SPaMCAST 513 features a second essay on reciprocity.  One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn is that some people on a team are passengers and others play different, more involved, roles. Being a passenger long-term on a team or in an organization is a form of rent-seeking and is not valued highly by others. We also have columns from Susan Parente (I Am Not a Scrumdamentalist) and Jeremy Berriault ().  Susan provides a spirited discussion of self-directed teams in agile.  It is a myth that agile teams just get to do what they want. One of the places to find Susan is at . Rounding out the cast is this month’s installment of the QA Corner.   Jeremy discusses one of the thorniest facts of life for a tester -- hard deadlines. Re-Read Saturday News This week we tackle Chapter 8, titled The Hero In The Age of Checklists.  Heroes are a big deal; pick up any newspaper and you will see how much the cult of the hero is celebrated.  Checklists and methods are viewed by many as diminishing the role of the hero which sows the seeds of resistance to change.  What role does the hero play in a disciplined process? If the hero is core to how we view ourselves and our society, do tools like checklists run the risk of being met with hostility?  Chapter 8 dives directly into the deep end to address these topics. We have two or three more weeks left in this re-read, which means it’s time for the poll.  Vote and be heard! Write-in candidates are welcome. [polldaddy poll=10114386] Remember to buy a copy of and READ along! Current Installment: Week 9 - - Previous Installments: - - - - - - -   Conferences and More! Agile Coach Camp 2018 Ann Arbor, Michigan. September 28 - 30 Participating Agile Online Summit 2018 Virtual October 8 - 12 Speaking on Agile Metrics! ISMA 16 Sao Paulo, Brazil October 16 Register Now; Presentation: Product Owners In Agile – The Really Hard Role ITMPI Webinar Virtual October 31 Register Now: Webinar:  Agile, Where Agile Fears to Tread Next SPaMCAST SPaMCAST 514 will feature our interview with John Clapham. John and I talked DevOps, people, agile, and how all those pieces fit together coherently or not. This a big, fun, informative interview!