Above All Else, Sustainability

From the principles of the Agile Manifesto:

Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

Extreme measures are always doomed beyond a limited time horizon. Whether we're talking about diets or software development practices, without sustainability you have nothing.

Initiatives to increase productivity, improve quality, lower costs, or any other "good thing" simply don't matter if they're not sustainable.

A common topic in Agile circles is "sustainable pace", which usually focuses on the futility of working overtime, typically over 40 hours a week. I would argue that sustainable pace is about more than just the number of hours clocked in a work day or work week. 

Is the work emotionally sustainable? Do people hate working here? Do people end the work week feeling a sense of accomplishment? Do people feel like their leaders have reasonable expectations? Are they constantly battling reality?

Sometimes the degree to which an enforcer must continuously apply pressure to get people to follow a process indicates how sustainable the process is. Powering through is not a sign of discipline, it’s a sign of delusion.

Ignorance of reality is unsustainable. Coercion is unsustainable. Surveillance is unsustainable.

Can I and the people around me keep this up forever? If not, it's time to pause and reflect. Above all else, sustainability.