When Agile (big „A“) methods were officially „born“ in 2001, they were primarily attached to IT projects. Lightweight alternatives to traditional project management. More than 20 years later it has evolved far beyond.

Hope for new kind of organizations, drive for product innovation and community for thousands of people around the globe. But clear signs since quite a few years, that all of this might get corrupted by an Agile industrialization, a profit driven copy & paste culture.

Management innovation, a startup culture and soulful communities happen elsewhere and might overshadow an excess of Agile methods and frameworks.

So what are the key essentials to consider, when investing into Agile approaches in your organization?

Leaders need to be committed

• Leadership needs to replace plain politics.

• It’s not a lonely hero game. It’s about leadership teams - a system of leaders.

• You need to nurture and empower entrepreneurs. Value can only be realized with customers.

Clarity via Purpose, Direction and Strategy

• Such clarity is needed across an organization and it‘s value creation systems. end to end down to every single team

• Teams need to collaborate and co-create all across, within and beyond the company borders.

• Every day you need to manage the flow of value maximation through the system.

Consider Your Culture and Capability

• None of the above can be simply installed. You need to understand the key attributes of the existing system.

• From there be willing to adapt structures boldly and to improve interactions relentlessly.

• Keep growing the organizational fitness of your value delivery system. Free from any dogma and limits of the past.

🚀 Conclusion? Agile itself is no magic. The magic only starts within yourself and between your people. It’s not about team silos, but about the whole. Be sure, how to get invested, before you start investing!