#ThrivingOrgs
Companies that tune in to markets and people
Companies that want to endure and thrive can evolve key aspects of how and why they do what they do. Many are doing so through new work methodologies focused on people and operating under a rapid learning model. In addition, they are guided by a common purpose: to co-create value for all stakeholders.
Companies are responding to the demands of the markets and the constant evolution of social behaviors. The history of companies adapting to their environments is as old as the very fact of existing as economic entities. However, in essence, many changes have taken place while maintaining the same focus: sustainable profitability, in most cases.
This constant transformation has been influenced by management schools such as Harvard, MIT, London Business School, Insead, Stanford, among many others that have been waging a "battle" for decades over who formulates the new theory of management every five years. Likewise, almost everyone related to financial sciences knows very well those gurus who created management models and paradigms such as Michael Porter, Peter Drucker, Max Weber, Stephen Covey, the new on the red carpet, Simon Sinek and many others that Chat GPT can list endlessly. In all of them there is a common denominator: to evolve and adapt, just as the history of humanity has been.
Today, we are talking about several models such as Scrum, Kanban, DSDM and especially Agile companies. This methodology for operating can even date back to the 60s, but the management world agrees that Agile was really born and spread with the creation of the "Agile Manifesto" for software development, launched in 2001. Step by step, it migrated to other areas and types of companies and in fact has been implemented – also using parts of other systems – in companies such as Google (Digital), Adidas (Sports), Netflix (Streaming), Whole Foods (Supermarket), Michelin (Tires), Morning Star (Food), Allianz (Insurance), Microsoft (Technology).
Agile Companies
Basically, Agile companies are quickly mobilized, dynamic, empowered to act, and facilitate action for all employees and not just the great manager.
According to one of the consulting firm McKinsey's publications on this subject, "the dominant 'traditional' firm (designed primarily for stability) is a static, siloed structural hierarchy: goals and decisions flow from the top down the structure, with the most powerful governing bodies at the top... It operates through linear planning and control, in order to generate shareholder value. The structure is strong, but often rigid and slow-moving."
An Agile company is a collection of teams, within a people-centric culture. That is, there are far fewer hierarchies, fewer layers between the leader and the rank-and-file. Many decisions are made well down the pyramid, by whoever does the work. Goals are broken down into smaller tasks, with short work cycles and measurable results. "Such an agile operating model has the ability to quickly and efficiently reconfigure strategy, structure, processes, people, and technology toward opportunities for value creation and protection," McKinsey consultants explain. These types of companies survive more easily in volatile and uncertain environments or markets that become complex from one moment to the next.
In agile companies, creativity, ideation, and the formulation of new solutions are stimulated. In traditional ones, if an operational employee has an idea, it is very difficult for it to materialize. In the Agile model, all members of multidisciplinary teams are included and listened to.
Above all, as we mentioned, the goal, the object of these companies is not exclusively profitability, selling and winning. It is to add value, of course to the shareholder, but also to the employee, the customer, allies such as suppliers or distributors and society in general. In principle, it is not an easy idea to sell, but it responds to complex and multidisciplinary analyses. In addition, it is based on extensive research on what modern society, the younger workforce, and markets expect and demand.
Some of the axes through which an interested company can be more Agile are:
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Have a clear north, a higher purpose that motivates everyone in the company and its stakeholders or circles of influence.
A change in mindset to have empowered teams with the confidence that they are heard.
Customer-facing people have one of the highest influences on decisions.
Very flat structures with clear roles.
A capacity for learning, reading and understanding the environment, which allows adjustments and improvements to be made quickly.
They must also fight resolutely against bureaucracy and red tape. Following the path of "stopping doing" absolutely everything that doesn't add value to the purpose or the customer is an imperative.
They mainly incorporate technologies that make them faster.
Finally, this evolution happens if there is a fundamental change in the mentality of the leadership team, general managers and bosses at all levels, who become more guides, facilitators and coaches, than agents of orders and decisions.
References for further information