In simple terms:** Scrum grew from a 1986 article highlighting self‑organizing teams and management’s role.

Key Takeaway

Adopt empowered, collaborative teams for faster product cycles.

Themes

teamwork innovation management productivity

Mood

enerusi pragmatic

Type

practical inspirational

When to use this quote

- software development
- hardware design
- marketing campaigns
- startup product launches

Key Concepts

Agile methodology self‑organization scalable processes

Questions to Reflect On

- How can management balance guidance with team autonomy?
- What safeguards prevent chaos in self‑organizing groups?

A Different Perspective

May overlook individual accountability in large teams.

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[Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Product development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/product-development/) [Scrum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrum/) [Teamwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teamwork/)

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