[Webinar wrap-up] Bring agile planning to the whole organization
Jeff Gothelf, author, public speaker, and Neo’s lean evangelist, hosted a recent Harvard Business Review webinar focusing on how to bring agile, lean methodologies to today’s organizations. He shared many fascinating insights and observations, and provided best practices for companies and teams to develop agility in the way they do business.
Software is the core of business
Gothelf opened the webinar by explaining how every industry is waking up to the new business reality that software has become an integral part of business. From logistics companies to car manufacturers, software is deeply integrated with how today’s companies function. Companies who are at the forefront of integrating software with their business, and who embrace technology, give us as a society a glimpse into the future.
“We need to think about #agile holistically & bring it out of just software & into the whole organization.” @jboogie on #HBRWebinar
— Dan J. Hunt (@danjhunt) May 27, 2015
The last 5 years have transformed software delivery
“Software is continuous, there is no endpoint,” Gothelf reminded the audience. Businesses now have the ability to deploy code, watch how it affects customer behavior, and then respond accordingly. In an ideal world this loop would be continuous and would happen in real time: deploy new code, observe customer reactions, and respond. The real challenge is having the organizational agility to make adjustments after observing customer reactions. In many cases companies continue to deploy new software without reflecting on how their customers are reacting to it.
Take Action: you can adapt continuously by deploying, sensing, by responding immediately #EmpowerYourTeam #hbrwebinar pic.twitter.com/4927aueIob
— Danielle Duran (@HungryLikeaW0lf) May 27, 2015
Bringing agile to the entire organization
To build an agile team many requirements must be met. First and foremost is having the right team in place. Gothelf explained that hiring and retaining entrepreneurial, collaborative, and humble people is key. He also emphasized the fact that agile hiring is not about velocity, and that it takes time to find people who are the right fit for an organization. Candidates should be included in non-work activities with potential colleagues in order to accurately assess if they would be a strong hire.
Recruiters must observe candidates in immersive environment w teams. How do they interact? #AnaplanLive #HBRwebinar #agile
— Dawn E. Carter (@decart) May 27, 2015
The insights and information didn’t stop there. Explore the rest of Gothelf’s best practices for building an agile organization. Watch the full webinar on-demand.
