I was reviewing LinkedIn one morning, as I often do, and I noticed a note from Myles Hopkins of Be Agile that he and his firm were celebrating 20 years of service. First, congratulations Myles! But second, it made me think about the longevity of my own firm—RGalen Consulting Group. And it hit me! 

In August 2021, I’m going to be celebrating 20-years of consulting service to my clients. Holy Cow!

Happy Anniversary

I thought I’d share a timeline of sorts…

  • In 1999, I presented my first talk for TechWell Conferences.

  • I incorporated RGCG in the summer of 2001. I was working at Lucent (Bell Labs) at the time and thinking about developing my consulting skills more broadly.

  • Early on I consulted on more traditional Waterfall efforts (planning, QA and Testing, Leadership, Requirements, etc.). But I quickly pivoted to agile approaches in my jobs and consulting.

  • In 2004, I received my CSM certification (Schwaber).

  • In 2004, Software Endgames was published. I’d begun working on it while at Lucent. It largely defined the focus of my consulting practice for a number of years.

  • 2005 – 2007, I worked with ASPE on their agile training program. Outside of the certifications, it was one of the first independent agile training programs. I collaborated with Ken Pugh on the curriculum and delivery.

  • In 2007, I received my CSPO certification (Schwaber & Cohn).

  • In 2009 the first edition of Scrum Product Ownership was published. It grew out of my interest to fill a void around helping Product Owners better understand their role.

  • In 2010 Josh and I started the Meta-cast, which is still going strong.

  • In 2012, I became a Certified Enterprise Coach (CEC) with the Scrum Alliance.

  • In 2012 I published Agile Reflections as an homage to my blogging.

  • In 2011 and then 2014 I attended David Anderson’s Kanban Master Coaching classes.

  • I moved to full-time engagement in my RGCG consulting efforts—no more moonlighting ;-)

  • In 2013 I published the 2nd Edition of Scrum Product Ownership.

  • In 2014, I became a SAFe SPC, and in 2017 I un-became a SAFe SPC.

  • I’ve had the opportunity to partner with three very fine firms over the years in my agile coaching—

    • Velocity Partners

    • Zenergy Technologies (twice)

    • Vaco Agile

  • In 2019, we celebrated our most successful year in revenue, clients served, miles flown, and community engagement. It was a hellofa year!

  • In 2019, I formed Agile Moose as an alter-ego of sorts. It’s become something that I’m quite proud of.

  • In 2019 I published the 3rd Edition (and perhaps last) of Scrum Product Ownership.

  • In 2019, I celebrated my 20th anniversary of speaking at TechWell events (STAR, Better Software, and AgileDev + DevOps).

  • In 2020-21, I attended ORSC training and am using it in my agile coaching.

  • In 2021, Josh Anderson and I celebrated our 200th Meta-Cast episode.

Just a journey map of sorts. Pulling it together forced me to take a walk back through Memory Lane…

Specific people, I’d like to thank

There are literally hundreds of people who have influenced my direction, thinking, and evolution over the years. Far too many to remember and to thank individually. So, I’m sending a heartfelt Thank You to all of you.

But there are a few people who’ve had a deeper influence on me that I would like to thank individually—

  • Diane Pimpinello

  • Ken Pugh

  • Rob Sabourin

  • Eric Hemdal

  • Mary Thorn

  • Josh Anderson

  • All the people at SQE and TechWell, you know who you are

  • Ralph Kasuba

  • Rhiannon Galen-Personick

Thank you all for everything you’ve given to me in my journey. I appreciate you.

Wrapping Up

Some people think that I resemble Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. So, it feels fitting to close this celebration with the following quote—

Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me
Other times, I can barely see
Lately, it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been

--Truckin’

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

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