You might have read Scrum is your enemy. I am here to tell you it is not. Scrum can be used to get anything you want, no matter what it will cost your colleagues, your company, or others. Even better: if you do it right, others will get blamed. Let me teach you how.

Lesson 1: You are not judged on keeping promises, only on making them

The planning is the only exception, but I will get back on that one. But in general, in Scrum, it doesn’t matter if you keep the promises you make. I am specifically referring to the retrospective. This meeting forces you for a certain time to agree to some arrangements that should improve something. But if this is not beneficial for you, after the retrospective you are completely free to ignore them. Nowhere in Scrum, it is mentioned that you should also try to keep them, just that you should make them.

Lesson 2: You can say ‘No’ to everything they ask you to do

In Scrum, you are specifically allowed to create your planning. While other persons might make suggestions, no one can force you to do them. So, if you play your cards right, you can create a sprint with only things you want to do. You know what is even better: you might even get praised for it. One of the highest achievements in Scrum is doing what you promised in a sprint. And that can be very easy to achieve if you only accept what you want. You do not have to think about other people outside of your team, and most of the time not even in your team. So, you do not have to help them, support them, or listen to them. Nowhere in Scrum is it required for you to do so. And if they are not able to do their work, even if it is because you didn’t do something for them, it is still their fault. Because just like you, they are themselves responsible for making their planning work for them.

Lesson 3: You are allowed to use any force you want to get what you want

If you have a way to force people to do what you want, feel free to use it. Maybe you can be very convincing, maybe you have ways to threaten them, it doesn’t matter what kind of force it is. Scrum doesn’t say using force is not allowed. Even better: when people give in, it is again their fault. They should guard their boundaries, and make sure they do not give in to outside force. They should be independent after all, so they are also responsible for their own choices.

Summary: Feel free to put yourself first

In general within Scrum, you are not judged by what others achieve, but by what you achieve. No matter how you achieve it. The only real demand there is of you is that you do what you promise to do when it comes to the work in the sprint. Everything else doesn’t matter.

If this causes problems for others, they are responsible for solving them. Scrum does not give any tools to blame it on you. If you remember this, Scrum is the perfect method for creating a wonderful work environment. Good luck!