What impressed me deeply this time was the strategic foresight of SMOG’s two co-founders — CEO Pei and COO Hsieh. Initially, they simply joined a public Scrum class held in Taichung. Yet after just two days of hands-on experience, they immediately recognized Scrum’s power in enhancing team collaboration and creating a shared language. Without hesitation, they asked, “If we want to run a private class for our company, what’s the minimum number of participants?”
When I told them it required at least 15 people, they responded right away: “No problem!” Behind this quick decision was a deeper driver — their business had been growing rapidly, with revenue nearly doubling in recent years. But this fast-paced success had also exposed a critical issue: a mismatch between the CEO’s speed of thought and the executive team’s speed of execution. While the leadership could quickly set direction, the execution teams often struggled to align and keep up.
So, they made a bold move: “Let’s bring all our executives from Taichung to Taipei to attend the public CSM course together!” The cost — including tuition, travel, and accommodation — was significant. But to them, it wasn’t an expense; it was an investment. They understood clearly: Scrum provides a shared language that helps bring order to chaos, elevates decision quality, and enables organizational alignment in action.
The Moment Learning Happens: From Middle Manager to Midnight-Reflecting Change Agent
What stood out to me the most during the course was a regional manager surnamed Weng. He embodied the classic “middle-layer dilemma” — caught in the middle without full trust from upper management, yet unable to empower his team due to their still-developing capabilities. This left him in a prolonged state of emotional exhaustion, constantly squeezed by pressures from both above and below.
What encouraged me, however, was how he gradually discovered his own answers during the two-day Scrum training.
At one point, he stepped into the role of a CEO in a class simulation, personally experiencing how to prioritize the Product Backlog and define product value. Through this exercise, he gained a new perspective: managers often seem to “change their minds” not because they are indecisive, but because the external environment changes too rapidly — staying the same is no longer a viable option for companies.
He began to understand that in a world of limited resources, it’s better to let go of less important tasks and focus on delivering what truly matters.
During the session on self-managing, he experienced a breakthrough in understanding. He realized that true self-managing doesn’t stem from commands or rigid systems, but rather from:
- A clear and shared goal
- A mutual understanding of the Definition of Done (DoD)
- A sense of intrinsic motivation driven by the desire to achieve a shared outcome
It was this realization that opened his eyes: the reason Senior managers hesitate to delegate isn’t truly about trust — it’s about the lack of a shared language and alignment on value priorities. This insight led him to reflect after the second day of training, writing: “I keep thinking about how to implement Scrum — I was still pondering it at 1 a.m.”
The next day, I made sure to encourage Manager Weng:
“You really don’t have to worry too much. Agility was never about achieving ‘2,160 balls’ right from the start. Remember your first round? You began with zero. What helped you break through back then is worth revisiting.”
“In the next round, you didn’t suddenly leap to over two thousand either. You climbed steadily from just twenty balls. So maybe right now, you’re at the ‘zero’ stage — and that’s okay. Don’t aim straight for 2,160. The value of agility isn’t in perfection from the start, but in continuous experimentation, learning, and progress.”
The Turning Point: The Scrum Simulation Revealed How Leaders Were Limiting Themselves
When this group of managers first walked into the classroom, they wore expressions of doubt — even resistance. The most telling moment came during the “Ball Passing Game.” In a team of 13, they couldn’t even get a single ball across in the beginning — everyone was talking over each other, and there was zero alignment.
But after just a few short rounds of practice, they shattered all my previous team records by reaching an astonishing 2,160 passes — a new best team score in all the sessions I’ve ever led!
In that moment, they had a breakthrough:
“The biggest obstacle isn’t others — it’s our own mental models.”
They moved from “Nothing is possible” to “Wait, we can actually do this.” Scrum gave them a hands-on experience of what true collaboration and self-managing really feel like.
The Flip-the-Card game and hands-on exercises gave them a fresh understanding of what “requirements” and “self-managing” truly mean.
During the Flip-the-Card game, they came to a powerful realization: many past projects had failed — or failed to meet the CEO’s expectations — because they never truly clarified the requirements in the first place. This is one of the core lessons in Scrum: unclear requirements lead to a chain reaction of poor decisions and flawed execution.
On the second day, during hands-on practice, they also gained a concrete understanding of what self-managing really means. It doesn’t come from rules or top-down pressure, but from clear goals, a shared language, and a sense of intrinsic motivation that fuels team energy.
