Is agile dead?

Is this the post-agile era?

I don't mean to cause any alarm but if you hadn't noticed we're entering, or arguably have already entered, the post-agile era.

I'll try to avoid mixing metaphors like "cut off the baby's nose to spite the bath water" or "does the pope defecate in the woods", so we'll stick to using a musical metaphor.

What happened?

We lived for years, maybe decades in a systematic, factory-like production process where innovation was stifled and agility and adaptability were like dartboards in the break room, where we gave it a go in-between the real work. Doh, you see what happened there? We already strayed from our intention to use musical metaphors.

And so, with the agile era, we heralded a change in methodology and attitude to team that began to prioritise what we'd been longing for but rarely been afforded all along.

And during the agile era we've benefited from improvements in speed, creativity, prioritisation, collaboration and continual innovation.

And yet, as the agile era has moved on, the principles it once espoused have degraded, maybe because with these improvements, product development and design have become less of a factory or consultancy function and more of a business function. Doh, there we go again, straying from our metaphor intentions.

What now?

And so, we now find ourselves in a new post-agile era where we are rarely agile. Re-prioritisation has become a free-for all, innovation is now just a process of hacking new shiny toys together without informed decision-making, and the development roadmap is often sidelined for whatever opportunity comes through the door.

Right, so what then should we be intentional about in bringing forward the next era? After all, that is the purpose of a post era, right? We assess what has been and cast vision for what might be.

Well, I'll nail my colours to the mast, or put a stake in the ground, or whatever other non-musical metaphor comes to mind.

In this next era what I think businesses of all shapes and sizes need is to prioritise frameworks for better decision making.

It's important that we have a general framework or process that our teams can follow. There will of course be variance from one team to another of how closely they should adhere to this framework or process. Large multi-nationals are akin to an orchestra, requiring a clearly written playbook where everyone knows what to do when and what tone to do it with. Yes, we did it, a musical metaphor. Whereas startups like MediShout will be more like a jazz quartet. Everyone knows the key we're playing in, the time signature, the general structure of a good performance and the capabilities and personalities of the other musicians.

What does better decision making mean?

Well, business leaders have to understand the general frameworks and processes of the business. The benefit of these is that they allow us to cut corners and make compromises without chaos. Imagine the difference between a river that breaks its banks vs a river that carves a new course over time, producing incredible landscapes, and while in nature that takes a long time, in business it doesn't have to. Doh, another non-musical metaphor.

Business leaders also need to be able to identify where a lack of process or poor existing process is inhibiting their teams, and use their consultative collaborative experience to help the teams to identify new processes or changes in process that bring increased stability and productivity.

Business leaders need to know when to make decisions and who should either be consulted in the decision making process or in the room to help make the decision. And you can add to that, know who the decision should be communicated to, when, how and why.

Business leaders need to be uncompromising on setting vision and goals and holding themselves accountable for how every decision contributes or detracts from these. If you find yourself apologising often that you're asking your team to compromise on vision and goals, then either your vision and goals are flawed or there is active dissonance between what you want to do vs what you give yourself and your team to do.

Airing dirty laundry?

So, I bet you're wondering if this is a criticism of the leaders I work with, and you'd better believe it's not. I consider myself to be one of the business leaders responsible for fulfilling the aforementioned decision making functions.?

Do we get it right every time? No.?

Are things difficult even when we get it right? You'd better believe it.

Are we achieving great things and pulling together as a team along the way? Absolutely.

Do we plan to do better and plan to hold one another accountable on this too? Well, that's kind of the point of this post.

Epilogue

As is usually the case with humans, you might set out with the best intentions. Maybe you intend to use musical metaphors. And sometimes it's right to compromise on your intentions, and sometimes it's right to not compromise on your intentions, but whatever compromises you make, make them intentionally, consider the impact, and ensure you bring people along with you while you make the decisions well.

Do I know what the next era will be? Nope, if you do please tell me. Do I believe these principles of the quality decision making will help us get there? Too right.