Agile deep-dive in Silicon Valley

The concept of Agile product development has been around for years. There are many books (i.e. The Lean Startup), consulting companies (i.e. Pivotal) and frameworks (e.g. Spotify, SAFe, ASD, FDD). Quite a few companies are built on Agile principles (e.g., Google, Facebook, Spotify, Zappos, Amazon) and even more have been trying to radically change their existing operating models into Agile. It sounds cool and its benefits are rarely disputed these days. Yet, it is not quite the mainstream across many industries so far. Why? 

Well, it is a complete paradigm shift, pushing everyone out of the comfort zone and can not be internalized until experienced personally. Transition into that new model is scary and never stops. It requires changes to people, processes and underlying technologies, as well as organizational structures, roles and responsibilities, values and mindsets. It is for those who are driven by sense of purpose, fast paced problem-solving in team environment, constant learning, and have fun doing that.

Past week I had a chance to explore a few premier Agile cultures of Silicon Valley and took the liberty of summarizing days of conversations into a few differentiating takeaways for each.

Google:

• Select strongest talent driven by solving complex problems 
• Match them with the right challenges
• Eliminate roadblocks on their way

Facebook:

• Hire those who care about the company mission
• Set extra ambitious goals (50% probability of success) twice a year
• Experiment, experiment, experiment

Pivotal:

• Co-create in pairs
• Develop through tests
• Deliver continuously

Three themes kept popping up in numerous conversations:

• Trust colleagues to figure things out
• Lead through coaching, not management
• Learn from failures quickly

A few surprising elements of Agile discovered on campuses:

• The symbol of the past as a constant reminder for the future - a dinosaur sculpture at Google

• Outdoor spaces filled with working groups at Facebook

• All-team morning stand-up at Pivotal as a way to start the day with team alignments

If you have successfully tried unique Agile techniques in business transformations, please drop me a note. Would love to hear about it.