Over the course of two days, their mindset shifted dramatically — from 0 to 1. They didn’t just learn Scrum; they experienced the sense of breakthrough and momentum it can generate.
And yet, they understood something even deeper: truly embedding Scrum into the company culture isn’t achieved overnight — it’s a journey.
One of the most memorable statements made during the class was:
One of the most memorable moments in class came from a regional manager at SMOG, Mr. Kao — among the three operations heads, he stood out as the most proactive and engaged. With remarkable ambition, he openly expressed his intent to fully implement Scrum within the sales unit and see it through to completion.
As a Scrum coach, this level of initiative is something I rarely encounter. In most organizations, agile adoption is typically driven top-down — with the CEO or senior leadership issuing directives, and mid-level managers carrying them out. But in this case, the momentum came from the ground up. It was the regional leader who sparked the change, offering feedback and proposals upward.
During the graduation ceremony on the second afternoon, both the CEO and COO were present. In front of everyone, the three regional managers made a formal declaration:
We are absolutely committed to introducing Scrum and making it our standard internal language!
That declaration stunned the entire room — even the CEO was momentarily speechless. Turning to me, Mr. Pei asked:
Roger, what kind of coaching did you give them? How did they change so much in just two days?
I smiled and replied,“Honestly, I didn’t do anything.They simply found the answers themselves during the course.”
Don’t Rush the Rollout: Building the First Success Story Is the Real Key
Seeing the team’s high morale, I gently reminded the CEO, “Let’s not rush to roll everything out at once.” After some discussion, we agreed to start with one small, meaningful, and executable project — to first build a solid success story.
They had initially been using Notion as their integrated tool. I helped design a Miro Scrum board tailored to their needs. After seeing it, they said with a smile, “Roger, your version just fits us better.”
The Scrum Guide Became the Company’s Shared Language — Flipping the Top-Down Conversation Dynamic
I was truly moved to witness this: after the three regional managers attended the training alongside their middle managers, they turned to the CEO and said:
We don’t want a half-baked Scrum. We want to implement full Scrum — because as the Scrum Guide states, anything less isn’t Scrum.
That sentence marked the official turning point.
The Snowball Effect: This Isn’t an Exception — It’s the Future Mainstream of Work
If any organization is considering bringing Scrum into their company through an in-house program, I’d be more than willing to walk that journey with them. Because Scrum isn’t just a tool — it’s a transformation that begins with a shift in mindset.
This kind of positive ripple effect has only strengthened my ten-year vision: to help 100 non-IT companies successfully adopt Scrum. Why? Because once a single company sees improved performance, increased profits, and a shift in culture through Scrum, their competitors will start to take notice and follow suit.
This isn’t just a training course — it’s a revolution in leadership thinking and organizational culture.
And it all starts with senior leaders choosing to learn first
Conclusion
SMOG’s success, when you peel back the layers, comes down to one simple truth: they quietly overcame the three hardest barriers that stop most companies from truly adopting Scrum.
The first hurdle was having the CEO become a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). I’ve personally trained 277 CEOs in Scrum — but many of them return to their companies to fight a lonely battle. Why? Because without their leadership team speaking the same language, they often fall back into the status quo.
The second hurdle was getting their senior executives certified as well. Of those 277 CEOs, only about 30 chose to send their top managers to take the CSM class. That creates shared language — a vital step — but even then, without genuine commitment to change, it ends up being just another certificate.
SMOG’s real breakthrough came with the third hurdle: their three regional managers began actively asking how Scrum could become the common language for getting work done inside the company. That mindset shift — from learning Scrum to embedding Scrum — is the hardest leap of all.
But once you cross it, the road ahead is no longer “Should we?” but “How do we?” and “What’s stopping us?”
And now, I’ll be right there with them for the next phase: building their first successful Scrum case. The snowball has already started rolling — and I can’t wait to see it pave the way for an agile golden path.
Below are the course reflections shared by the three regional managers from SMOG.
Reflection from SMOG Regional Manager Kao
It was truly an honor to attend Dr. Roger Chou’s Scrum Agile course — an incredibly fulfilling and eye-opening learning journey for me. First, I’m deeply grateful to SMOG’s two key leaders, CEO Mr. Pei and COO Mr. Hsieh. After attending the course themselves and resonating strongly with the principles of Scrum, they didn’t hesitate to enroll all of us executives in the training. Having such proactive support from our leadership made me feel genuinely fortunate and even more motivated to fully engage in learning.
