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Agile draws its genesis from lean management and agile manifesto—the former was developed by Toyota in car manufacturing whereas the latter was prepared by a group of software developers in 2001. One of the principles in the manifesto focused more on individuals and interactions; not just processes and tools. Agile management is about improving products and services, processes or business models. Agile management puts a priority on adapting to change rather than sticking to a plan.
The goal of agility is to bring the company as close to the customer as possible. On one hand, ideas can be tested on a small scale, and on the other hand, it can be cast aside if they fail to work.
Agile teams have a different approach than the chain-of-command bureaucracies. Senior leaders in the agile team advice team members on where to innovate. The teams work in proximity with customers, both external and internal. Naturally, those who are closest to customers are responsible for innovation. Teamwork lowers layers of control and approval, thereby accelerating work and boosting the team’s morale. Besides, it gives senior leaders ample time to do what only they can do: create and communicate long-term visions, set strategic priorities, and build the organizational agile capabilities to attain those goals.
Leadership team launches an initial wave of agile teams, gather data on the value created by teams and the obstacles they face, and then decide if, when, and how to take the next step. This gives them leverage to weigh the value of intensifying agility (concerning financial results, customer outcomes, and employee performance against its cost (regarding both financial investments and organizational challenges).
Companies that scale up agile management witness changes in their businesses. Scaling up helps business do work that is innovative compared to the routine operations. As a result, a business is better able to assess the changing conditions and priorities, enhance adaptive solutions and shun any crises that so often hinder traditional hierarchies of business processes. Scaling up also ameliorates operating architectures and organizational models to strengthen the coordination between agile teams and routine operations. In a nutshell, employing agile management guarantees improvements in results such better financial stability, greater customer loyalty, and employee engagement.
