I’m on the way home from London - flying high over the Atlantic in the relaxing confines of BA’s Club World section. I’m not sure how I got upgraded to business class, but after a long week I certainly can’t complain about a seat that lays down, red wine, some classic live Dead on iTunes and a gourmet meal on the way.

This year’s conference was on “Culture Change”. It was my third trip to London to visit Tom and the merry cast of thinkers who have somehow crossed paths with him along the way. I’m always amazed and impressed by the caliber of folks who attend Tom’s conference - an intersection of technologists from around the world who have some connection with the principles and practices of Evo and measurable value.

My talk was on Changing Organizational Culture in software development teams and included a mix of proven techniques (those I’ve used effectively) and emerging techniques (those I’m exploring now). The reception was good but I worked and refined it up until the last moment - something I’d like not to repeat next year. I received a good response - from a crowd that can be testy at times - but I wasn’t completely happy with the way I delivered the information. Definitely need to finish earlier and have more prep time next year.

In addition to getting to spend time with Tom and Kai Gilb, I also got to have some in-depth conversations with Rolf Goetz, Allan Kelly, Giovanni Asproni, Niels Malotaux, Clifford Shelley, Lorne Mitchell, Gio Wiederold, Marilyn Bush, David Stoughton and Yazdi Bankwala amongst others.

It was a special treat to meet Jeff Sutherland, who was in town teaching a Scrum class. I was able to join him, Tom and Solveig (Tom’s wife) for dinner on Sunday evening at a Thai restaurant in Tom’s neighborhood.

I think next year’s talk is on Value Delivery, this time I’ll try and prepare earlier!