Of course, I also want to sincerely thank our instructor, Dr. Roger Chou. His teaching style was highly engaging, balancing theory with practice. He didn’t just help us understand the Scrum process and key concepts — he enabled us to experience the true spirit of Scrum through hands-on exercises.
The first ball-passing game at the beginning seemed like a simple icebreaker, but it left a lasting impression on me. It taught us that we often fall into the trap of doing things the same way we’ve always done, limited by our own experiences and frameworks. But when we’re willing to set those aside and think from different angles, our efficiency can increase dramatically. That’s one of the core tenets of Scrum — continuous improvement. Through reflection and trying new approaches, we can continuously optimize our processes and outcomes.
The second “Flip-the-Card” game drove home the importance of clarifying requirements. In the game, everyone rushed into execution, only to realize that the final results didn’t meet the actual value needs — we had wasted effort solving the wrong problem. It reminded us that jumping into action too quickly, without aligning on what customers or the market truly want, can lead to poor outcomes. In project management and teamwork, speed alone doesn’t guarantee success — alignment on goals and requirements is key. This perfectly aligns with Scrum’s value-driven mindset and its emphasis on continuous stakeholder collaboration.
On the second day, we entered the simulation stage, where we practiced a full Sprint cycle — from Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, and Sprint Review to Sprint Retrospective. We took on roles as Product Owners, Scrum Masters, and Developers, which made the experience feel real and immersive. One moment that stood out for me was the Daily Scrum. These short daily stand-ups showed me how effective quick meetings can be, and how increasing communication frequency can significantly boost overall team efficiency.
What resonated with me the most was the Sprint Retrospective. The team came together to discuss issues and identify areas for improvement — not only about the workflow, but also about collaboration and trust among teammates. This process helps strengthen the team and supports everyone’s personal growth. The cycle of transparency, inspection, and adaptation is truly at the heart of Scrum.
Overall, these two days didn’t just teach me the theory and tools of Scrum — they transformed how I view project management. In the past, we often focused on speed, KPIs, and numbers, overlooking team rhythm, deep understanding of requirements, and the importance of continuous improvement. Scrum provides a more flexible and human-centered approach, allowing teams to move forward with rhythm and quality in a fast-changing environment.
This course ignited a strong passion and motivation in me. I’m eager to continue learning about Scrum — not just to understand its processes, but to truly integrate its mindset and methods into our company and teams. In today’s rapidly changing market, sticking to outdated thinking and management styles can quickly leave us behind or cause us to miss opportunities. Scrum is more than a tool — it’s a culture, a set of values for how teams work. I believe embracing this spirit can bring real change to our organization.
Moving forward, I plan to read more Scrum books — including those written by Roger — and I’m thrilled to have earned my CSM certification. I hope that not only will I master this method myself, but that I can also lead my team forward on the path of agility.
Reflection from SMOG Regional Manager Weng
When our CEO and COO returned from the CSM course talking nonstop about DoD and Scrum, I honestly thought — “What new concept have these two picked up now?” With my plate already overflowing, I didn’t have the time or energy to fully grasp what they were trying to convey. Every task on my list felt urgent and important, and I was dragging my exhausted body home each day, hoping I could just power through and eventually reignite my passion for work. But how long could I keep pushing? I wasn’t sure anymore — and hope was fading.
Then came the announcement: both executives had enrolled all our company’s managers in a CSM course. That’s when it hit me — they were serious about adopting a better, more efficient way of working. I’ve always known our leaders are action-driven, but I didn’t expect them to take such bold steps. Their actions truly embodied our company’s core values: altruism, humanity, and co-creation. For the first time in a long while, I found myself wondering — What might I actually gain from this course?
While prepping for the class, I realized Scrum is actually a framework within Agile. Years ago, I dabbled in Lean Startup and deeply admired its approach to agility — rapid iteration, validating business hypotheses through market feedback, MVP thinking. But due to role changes, I had to leave that behind and return to traditional company structures or wade through the bureaucracy of public infrastructure projects. I had resigned myself to that fate.
