AGILITIVE is a professional brand that combines business modeling, customer development, service design, data analytics, and innovation frameworks to help organizations transform to become more agile. It encompasses using tools like business model canvases, customer journey mapping, and developing and analyzing taxonomies using systems thinking. AGILITIVE is applicable to help both for-profit and non-profit organizations transform. The methodology aims to implement practices like having an outside-in management mindset, enabling managers, coordinating work dynamically, focusing on values over just economic value, and using conversation over commands. Organizations need transformations that can meet challenges through practices aligned to create an agile organism, rather than treating the organization as a machine.
1. AGILITIVE is my professional brand for Management Transformation for Agile, Adaptive and Lean Orientation.
Based on what I have learned and observed from leading management theorists, economists, entrepreneurs,
innovators and analysts.
AGILITIVE methodology encompasses use of business modeling process, service design and developing tax-
onomies and analyzing them.
Approaches to business modeling include use of Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas com-
bined with Customer development process. Also, Lean Model Canvas combined with Strategy Risks Board and
Validated Learning Board in addition to Experiments board.
Depending upon situation, business modeling can be tweaked. Strategy Risks Board has been derived from
Analogs/Antilogs Framework. Validated Learning Board is derived from PDCA cycle. Overall direction of
organization can be developed using Responsive OS Canvas tool.
Service design should focus on optimum customer experience, smooth service journey and also to delight cus-
tomers, so Customer Journey Canvas, Customer Journey Mapping and service blueprints should be applied.
Developing, adapting and analyzing taxonomies is important as it gives holistic insight. Systems thinking is ap-
plied in developing product and industry taxonomies.
For example, I have adapted ICB and GICS to derive an industrial sector taxonomy, based on which market-
product can be positioned. There is need for holistic approach in developing product-market fit. Convergence
across different verticals enables better value creation. Also I have developed an IT taxonomy called E-Stack
for getting an holistic view of IT industry. Usually taxonomies can be developed using concept mapping. I have
also developed taxonomies for creating sustainable and resilient economy.
Innovation frameworks includes use of Doblin’s Ten types of innovation and resultant tactics, Economic Com-
plexity Index , Transitional technologies and product space concept, Arc of Inventions, Inventure cycle, Adja-
cent possible with Techium, Compounding innovation effect from incremental innovations, Innovator’s DNA,
and Criteria for disruptive innovation.
Measuring impact with is carried out with lean analytics which includes focusing on One Metric That Matters
(OMTM). One such measure is Net Promoter Score (NPS). Another metric to measure impact of measures is
embracing Contribution Based Activity (CBA) metric which can be used to enhance profits.
In addition, suitable tools, software, services and processes for agile and lean transformation should be de-
ployed.
For example use of and adaptation of Kanban boards, collaboration platforms, use of Git for version control and
knowledge store. One such process is eXtreme Manufacturing (XM) concept, which is being conceptualized by
Wikispeed for fast development of products.
Also, organizations have to be collaborative. For enhanced productivity and harmonious environment, organiza-
tion structures have to evolve and develop accordingly. Methodologies such as Github’s Open Allocation, Dave
Gray’s Connected companies, Asana’s Work Graph, Cocoon Projects Liquid Organization and Holacracy are
such examples.
Agilitive is applicable to for-profit, non-profit, for-benefit, cooperative activities.
2. AGILITIVE is part of my professional services brand.
Agilitive combines business modeling, customer development process, service designing, data analytics and
innovation frameworks. Agilitive also covers comprehensively issues of stake-holding/ownership/control, pur-
pose/intent and management/organizing/value exchanges issues for building the next economy.
