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Agility has been a buzz word for many years now, and for good reason. When practiced correctly, agility makes a business sustainable and increases its performance. With the pivots many businesses have had to make due to COVID-19, agility has gained more focus than ever. The problem? Many businesses, from the federal government to the private sector, are not actually agile. And faking being agile makes business fragile and vulnerable. Let’s make sure this does not happen to your business! Read below for 3 tips on utilizing agile correctly so you can see increased business performance and sustainability:
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Accountability and Collaboration
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Erick Mann summed up the relationship between agile and accountability/collaboration best. He said “Agile presents a methodology shift that requires continuous collaboration and accountability through a project lifecycle…” To be truly agile, teams and employees wear many different hats. Each person relies on their colleagues to handle their aspect of a project/business. The entire plan goes off the rails, i.e. is not agile, when someone does not do their part of the work. To hold each other accountable, teams must bridge the gaps between people, processes, and technology. Bridging this gap is the reason QuantumMark was founded, and as Mann points out in his article, is one of the most important lessons learned from agile. Takeaway? Build in collaboration, understanding, and accountability from peer to peer, and from the top down.
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Holistic Project Management
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In our blog last week, we talked about the trend towards holistic project management. This holistic approach to projects/business has a huge impact on agile. Being agile requires a business to work separately, but ensure all areas are tied together and working cohesively. This is exactly what holistic project management achieves. The problem when you do not take this approach is huge. You can have various teams starting “important” projects. But when they do not talk to each other or collaborate, you run into conflicting goals, timelines, wasted budgets, etc. No one wants these issues – they can cause catastrophic business delays and frustrated employees. Take the holistic approach instead, and always assess your entire environment and the goals and activities of each individual agile unit within your business. The minimal time this takes up front makes up for itself in increased productivity, performance, and agility.
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Risk Management not Reaction
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Agile businesses conduct constant risk assessment and management. Why? Managing risks frequently keep you out of the reactive “oh crap” operation/mind frame. This is so important, because agile is adjustable, mobile, but it is not fear- reactive. Managing vs. reacting to risks and issues is a key step in ensuring the collaboration and accountability aspect of being agile are executed successfully. While there will always be some aspects of reaction vs. planning in agile, make sure it is not fear-based reactions.
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It can be hard, but it is important as a business owner/leader you take a hard look at how agile you are. The disconnect that exists between those who say they are agile vs. those who truly practice it is vast. Our goal is to help make this gap smaller. We want strong, sustainable businesses, not fragile vulnerable ones. Our best advice is this: take a step back, assess, and put a plan in place to truly become an agile business on all levels. Your business performance in all areas will thank you.
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Interested in learning more about [INSERT THE MAIN FOCUS OR GOAL OF THE BLOG POST]? Contact our team at Kim@QuantumMark.com today!
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