Unlocking Agility

Jorgen Hesselberg is cofounder of Comparative Agility, a leading agile assessment and continuous improvement platform. A proven thought leader of numerous successful enterprise transformation efforts since 2009, Jorgen provides strategic guidance, executive counsel, and coaching to some of the world’s most respected companies both as an internal change agent and an external consultant. He has trained thousands of people on agile and Scrum, disruptive innovation, and enterprise transformation strategy. Passionate about making the world a better place to work, Jorgen is the former director and an active member of Supporting Agile Adoption, an Agile Alliance program dedicated to supporting those who apply agile principles and practices for agile transformation. Jorgen is a frequent speaker at international industry conferences. He earned his bachelor degree in journalism at the University of Missouri, his MBA at Iowa State University, and an MS in information technology at Northwestern University. He completed postgraduate coursework in finance and disruptive innovation at Harvard Business School.

• Forewords by Bjarte Bogsnes and Rich Sheridan     xix Preface     xxv Acknowledgments     xxxi About the Author     xxxiii PART I:  THE CASE FOR AGILITY     1Chapter 1  The Agile Imperative     3 Athens Beats Microsoft     4 Origins of Modern Management     6 Scientific Management: Building More Efficient Machines     7 The Rise of the Knowledge Worker: Unlocking the Creative Potential     8 Software Eats the World: Embracing Uncertainty and Becoming Agile     10 VUCA and Cynefin: Orienting Businesses in a Brave New World     16 The Cynefin Framework     18 Leadership in a Complex World     21 Business Agility: Accelerating Organizational Learning     22 Summary     24 Q&A     24 Further Resources     26 Footnotes     27 Chapter 2  Enterprise Agility     29 Defining Enterprise Agility     29 Designing Business Agility: Balancing Three Critical Levers     32 Building the Right Thing (Value)     33 Building the Thing Right (Quality)     40 Building at the Right Speed (Optimizing for Flow)     43 Unlocking Agility in the Enterprise     50 Performance Multipliers: Five Critical Dimensions of Agility     51 Summary     53 Q&A     54 Further Resources     56 Footnotes     57 PART II:  FIVE DIMENSIONS OF AGILITY     59Chapter 3  Technology     61 Building the Right Thing: Creating Products Customers Love     62 Business Model Canvas: An Interactive Tool for Instant Alignment     62 Lean Startup: A Method for Validating That You’re Building a Product Worth Building     65 Cost of Delay: Understanding the Impact of Time to Life Cycle Profits     68 Building the Thing Right     74 Scrum: Building Value Incrementally and Iteratively     74 Kanban: Taming Chaotic Environments Through Visualization     79 Building at the Right Speed: Optimizing for Flow     81 XP     82 Value Stream Mapping     86 Summary     89 Q&A     90 Further Resources     93 Footnotes     95 Chapter 4  Organizational Design     97 Physical Workplace Design     97 Designing for Great Teams     98 The Science Behind High-Performing Teams     99 Case Study: More Effective Collaboration Spaces at NAVTEQ     100 Organizational Structure     107 Functional Structure     108 Divisional Structure     110 Matrix Structure     111 Emergent Organizational Structures: Sociocracy and Holacracy     113 An Agile Organizational Structure?     116 Heuristics of Agile Organizational Designs     120 Summary     121 Q&A     122 Further Resources     124 Footnotes     125 Chapter 5  People     127 Never Underestimate the Importance of People     130 Characteristics of People in Agile Organizations     132 Fostering a Growth Mind-Set     132 Developing an Enterprise Growth Mind-Set     134 Embracing Diversity     135 Strategies for Building an Environment Supportive of Agile People     137 Implications for HR in an Agile Organization     138 Partner with Teams to Improve Recruiting     138 Design Meaningful Compensation, Rewards, and Recognition Plans     140 Create More Relevant Roles and Define a More Flexible Career Path     141 Empower People by Moving Authority Closer to the Team     142 HR: From Controlling Function to Unlocking Enterprise Agility     143 Summary     144 Q&A     144 Further Resources     146 Footnotes     147 Chapter 6  Leadership     149 Impact of Leadership     150 Level     5 Leadership     152 Level     5 Leadership = Agile Leadership?     