Meet Your Coach, Ramesh Nori!
Senior Transformation Consultant | SPCT
Why did you get into coaching and leading Lean & Agile transformations?
It was quite interesting and I would say a natural evolutionary path. My journey into Lean way of doing stuff started around 2005-2006 when SOX 404 compliance was at its peak in USA. This opportunity allowed me to move from the manufacturing sector to medical device manufacturing sector where I was able to work exclusively on SOX 404 compliance management in the role of a senior project manager for SOX 404.
Following a successful endeavor with compliance with medical device industry, I was looking for a career path migration to learn Agile way of doing work which is when a local software startup company gave me an opportunity. This is where I truly understood the subtle way of working in Agile methods from ground up and improve the organization to grow from 40 people to over 200 plus with in few years. Once I realized that there was so much I could offer by practically applying the Lean methods into this. I recognized my own passion, and that was the underlying driver for me.
“…there was so much I could offer by practically applying the Lean methods into this. I recognized my own passion, and it drove me.”
This is when I followed the advise of my Mentor who is an SPCT and SAFe Fellow, to prepare myself into a knowledge giver in South Florida Local Agile Community. Offering a monthly meetup was an eye-opener for me. For about ten years now, I’ve been doing meetups, and it’s been an interesting seven or eight years. So I guess that’s what actually, in retrospect when I look back and try to connect the dots, pushed me more and more to a leadership position knowledge-wise.
There came a great opportunity with SAFe that my advisor and mentor guided me to. He had become an SPCT and I had become an SPC at that time. Then slowly, my SPC journey started, and I started digging deeper, understanding, and applying what I knew. It was then in 2016 and said, “You are doing great, Ramesh, but what do you want to become in life?” I responded I tune, that I would like to get my SPCT and go for it. It took me a year, year and a half to get all my ducks in a row, and in 2018, I started my journey for SPCT.
My whole passion is about how I can actually help people keep from getting caught up in this web of mis-informed knowledge, that’s going on in the classes. We see time and again, the same people coming up with ways of doing stuff and not understanding Agile fundamentals. Maybe nobody ever told them what is right or wrong and they’re just doing it. That’s what is my driving force right now. We have to teach them the proper way of implementing Lean and Agile. We have to fix the system, one student at a time, one day at a time, and go for it.
I vividly follow the companies we help on LinkedIn to see them through their change. I take the time to read everybody’s updates. When I see the language being used, that they’re posting and when I see the references to our training, it gives me immense gratification. It’s getting out there and making changes and helping people. Seeing those changes coming back to me drives me even more.
Why do you enjoy coaching and training professionals? What do you enjoy the most?
Coaching is indeed a very gratifying experience. I actually started enjoying that more after becoming an SPCT; to be honest, thanks to Ian and others, coaching is unbelievable.
When we share the information and our experience in our classes, it feels great to hear back from our students and attendees. We tell them during class that you have an ally now in their Agile Journey. Anytime they need help, they can reach out to us. So after three, six months or whenever, we get contacted by these people with questions. When they’re coming back and seeking help with their professional issues, saying, “what should I do in this in this particular scenario?” – That means a lot. That’s very gratifying because that is a leading indicator that I made an impact in their life, be it professional or personal.
What do you enjoy most about being a transformation advisor?
To see the lights go off in their brain—that aha moments are the most joyful experiences for me. I won’t give anybody a solution, but when you actually show them the path to a solution and as I poke them enough, so they find their own solution, and when they see it, that is when that aha moment comes. Now that’s awesome! That means yes, the car is tuned now, it’s a matter of the driver just putting the pedal to the metal. I don’t need to be the one pulling or pushing the vehicle. That that actually excites me the most.