{"id":4752,"date":"2018-02-18T06:10:32","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T06:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.binfire.com\/blog\/?p=4752"},"modified":"2018-02-18T06:10:32","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T06:10:32","slug":"agile-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.binfire.com\/blog\/agile-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Agile Management"},"content":{"rendered":"

You have probably used or heard about Agile Project Management<\/a>, but chances are not about company-wide Agile management practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

To be successful\u00a0today, entrepreneurs and businesses need to be agile not just in managing their projects but in\u00a0everything they do in their businesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From human resources\u00a0to manufacturing, procurement, sales, and marketing all aspects of\u00a0a business needs to run on agile principles for a company to become Agile.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few years ago Mark Andreessen wrote an insightful article in Wall Street Journal called, Why\u00a0software is eating the world<\/a>.\u00a0 In it, Mark argued\u00a0that software companies will soon dominate the market and everybody else will be left behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

More recently Forbes published an article by Steve Denning titled why Agile is eating the world<\/a>. It is a great article, I recommend everyone reading it.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the article, Denning argues it is not the software that is taking over the world, but companies who practice Agile who are becoming the dominant players in the marketplace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What proof do we have that the Agile practice is the only way that produces\u00a0results in the 21-century economy?<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2018, out of the five biggest corporations in the world, all five are practicing Agile. Yes, you heard me right. The five biggest corporations in the world are all Agile driven.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amazon<\/a>, Google<\/a>, Apple<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Microsoft<\/a> all have adapted Agile management to survive and thrive. Did you notice all five are also primarily\u00a0software vendors?<\/span><\/p>\n

That should be expected since Agile has been a by-product or software industry and these companies have been in the forefront of embracing Agile.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what is Agile management and how\u00a0do you stir your company to the Agile promise land?<\/span><\/p>\n

You may ask, only software companies or high tech companies have a chance to become Agile?<\/span><\/p>\n

No, you do have to to be a software company\u00a0to become agile. Any business\u00a0like manufacturing, services or retail can become Agile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[clickToTweet tweet=”Agile management can make your company the next Amazon or Google!” quote=”To be successful, businesses need to be agile not just in managing projects but in all they do.” theme=”style4″]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Agile Management?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the following paragraphs, we define what Agile practice is in\u00a0a company-wide setting and help you get started in making your business an Agile business.<\/span><\/p>\n

The transition would not be easy, but not impossible. The first thing you need to do is to make sure every everybody in your\u00a0organization from executives to first-line managers and key employees agrees and\u00a0are committed\u00a0to the agile way of doing business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember that agile is a democratic way of managing and not a dictatorship form. You need everybody’s 100%\u00a0commitment and backing to become agile and succeed.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1-Small is beautiful\u00a0 and yet efficient<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

To run a business agile, your organization needs to be lean. The excess fat in any organization is the killer of efficiency and productivity very\u00a0much like body fat is in the human body.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every person in your organization needs to have a precisely\u00a0defined job and be 100% utilized. If anyone is not employed full time, outsource what they do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for every asset your business\u00a0owns or uses to run the operations. Buildings, equipment, and services you use to run the business all need be just what the business needs and nothing more.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is even true for the capital you use to run the business. If you waste money even in small amount, you will be less agile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every penny should go to make the business run faster and become more productive.<\/span><\/p>\n

2-Customer is the king<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Agile business, the customer is the king (or the queen). Your business should have one goal and one goal only; to satisfy the customer’s needs and wishes.<\/span><\/p>\n

To be customer oriented\u00a0is easier said than done. You need to put the customer at the center of all actions and decisions\u00a0that the company makes.<\/span><\/p>\n

You are not trying to sell goods or services to customers, but you are offering the customers great value which they can’t live without!<\/span><\/p>\n

Your customers will become your best salespeople and fans.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3-Make decision fast<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

In agile management, you need to make decisions fast, really fast. You can’t wait until you have all the data and information which you think you need, to make a decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you do that, by the time you have finally\u00a0made a decision, the market\/competition has changed and your decision could be wrong after all.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a rule of thumb, if you already have 70% of the data you need, go ahead and decide. Waiting for any longer could just harm your chances of reaching the goal<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, if there is disagreement about how to proceed among the team members, use what Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon does. When there is disagreement on an issue, the team makes a decision and commits<\/a> even those who disagree are 100% committed.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4-Do, Measure, and Redo<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

To practice agile, you need to change fundamentally how you manage things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a decision is made and implemented, you need to monitor and measure the\u00a0outcome using real data. Based on the result, you may need to modify\/change what you have been doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The combination of short decision making and the ability to measure the result and react in time is a potent business asset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is what we mean by agile management, everything is checked and rechecked based on\u00a0collected data.<\/span><\/p>\n

If your business does not have the data on all its operations, then go and figure out how to get them first. Without real data, Agile management is impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

The beauty of this approach is that it makes mistakes less costly and enable you to change course in a very short time when needed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5-Transparency\u00a0is the new rule<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

In the age of agile, transparency is becoming the new corporate rule which no business can do without. If you want to make decisions fasts and more importantly make corrections faster, your organization needs to be totally transparent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hiding facts and data from others, establishing chiefdoms and fighting for egos and position does not fit the agile model.<\/span><\/p>\n

For\u00a0agile to work, a flat organizational structure is needed in\u00a0the organization. If the management levels from the CEO to the workers is more than\u00a04 levels in your organization, then you have too much management fat in your organization and need to trim the extra fat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before becoming Agile you need to cut the excess fat layer from your organization. This\u00a0requires that you give more responsibility to everyone on your team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The CEO’s number one objective when trying to go agile is to make sure the business, the people and everything in it, is 100% transparent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Everybody\u00a0should have access to the same data if they are part of the team that makes decisions or does the actual work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6-Collaborate or Die<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the age of agile, collaboration becomes even more necessary and valuable than other organizational structures.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

If your organization fails to collaborate, it will be\u00a0destined to fail and disappear in the marketplace.<\/span><\/p>\n

The number one enabler of productivity in the\u00a0era of social media is collaboration. The new work tools make collaboration easier to achieve.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But, the organization needs to be receptive to collaboration. No tool can force a team to collaborate. The collaboration should be ingrained in the organization’s DNA.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"project<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

7-Get rid of underperformers<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

For a business to thrive, it needs the best talent it can afford. It is important to always evaluate the employees and find out who is doing fine and those who need to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are an established company, once a year review is sufficient. For startups, one year may be too long. The review should happen every six months or less.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I know the above statement sounds\u00a0mean and heartless, but remember a business is not a social club and it needs the best resources to grow.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u00a0owe it to those who work hard, to the shareholders and yourself to make sure your business got the best talent you can afford,<\/span><\/p>\n

Granted you can’t compete with Google or Amazon when it comes to attracting talent. But if you want to become as successful as Amazon or Google one day, you better start doing as they do.<\/span><\/p>\n

One caveat here,\u00a0 you need to provide training and support to make sure your employees can achieve the best they are able to. The money and effort you spend on employee training is an important investment in the business.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pros of Agile Management<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The following is a partial list of the benefits of Agile management.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n