Solve the Problem Before You Sell the Framework
Each week in SAFe Connect, we share one practical tip from a member of the community to help you apply SAFe in more meaningful ways.
This week, Nathan Dull shares the mindset that has consistently helped him introduce SAFe to teams working in complex enterprise environments.
💡 Tip of the Week: Solve the Problem Before You Sell the Framework
When I introduce SAFe to a new organization, I don't start by explaining the framework.
I start by talking about the problems people are already experiencing.
When I introduced SAFe to a clinical organization of more than 60 people, I didn't begin with PI Planning, ARTs, or Agile terminology. Instead, I focused on the issues everyone already recognized:
- Teams didn't know what other teams were committing to.
- Dependencies were discovered too late.
- Leadership learned about risks only after they became major problems.
Once people saw that PI Planning could solve those specific challenges, adoption became much easier. They weren't buying into a framework—they were buying into a better way of working.
I've also learned that improvement doesn't stop after the workday ends. My wife and I finish each day by running a personal retrospective. We ask ourselves what worked, what didn't, and what we'll change tomorrow. Treating everyday life as an inspect-and-adapt cycle keeps continuous improvement from becoming something I only practice at work.
To keep learning, I stay close to practitioners who are solving real problems today. I use AI to handle repetitive work so I can spend more time coaching teams, facilitating conversations, and making thoughtful decisions that require experience and judgment. I also find that honest conversations with fellow practitioners often teach me more than another framework diagram ever could.
The best Agile practices aren't the ones that look perfect—they're the ones that help people solve meaningful problems together. When you lead with the pain you're trying to remove instead of the process you're trying to implement, the framework becomes a solution instead of a sales pitch.
