I guess we've lost each other, then. In my opinion the ideas in the manifesto are the best part of anything that has had the agile label slapped on it. I guess

I guess we've lost each other, then. In my opinion the ideas in the manifesto are the best part of anything that has had the agile label slapped on it. I guess you don't get anything out of them, but I'm not sure why not. If you want to try to apply them to things that they obviously don't apply to, like writing RFPs, then yeah, they don't make any sense. In many cases you DO have a direct choice on which of the items (column A or B) to focus your efforts on. You can tell your developers to focus on writing code, or write control gate documentation. You can spend your time as a manager working on procuring the next new silver bullet tool, or on hiring, retaining, and working with top talent. Now there's nothing that says you can't do both, but you certainly have a choice on how much time and effort to spend on each. As far as a sales slogan goes, yes, the manifesto is the headliner for the books and coaches and everything else that costs money in the writing and consulting world that is selling methodology silver bullets. But you can use the ideas in the manifesto without spending one thin dime on any of that stuff.