Adopting Agile the Easy Way: Start With a One Minute Retro
Yes, it's a crappy retro. That's the point.
By Tristan Kromer · 
By Tristan Kromer As we’ve mentioned, lean startup is hard. So is Agile. So is user centered design. When we try and adopt a new paradigm it’s hard to differentiate tactics like “use a business model canvas instead of a 60 page business plan” and the principle of If we don’t recognize the difference, we might create a Business Model Canvas and then leave it on the wall… …unchanged… …static… useless. A static business model canvas is as useless as a static 60 page business plan. What’s the one exception? Retrospective. If there is one tactic that you should implement to get the fundamentals of lean startup (or Agile for that matter), it’s retrospectives.
Quick Answer: If you’re struggling with adopting agile or lean startup, start with just one tactic: the retrospective. Specifically, use a one-minute version — set a timer, have everyone write one improvement on a sticky note, then pick a single action item. The goal isn’t a perfect retro; it’s building the habit of continuous reflection. As product managers, we often confuse swapping artifacts (like using a canvas instead of a business plan) with actually embracing the principle of planning to learn. A simple, consistent retro closes that gap.
”But change is so hard!”
Whether you’re a small startup or a big enterprise, changing your habits can be very challenging. At a smaller scale, with just two team members, you’re going to get lazy and just assume that you’re both in agreement and you’ve got your lessons learned. In an enterprise struggling to adopt lean startup principles, there may be outright resistance and hostility to yet another management driven process change designed to generate more paperwork for people just struggling to do their jobs and get home on time. There’s an awful lot written about creating good habits that you should check out, but to save you some time, start by making it as easy as possible to implement a retro. Don’t try to read the entire Agile Retrospective book and conduct a fishbone followed by the five Whys.
The One Minute Retro
Have each person grab a stack of yellow sticky notes and a sharpie pen (or just a piece of paper and a pen if that’s all you’ve got).
- Set a timer for one minute.
- Ask the group, “What’s the one thing in the last sprint/meeting/day/fortnight that you would like to change or improve about the way we do business/our meeting format/our coding practice/the way we order lunch?”
- Start the timer.
- Write something down on your sticky note.
- When the timer goes off, collect all the feedback.
It’s the person running the retro’s job to take the feedback and choose one and only one thing to improve for the next time period.
Why?
Why a timer? Setting a timer lets everyone know that it will only take a minute and won’t be another one hour meeting where nothing gets decided and there are no action items. Why not talk? Writing things down instead of brainstorming out loud prevents group think and also makes the retro mercifully short. Why not have everyone sort the feedback? Having the organizer deal with the feedback, again, cuts the retro short enough that no one can complain about wasting time. Selecting one and only one thing to focus on:
- limits scope creep (which exists in process improvements as well as technical specifications);
- gives the team small wins to help show positive progress;
- is just about all you can manage in a short sprint anyway.
Isn’t that just a crappy retro?
Yes. This is not a great way to analyze what went wrong in a six month project. The point here is to establish the habit of a retro rather than have a perfect retro. You’ll find that most of the nuances you’d get out of a deep dive retro are probably being blocked by more obvious things that are quickly pointed out in a one minute retro:
- People not showing up on time to daily standup;
- Couldn’t make a decision because not all decision makers present;
- (and my favorite) No action items coming out of retrospectives.
Until you cover the basics, getting into the details is irrelevant. Go for the quick wins. When someone brings up “No action items coming out of retrospectives” it’s a good sign that you should ramp up to a five minute retrospective.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is adopting agile or lean startup so hard for teams?
When adopting agile or lean startup, we often confuse tactics with principles. We might swap a 60-page business plan for a Business Model Canvas but miss the underlying principle of continuously planning to learn. Without recognizing this difference, our new tools become just as static and useless as the old ones. The key is building habits around continuous improvement, not just adopting new artifacts.
What is a one minute retrospective and how does it work?
A one minute retrospective is a stripped-down retro designed to build the habit of reflecting as a team. Everyone grabs a sticky note, a timer is set for one minute, and each person writes down one thing they’d like to change or improve. The organizer collects the feedback and picks one single item to act on. That’s it — no lengthy discussion, no group sorting, no hour-long meetings.
Why should you only pick one action item from a retrospective?
Selecting one and only one improvement limits scope creep in your process changes, gives the team small wins that show positive progress, and is realistically all you can manage in a short sprint anyway. As product managers, we know that trying to fix everything at once usually means nothing actually gets fixed.
Is a one minute retro too short to be useful?
Yes, it’s intentionally a “crappy” retro — and that’s the point. The goal is to establish the habit of retrospecting, not to conduct a perfect deep-dive analysis. Most issues blocking your team are obvious ones — like people not showing up on time or meetings producing no action items. Until you cover those basics, getting into deeper details is irrelevant. Once the habit sticks, you can gradually ramp up to longer formats.
How do you overcome resistance to retrospectives in an enterprise?
Start by making retrospectives as easy as possible. In enterprises, people often resist process changes they see as generating more paperwork. A one minute retro sidesteps that resistance — the timer signals it won’t become another hour-long meeting, writing prevents groupthink, and having one person handle the feedback means nobody feels their time is being wasted.
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