Joel Bancroft-Connors: The 90-Day Rule—Building Trust Before Disrupting the Status Quo

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

Joel shares his first experience as a CSM at a traditional hard drive manufacturing company, where he learned the art of patient change management. Tasked with bridging the gap between a rigid mothership company and their agile startup division, Joel discovered the power of focusing on principles rather than processes. For six months, he concentrated on creating transparency and shifting focus from status reporting to "getting to done" without ever mentioning Scrum or Agile. 

His approach followed what he calls the 90-day rule: "In the first 90 days - do no harm, but then have a plan to do something." By listening first and building trust, Joel helped the team deliver a product in just three months. He emphasizes the importance of making people feel valued and using "future perfect thinking" to envision desired outcomes before introducing change.

In this episode we refer to Luke Hohmann’s Innovation Games, the website and resource Manager-Tools.com, and Daniel Pink’s book Drive.

Self-reflection Question: Are you rushing to implement changes, or are you taking time to build trust and understand the current state before introducing new practices?

[Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

🚀 Global Agile Summit 2025

Join us in Tallinn, Estonia, from May 18th – 20th, 2025, for an event that will inspire, challenge, and equip you with real-world Agile success stories.

🌍 Connect with global Agile leaders.

💡 Learn practical strategies for impact.

🔥 Break free from Agile fatigue and become a Pragmatic Innovator

Check Full Program

[Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

About Joel Bancroft-Connors

Joel Bancroft-Connors is The Gorilla Coach — a Certified Scrum Trainer and Agile disruptor focused on sustainable value and effectiveness. With a background in product, project, and coaching, Joel blends sharp insights with practical tools to help teams thrive. He is a Miro power user and rocks curated classroom playlists.

You can link with Joel Bancroft-Connors on LinkedIn.