Since joining SMOG, I’ve navigated chaos in every form — from early-stage startup turbulence, emotional ups and downs, to the uncertainty of transformation and expansion. Looking back, there’s never been a truly stable moment. So when I read the definition of Scrum in the Scrum Guide — “Scrum is a lightweight framework that helps people, teams, and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems” — I felt like I had found a lifeline. I sincerely hoped Scrum could offer me something practical and powerful. As for the certificate? Honestly, it didn’t matter much to me at first.
But once the class started, everything changed. Roger’s passion and commitment to Scrum promotion, his detailed yet engaging explanations, and the energy from classmates all united into a powerful, moving experience. From the Ball Game, I saw how shifting work frameworks could spark efficiency and self-managing. The Flip-the-Card exercise taught me the importance of clarifying requirements and seamless handoffs. I even got to role-play solving “last-minute CEO interventions” with Scrum practices, and during the app development simulation, our team pivoted swiftly after clarifying our product goals — when I acted as the PO, I could truly empathize with a CEO’s mindset.
These activities weren’t just fun — they were packed with insight. I kept reflecting on how to bring Scrum into my chaotic work environment to make it smoother and more effective. I could already envision the satisfaction of completing projects with greater speed, quality, and purpose, and how that would continue building my value at work.
I came into this course with serious doubts, even sharing some of my core pain points on the first day. But by the end of the second day, I had found real answers. That clarity gave me the conviction to rally all our managers to embrace Scrum. Because Scrum only works when the entire company adopts it as the one standard way of working. Only then can we grow from chaos into structured, purposeful progress. Only then can I take on more exciting and challenging work — and find true joy in what I do.
After the course, returning to my day-to-day felt like falling from heaven back to earth. But I immediately started planning. I stayed up past 1 a.m. discussing with a colleague how we could apply Scrum to our current work. The next morning, I dove into a deeper discussion with my department team. Some were skeptical — “Can things really run that smoothly?” — but as I kept answering their questions, I realized something: even though I was still new to Scrum and had no real experience applying it yet, I could find every answer I needed in the Scrum Guide. I just had to trust the framework and act on it.
This gave me a new sense of confidence and conviction. My CSM certification is now more than a title — it’s a powerful source of support in my mission to bring Scrum into our company. I’m deeply thankful for Roger’s passionate and professional teaching, and for the wholehearted backing of our CEO and COO.
“Your Scrum squad has arrived on site. We will turn your small investment in this course into a more united, visionary, self-driven, efficient, capable, respectful, and joyful team here at SMOG. May the Scrum be with us.”
Reflection from SMOG Regional Manager Chuang
All of us regional managers at SMOG joined the CSM course together this time, and I’m truly grateful to our CEO, Max, and COO, Webber, for choosing to invest in us. Honestly, before the course, I was feeling tense and anxious. But right from the start of Day 1, Roger used the Ball Game to kick things off — instantly easing the pressure and helping us open up. That physical, hands-on experience burned the concept into my memory — I couldn’t forget it even if I tried.
Through this game, I realized how much room there was to improve the way I’ve been conducting retrospectives in the past. It also made me reflect on how many of the “frameworks” I’ve been operating in are just mental assumptions. If I don’t join team discussions with an open mind and actively share my thoughts, I’ll never be able to move forward.
The Flip-the-Card game especially brought back memories of how I used to operate — being stuck in place, working hard but getting nowhere, all because I lacked proper communication with stakeholders.
On the second day, Roger’s immersive teaching helped me gain a much deeper understanding of how a Sprint functions, and how every teammate’s feelings and feedback truly matter.
During the final app development simulation, I was incredibly proud of how our group performed — Shih-Kuang, Feng-Lin, Jui-Hsiang, Mao-Chieh, and I worked together to successfully complete our goal using the Scrum framework. I was especially impressed by Shih-Kuang’s approachability and professional insights — he gave our team a whole new perspective.
Finally, I want to express my sincere thanks to Roger and Elly. What touched me most over these two days was how Roger would always listen to our sharing with such genuine, caring eyes. I’m usually someone who avoids speaking up and tends to keep to myself, but under his guidance, I found myself wanting to pick up the mic and share more with him.
I also felt deeply supported by Elly, who continuously checked in on us to see how we were absorbing the material and frequently shared insights from her own experience.
After these two days, I truly believe I can now face the world with a more open mindset — without assumptions, and with a willingness to listen, contribute, and grow.
Let’s Scrum on!