Agile Isnt Enough: Revolution Over Transformation

Agile

RevolutionOver Transformation

Isn’t Enough

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pabak/14496866427/

8’s

Warm Up

Agile

RevolutionOver Transformation

Isn’t Enough


Todd CharronTwitter: @toddcharron

Email: [email protected]

Agile Coach, ImprovisorMentor: Lean Startup Machine Founder: Follow Your Fear Day

Who Am I?

do I do this?Why

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/idUS206536+13-Feb-2012+BW20120213

At the current churn rate, 75% of the S&P 500 will be replaced by 2027.

Year Tenure for average firm on S&P 500 (years)

1958 61

1980 25

2011 18

Of Your

Use TheWHOLE

Organization

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125992663@N02/14597738221/

Organizations Need to be cutting edge thinkers

Leaders Not Followers

BUT

AGILEChangesHow The

Organization

WORKS

IS

AGILEDoesn’t

CHANGE

OrganizationWho The

AREWe Need To

Change

WHOOrganizations

Who Do YouWork For?

Who Are You?

Or do you relinquish itto leadership?

Can you bring your full

power, creativity,

intelligence to work every

day?

Why Revolutions?

Agile Transformation Styles

Thou Shalt Be Agile!

Top Down

Can we really order people to be Agile?

Changes practices but rarely changes the organization

Bottom Up

Are we really committed?Pilot Team

Will we ever get there? Do we even have a vision of where we’re going?

Gradual Evolution

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pikawil/15243882912/

DOOMED!

Culture attracts and retains top Talent

Culture Wins Over Process

Need tobake it

into yourDNA

Marketing!

Marketing = Bad!


Dictatorships

Organizations Operate Like Dictatorships

This happens whether you want it to or not

Rule Through Authority, Suppress Dissent, and Use Fear

- Gene Sharp

The population gets turned into a mass of isolated individuals

Cannot do much of their own initiative

Current Organizational Structures May be Removing Power from People

- Gene Sharp

People are often too frightened to share their hatred of the dictatorship

You only have authority if the people recognize it

Authority is an illusion

Authority can make change but only winning hearts and minds can sustain it

We must make change on an emotional level

Authority: DirectionForceCoercion

So if not authority, then what?

Liberty

Liberty: FreedomAutonomyOpportunity

How far can we go creating liberated organizations?

Valve, Zappos, Netflix experimenting with increasing liberty

We can be more free, more liberated

We will get better

We will be better


How do we defeat a dictator?

Attack where it is weak

Incompetent Bureaucracy, excess controls, ineffective policies and operations

Institutional conflicts and personal rivalries

People may become apathetic, skeptical and even hostile to the regime

To defeat your organizational dictator

https://www.flickr.com/photos/birgerking/7080728397

To remove the dictator we must remove its legitimacy and the rewards that sustain it

Rebellions can be put down

Warning: Revolutions start as rebellions

5 Steps To Revolution

1. Understand Who You Are2. Understand Where you Are

Going3. Messaging4. Build Autonomy5. Build a Cult(ure)

1. Understand who you are

As a companyAs a group of rebels

Who are you?

Who is the face of this change?

Who is your leader?

Be intentional.Be polarizing.

What’s your point of view?

...and live by them

Have Values

Keep Method WeirdWhat would MacGyver Do?Innovate Don’t ImitateCollaborate, Collaborate, CollaborateCare Like Crazy

Method Values:

Leaders Change First

You Won’t Please Everyone

What Is Your Shared Pain?

What Is Your Dictator?

Is there an inciting incident?

2. Understand Where You Are Going

What does success look like?

How do we measure the strength of the dictator?

We Are (Company, Rebel Group), we believe _________

Exercise:

Our dictator is ______ it causes _______

Exercise:

The dictator gets its power from: __________

Exercise:

The dictator is vulnerable to: __________

Exercise:

We will know the dictator is losing power when: __________

Exercise:

We will know we have succeeded when: __________

Exercise:

3. Messaging

Create a declaration of independence from the dictator

What is

vs.

What could be

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

We are uncovering better ways of developingsoftware by doing it and helping others do it.Through this work we have come to value:

That is, while there is value in the items onthe right, we value the items on the left more.

Build your narrative

Tell your story

While respecting what was good about it

Focus on Dissatisfaction with the Dictator

Be factual, don’t sugar coat

Celebrate Your Victories

4. Build Autonomy

Empowerment

Autonomy requires Clarityand Competence

What am I concerned about?

From may I toI intend to

Or Go Against The Grain

Embrace Ideas That Seem Uncomfortable

Trust Their Choices Even If They Are Different Than Your Own

If not, fix THAT rather than remove power

Trust that they are competent and have clarity of vision

Why Are They There?

If you don’t believe they can understand the vision or pick up the skills

Focus on the bright spots

Create Opportunities For Them To Go Deeper

Meet People Where They Are

5. Build a Cult(ure)

Working Towards A Common Goal

Warm Ups and Other Rituals

Become More Group’ish

Flip Your Hive Switch

Synchrony Builds Trust

Focus on What You Have In Common

Increase Similarity Not Diversity

Membership Rather Than Followership

NOT Between Individuals

Healthy Competition Between Teams

Dancing Dissolves HierarchyPlay Poker

Lose Yourself In The Group

How will you keep Method weird?

Create Positive Rites Of Passage

Tribes, Squads, Chapters, GuildsSprints, Scrum, Daily Scrum, Retrospectives

Create Symbols, Names, Insider Language

Give your members a name- Beliebers is taken

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joebielawa/8107447247

Provide Immediate Recognition for those living the values

Wrapping Up

The is THE top priority

The is an ongoing long term effort

You need to be intentional about who you are

This is the thing you have to scale

You need to lead it and own it

Outsiders Can Help

BUT

AGILEChangesHow The

Organization

WORKS

IS

AGILEDoesn’t

CHANGE

OrganizationWho The

AREWe Need To

Change

WHOOrganizations

RevolutionStart a


Todd CharronTwitter: @[email protected]

Agile Isnt Enough: Revolution Over Transformation

Technology