153 Teal Leadership     154 Red: Lead Through Force     156 Amber: Lead Through Fiat     157 Orange: Lead Through Efficiency     157 Green: Lead Through Responsibility     158 The Organization: An Organic Ecosystem of Interrelated Parts     158 Teal: The Organization as a Living Entity     159 The Teal Organization: A Blueprint for the Organization of the Future?     160 Beyond Budgeting: An Agile Management Model     161 Origins of Beyond Budgeting     162 Beyond Budgeting: Less Top-Down Control, More Trust and Empowerment     162 The Death of the Traditional CEO?     165 Three Essential Themes of Agile Leadership     167 Summary     168 Q&A     169 Further Resources     171 Footnotes     172 Chapter 7  Culture     173 The Profound Impact of Culture     175 How We Experience Culture     176 The Schneider Culture Model     177 Collaboration—“We Succeed by Working Together”     178 Control—“We Succeed by Getting and Keeping Control”     179 Competence—“We Succeed by Being the Best”     181 Cultivation—“We Succeed by Growing People Who Fulfill Our Vision”     182 Culture’s Impact to Sustaining Change     183 Changing Organizational Culture     185 Characteristics of Business Agility Metrics     191 Actionable     191 Accessible     191 Auditable     192 Additional Heuristics     192 Examples of Meaningful Business Agility Metrics     194 Metrics That Help Support Building the Right Thing     195 Metrics That Help Support Building the Thing Right     197 Metrics That Help Support Building at the Right Speed (Flow)     199 Performance System Changes -> Behavior Changes -> Culture Changes     202 Summary     202 Q&A     203 Further Resources     205 Footnotes     206 PART III: UNLOCKING AGILITY     209Chapter 8  Building Your Organization’s Agile Working Group     211 The AWG: Mission and Purpose     211 Characteristics of the AWG     216 Complementary     216 Dedicated     217 Knowledgeable     218 Credible     219 Humble     219 Champion     220 Role of External Consultants     221 Organizational Structure and the AWG     222 Whole System View     222 Temporary Lifespan     223 Dual-Boot Operating System     224 Recruiting for the AWG     225 Resistance from Managers     225 Hesitation from Potential Candidates     226 The AWG: What’s in It for You?     228 Summary     228 Q&A     229 Further Resources     230 Footnotes     231 Chapter 9  An Operating Model for Business Agility     233 Unlocking Agility: Embrace Change, Execute with Purpose     235 Exploration: An Engine for Embracing Change     237 1. Establish Partnerships with External Innovation Hubs     241 2. Take Ownership Interest in Potential Disruptors     242 3. Acquire Disruptive Competitors—and Let Their Culture and People Flourish     243 4. Create an Internal Culture of Disruptive Innovation     244 Exploitation: Executing Proven Strategies with Purpose     246 Lost in Translation: How Product Strategy Turns from Vision to Hallucination     247 Executing with Purpose Through Progressive Refinement     249 Executing with Purpose Through Fast Organizational Feedback Loops     263 Creating a Balance: Embracing Change and Executing with Purpose in the Right Proportions     266 On Scaling Frameworks     267 Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)     267 Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS)     267 Disciplined Agile Framework     268 Benefits of Scaling Frameworks     268 Drawbacks of Leveraging Scaling Frameworks     269 Summary     270 Q&A     271 Further Resources     273 Footnotes     274 Chapter 10  Unlocking Agility: A Strategic Roadmap     277 Unlocking Enterprise Agility: A High-Level Strategic Roadmap     278 Partnered Transition (Wave     1)     279 Self-Guided (Wave     2)     280 Innate (Wave     3)     281 What Agility Looks Like in Action: Applying the Five Dimensions of Organizational Agility     283 Technology     284 Organizational Design     285 People     285 Leadership     287 Culture     288 Identifying and Driving Change Through an Organizational Improvement Backlog     289 Unlocking Agility in an Agile Manner     289 Step 1: Define and Communicate a Clear Purpose for the Transformation     290 Step 2: Identify Key Impediments Preventing Us from Reaching the Goal     290 Step 3: Build and Execute the Transformation Backlog     294 Step 4: Maintain Momentum: Continuously Monitor Progress, Communicate Results, Seek Feedback, and Celebrate Failures     300 Top 10 Items Leading to Transformation Failure     303 Seven Signs You’re on Your Way to Unlocking Agility     308 The Road Ahead: Now What?     311 Summary     312 Q&A     313 Further Resources     314 Footnotes     315 Index     317