Ron Jeffries once quipped:
- “Scaled Agile must be simple — or it isn’t Agile.”
He continued:
- “The basic message is that if you can do “agile” in the small, you can begin to think about doing it in the large. If you can’t do it in the small, you’d be a fool to try to do it in the large first. That would be like trying to write a book without knowing how to write a sentence. Or a picture book without knowing how to draw.”
Believing that if you buy a scaled agile solution (that it will somehow magically transform your organization right out-of-the-box), by imposing a toolset, is very wrong. The primary problem with attempting to transform only using a toolset is that it is external behavior modification. And, that is simply NOT sustainable:
Another impediment to transformation is the so-called Agile Onion:
My view is that this is backwards. Starting with Tools & Processes and hoping to work outwards to achieve the mindset feels somewhat flawed since it is an extrinsic tactic. Yes, I understand what they are trying to accomplish and that this somewhat mirrors the Aha! Curve in its thinking. So there is some value in using this picture; but, only when used in tandem with the Mindset Onion:
Once again, this is a both/and situation, NOT an either/or. Both views are needed to be successful. True transformation takes place at the individual level and the journey begins in their minds, not via some externally imposed structure that is unsustainable. This is intrinsic, so by its very nature it is sustainable.
Every person in the company must shift their thinking: person-by-person, team-by-team. The bigger the company, the longer the journey.
How do you turn people’s hearts & minds?
You don’t. People don’t like to change their core truths, values & attitudes. That’s why transformations fail often.
But, I have discovered that most reasonable people are willing to make a new decision based on new information. This is a simple, yet profoundly powerful, way to transition people from where they are at to where they need to be.
Plan for your transformation to take 5-7 years.
The Flow Leadership Framework accelerates transformation and can deliver true change in half the time.
Want to learn how?
Let’s chat…
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