Agility is the dominant requirement for our times, although it is often misunderstood as a mere increase in speed. In start-ups it is used to revolutionise the methods for achieving future work. However, it is particularly difficult to introduce agility into established companies, already organised along functional lines.
Here, different rules and boundary parameters apply than for start-ups. Obstacles and resistance need to be overcome or sometimes even consciously avoided. Instead of real walls and trenches, virtual and cultural obstacles must be overcome during implementation.
Working together with a team from a successful German industrial company, we have jointly developed a process which can also succeed in creating agile teams within your organisation. In this, we are pioneers within Germany and Europe: because in fact, it is not much of a challenge to “re-label” classic “Task Forces” as “Agile Teams”. In practice, much more than this is required: in the last analysis, agility needs to be understood as a part of the company’s culture, and employees who will be required to work on an agile basis in future must be supported throughout this change.
When attempting to introduce agility, we have found that it is mostly the stronger, established system that prevails. However, in order to achieve agility, the old well-worn behavioural patterns must be broken. For some individuals this can be a painful process – but necessary in order to confront the challenges of the future. Ultimately, it is your goal to make a substantial part of your company agile or at least “agile-ready”. Because it is not absolutely necessary that the normal value creation process runs in accordance with agile principles. But particularly for matters demanding a high degree of creativity and flexibility, the employees in your company must be quickly enabled to work in an agile manner and to put the focus on customer satisfaction.
Throughout this process we will provide in-depth support. We will not only ensure you have mastered the tools and techniques for establishing agile teams. We will support you on-site in building them up and thus ensure that you establish agile teams within a manageable timeframe.
