@BizAgilityConf resilience at a time of disruption.

As the world around us faced mass disruption the @BizAgilityConf community and team of organisers remained resilient. Ok we had a few pivots but the amazing team of volunteers/ facilitators both online & offline were truly responsive to change. Guided by the Business Agility founders Evan Leybourn and Ahmed Sidky who..

‘Were bold, were real and lead with their heart’.

This was of course the wonderful quote provided by Sally Elatta during her thought provoking talk 'How to Leverage Our Transformation Skills for Rebuilding Nations'. A fitting assertion for the way the founders prioritised the safety of attendees during such turbulent times.

It was a great privilege to take on the role of chief cat herder as I bounced on and off the stage to introduce the wonderful speakers, interview with the audience Q&A as well as initiate the awesome deep dives that took place throughout the 2 days. Once again all of this was only possible thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers and trained facilitators who created the perfect environment for deep learning.

Each talk from a seasoned line up of Business Agility Executives, Thought Leaders and Practitioners were equally unique, yet there was a salient theme that resonated throughout the conference; ‘Opposing a crisis’. A fitting theme when Covid-19 was increasingly impacting the world around us. Making light hearted fun of the pressing situation I joked of running a conference the following year for a ‘non VUCA world’, with a Gannt chart in construction and a list of must have agenda items. If this were true, I would get zero registrations, Why? Because disruption is the new norm and we live in a VUCA world. Period!!

Sally Elatta, CEO Of Agility Health and business agility transformation leader told her story of her one-year journey to establish Sudan NextGen. The vision to transform and leapfrog Sudan in pursuit of a shared dream of being one of the leading countries and economies in Africa. Her actions and passion for solving big, wicked problems a result of facing treacherous times that were far too close to home. Marina Alex, founder of SWAY Systems told an equally heart felt story of a 20-year old business trying to survive and thrive during a time of conflict and war. Her story was less about the conflict but how a hotel set foot on a business agility transformation to survive.

During an ‘interview with the audience’ Q&A Zach Bonaker reacted to these compelling stories by asking if a crisis is required to make positive change? This spurred further discussions during the deep dive conversations and flowed beautifully into a talk delivered by Angel Diaz-Maroto on day 2. Angel recommended the use of a crisis simulation to spark your true innovation power. Why? because...

It takes a crisis to obtain the right mindset for change.

This was an 'aha' moment for me for true innovation and Business Agility. Consider a crisis that could impact on a business model, prototype a defence, review, generate insights and improve the process. Learn through doing, contingency plan, swarm and thrive for continuous improvement.

Angel’s closing remarks were that, the best steps for agility were resilience, resilience to a crisis.

‘What is your threat? Agility alone might not be enough. Resilience is key’.

In a time of uncertainty, one thing I am certain of is that the learnings and insights that evolved during this fantastic conference will support organisations across the globe to thrive, survive and build resilience.

Personal successes and failures from the conference………..

+ Running a lightening Visual Thinking Skills Workshop to keep the energy levels high as we monitored the breaking news.

- Spending 2 days cleaning my hands with mouth wash. Thanks Howard Sublett for showing me the light. I had the freshest hands in NYC. 

Final Thoughts

From the words of John Rossman (former Amazon Executive), the key to business success and survival is 'customer obsession'. Knowing what your customers need and creating experiences that match. At Radtac we are aware of the constraints that businesses are currently facing with travel restrictions and isolated working, which means that our virtual training is likely to be the preferred option for our customers. Whether online or offline the key is in creating a seamless learning experience. So here are some useful tips for those wishing to provide valuable online training ...

Radtac's Online Training Success Factors

• Modularised - Break the training down into bite sized modules
• Experiential - Use technology to make the experience as interactive as possible
• Engaging - Limit class size and make time for reflection
• Sustainable - Spread the training over a number of days and create a pace that is sustainable
• Quality-Create a high quality experience

Stuart Young, Innovation Lead, Radtac.com