“As Deming said, a bad system will beat a good person every time.” – Darryl Wright
Darryl was called in to help a struggling team at a large energy retailer. The symptoms seemed straightforward—low morale, poor relationships, and chronic underdelivery. But as he asked questions, a heartbreaking pattern emerged.
The team had been “committing” to 110 story points per sprint while consistently delivering only 30. For 18 sprints.
When Darryl asked why the team would commit to numbers they couldn’t possibly achieve, the answer was devastating: “The business needs that much.” This wasn’t a problem of skill or capability—it was learned helplessness in action.
Sprint after sprint, the team experienced failure, which made them more despondent and less effective, creating a vicious downward spiral. The business lost trust, the team lost confidence, and everyone was trapped in a system that guaranteed continued failure.
When Darryl proposed the solution—committing to a realistic 30 points—he was told it was impossible because “the business needs 110 points.” But the business wasn’t getting 110 points anyway. They were getting broken promises, a demoralized team, stress leave, high churn, and a relationship built on distrust.
Darryl couldn’t change the system in that case, but the lesson was clear: adult people who manage their lives perfectly well outside work can become completely helpless inside work when the system repeatedly tells them their judgment doesn’t matter.
As Ricardo Semler observes in the book Maverick!, people leave their initiative at the door when organizations create systems that punish honest assessment and reward false promises.
Self-reflection Question: Is your team committing to what they believe they can achieve, or to what they think someone else wants to hear? What would happen if they told the truth?
Featured Book of the Week: Better Value, Sooner, Safer, Happier by Jonathan Smart
Darryl describes Better Value, Sooner, Safer, Happier by Jonathan Smart as a treasure trove of real-life experience from people who have “had their sleeves rolled up in the trenches” for decades. What he loves most is the authenticity—the authors openly share not just their successes, but all the things that didn’t work and why.
One story that crystallizes the book’s brilliance involves Barclays Bank and their ingenious approach to change adoption. Facing resistance from laggards who refused to adopt Agile improvements despite overwhelming social proof, they started publishing lists of “most improved teams.” When resisters saw themselves at the bottom of these public lists, they called to complain—and were asked, “Did you have improvements we didn’t know about?”
The awkward pause would follow, then the inevitable question: “How do I get these improvements?”
Demand creation at its finest.
Transform Your Agile Teams with Hard-Earned Lessons from Super-Experienced Scrum Masters
Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches – Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!
About Darryl Wright
Darryl is an Agile Coach and Instructor dedicated to helping organisations and leaders be both successful and humane. He has over two decades in IT delivery and business leadership, he champions Agile ways of working to create thriving workplaces where people are happy, productive, and deliver products customers truly love.
You can link with Darryl Wright on LinkedIn, and visit Darryl’s website at www.organa.com.au.
Jörn Hendrik Ast, founded of New Work Heroes in 2018. He is an entrepreneur, podcaster, and author dedicated to innovating work through team collaboration, leadership, and personal development. He is coaching teams, producing podcast episodes, and continues to create impactful learning formats and books.
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Caterina started as a software developer but soon realized that she was passionate about team dynamics and communication, and embraced agility from the moment she saw it.
Sean is an Enterprise Agile Coach with 
Neil has been a software professional for over 18 years, mostly as a developer, before moving to management. He spent the last 5 years being a passionate Agile, Lean and Scrum coach, trainer and practitioner. Neil cares deeply about creating enjoyable, authentic workplaces in which human potential can thrive.