AGILITY through APHORISMS
Current management doctrines frame the most salient features of an agile operating mode by identifying two sets of practices classified as Stable and Dynamic.
Achieving agility is to shift from an organization that resembles a mechanical construct to one that resembles a physiological entity; this latter state better reflects the realities of how organizations behave. There are several domains that we need to leverage to attain agility; the first and of utmost importance is the cultural domain; agility cannot flourish without the right cultural framework.
We can picture agility as an increased basal metabolism of the organization,or as some pervasive positive magnetism that naturally attracts employees and management alike around problems to explore solutions or the organization’s heightened attention level toward the business environment which drives quick responses to changes and opportunities. In a nutshell, agility is a state of the organization that defines the way it copes with the dynamics of an ever-changing business environment and deals with both stressors and opportunities.
Considering the list of stable [S] and dynamic [D] practices that define the attributes of an agile organization, let us look at some of the potential pitfalls of the transition to an Agile OPMOD, we will use an unconventional way, that of aphorisms. We suggest taking the time to go over the following aphorisms more than once, to digest the agility implementation wisdom behind them; they provide some managerial wit [and a little humor] on how to deal with the most common issues encountered when transitioning to an agile OPMOD.
[S] Actionable Strategic Guidance
If a company does not know where is going, actionable strategic guidance becomes superfluous since most of the employees are perfectly capable of contributing to going nowhere
The strategy should be more like a commodity, easily and readily available to everyone, rather than a philosopher’s stone
Try organizing a race without telling the competitors where the arrival point is, and see how many make it to the finish line
[S] Shared Vision & Purposes
It is difficult for a group of people to share something they do not own [except for financial traders] or of which they ignore the existence
[S] Entrepreneurial Drive
Entrepreneurs invest for the challenge and the return; employees feel entrepreneurial for the same reasons, missing the return creates an employee’s entrepreneurial identity crisis [concerning rewarding performance]
[S] Standardized Way of Working
A process that everybody understands is better than tons of situational procedures that nobody read
One good manual is worth a thousand procedures
[S] Cohesive
Leadership is the glue of a cohesive organization
[S] Performance Orientation & Empowerment
Performance orientation must come to a destination called results; being able to orient oneself is pointless if you are not going anywhere
Performance must be objectively appraisable, if this turns out not to be the case, we are not upraising performance but something else
With great empowerment comes great responsibility, with great responsibility, comes great accountability; and with great accountability, comes the potential for great reward, missing the last link is suspicious
Through several passages, if empowerment does not pay off is called scapegoating
The boundary of every employee’s empowerment area should be defined by the policies, core values & professional common sense, this latter tends to be the weakest part of the fence
[S] Fit for Purpose Accountable Cells
Fit for Purpose is the antithesis of For Information Only. In the age of information overload, we can survive without the latter
Being part of an Accountable Cell must pay off given the accountable nature of the cell; if it turns out not to be the case, someone is taking us for a ride
[D] Information Transparency
Organizations not sharing information are like an airplane without wings; it is technically an airplane, but it will not fly
Information transparency implies that the information we share must be understandable. Transparency of opaque information is useless
Concerning “For Information Only” information, please refrain from passing them on, we would not know what to do with them
Although transparency is extremely valuable, it should not be economized [Mark Twain]
[D] Continuous Learning
Since professional ignorance and obsolescence are self-inflicted punishments, continuous learning cannot be sanctioned
As time passes, professional obsolescence is attainable exponentially faster
The man who does not read has no advantages over the man who cannot read [Mark Twain]
[D] Sensing & Seizing Opportunities
Mastering the art of informed opportunism, in other words, chance favors the prepared [Louis Pasteur]
[D] Technology, Systems & Tools
Introduce technologies only if you have an unclouded vision about where and why you need them. Sophisticated technological contraptions can make life a living hell [On the dangers of introducing digitization and digitalization initiatives without a clear understanding of the objectives for doing so]
A good system expands the employees’ capabilities, not harnesses them [On the dangers of the system becoming the source of employees’ alienations]
[D] Individual Role Flexibility
Individual role flexibility should be implemented with moderation, otherwise, it becomes a two ways suckers’ game; we would not be able to hold anyone accountable, and would not know whom to reward
Flexible people are desirable employees as flexibility is a sign of intelligence
[D] Active Partnerships & Ecosystem
In business in the medium-long term, marriage accomplishes more than dating
In academia, there is a lot of thinking and little practical work done; in business, there is a lot of practical work done and sometimes, surprisingly little thinking. Get the two together and you will get a lot of thoughtful work accomplished
Mutual Rational Trust is at the basis of every successful partnership; concerning Blind Trust, we would not know, we are a company, not a faith