Culture Change and Cool Runnings

"All I'm saying, mon, is if we walk Jamaican, talk Jamaican, and *is* Jamaican, then we sure as hell better bobsled Jamaican."

The quote above comes from a scene in the 1993 comedy Cool Runnings about the first Jamaican bobsled team in the 1998 Winter Olympics.  The character, Sanka, is advising the leader of the team that if they want to be successful, they have to be true to who they are, rather than just copying the Swiss.

I'm reminded of this scene when I hear people talk about how Agile requires culture change... typically with the implied conclusion that therefore all (or at least most) of the previous beliefs are wrong and useless.

When I hear someone say something like "If they want to go Agile, they need to fundamentally change their culture", another voice responds in my head:

"All I'm saying, mon, is if they walk Jamaican, talk Jamaican, and *is* Jamaican, then they sure as hell better Agile Jamaican."