Data accumulated over the years on performance of companies has shown that it is highly competitive sector
with razor thin profit margins. Traditional management focused on capturing market share, extensive cost cut-
ting, rent seeking from intellectual property and push approach for selling to customers. Relentless focus on
creation of shareholder value only has made business stagnant and irrelevant to customers. Companies have to
realize that customers are no longer influenced by glossy marketing and public relations, as they are better in-
formed and hyper connected using new forms of emerging social media. Steve Denning has identified and de-
tailed such five fundamental shifts in management practice which become apparent, these are-
1. The management mindset: From inside-out to outside in.
2. The role of managers: From controller to enabler.
3. The way work is coordinated: From bureaucracy to dynamic linking.
4. The values practiced: From economic value to values.
5. The way people communicate: From command to conversation.
None of these practices are new, but all of them are to be implemented at once in alignment to create an agile
organization which can meet challenges. Companies should treat organization as an organism rather than a
machine. Implementing Service Dominant Logic gives unified understanding of value in use and co-creation of
value with customers. Social business design is less common to traditional management and more common to
urban planning and city design. Social era in business is more than social media. Long tail in retail is possible
by custom demand pull fabrication, by utilizing principle of matching an unmonetized/unvalued surplus with an
unsatisfied scarcity. Develop retail scalable pull platforms by using performance ecosystem which consists of
multiple (three or more) independent organizations and/or individuals interacting with one another to pursue
shared goals. Software is replacing existing functions performed by discrete elements in most industries. Con-
cepts such as Vendor Relationship Management (VRM) and Product Relationship Management (PRM) empow-
ers customers and enable continuous engagement with them. Elastic enterprises have generated a new genera-
tion of competitive strategy and new operating processes that together form a remarkable response to changing
economic conditions. Elastic enterprises are a new, more dynamic, and more inclusive approach to wealth crea-
tion. User innovation and social curation by customers together with Institutions that can drive accelerated
learning will be the most likely to thrive in today’s environment of exponential technology change and market
uncertainty. Institutional innovation can allow organizations to re-architect themselves to scale learning and
generate richer innovations at other levels, including products, services, business models, and management
systems. Customer service should be considered an investment rather than cost center. Organizations can
achieve large-scale transformations in a series of smaller, pragmatic steps. Through new technologies, prac-
tices, and other parties in their business ecosystem, organizations can make success more likely by decreasing
initial investments and increasing their initiatives’ velocity. A true marketplace needs natural pull on both the
consumer and supplier side of the market.
I have been thinking about an hypothetical organization, let's call it Wikitelect Ventures.
Its sub groups, products and services are categorized into resilient stack, which I had brainstormed earlier.
I am envisioning a kind of business venture which will be P2P, utilize and enrich global commons, will be for-
benefit coalition and operate ethically. It may include both non-profit foundations as well as supporting for-profit
entities. It will transact both in bank issued currencies and alternative currency systems. It will be hierarchy less,
will use a value network, be agile in functioning. It may also make wage labor or human rental concepts redun-
dant. It will ensure basic guaranteed returns for all participants/users either in form of income or access or con-
sumption. For some, product will be the profit. For some, contribution and return will be measured by value net-
work. Alternative provisioning systems will be used.
Its conduct will be ethical. It will try to develop an ethical market. Its entities will have objectives such as, em-
powering the customers/users, enabling them to realize full potential, for example by using products developed
3. by it. Its products will lower the barriers for autonomous productivity without depending upon corpo-
rate/government organizations. Its products will be better and open alternatives to existing and traditionally sold
products. It will use open licensing including peer production license for products, designs and knowledge gen-
erated. Wikitelect entities will manifest as network for some, for some it will be an organization, for others it may
manifest as service or a platform. Trying to develop methodology which I call agilitive to assist in developing
such organizations in real world.
Wikitelect follows values of agile, open and p2p.
Path can be as, initial bootstrapping funding business models which provides boring usual, conventional, patent
free and imitation, products and services (even with traditional business models, differentiation is innovation,
creation and making in product or design or process) ------> it will fund innovation ------> open business models
and platforms.
Series of business models for each vertical have to be iterated.
Automation and hacking are empowering for individuals in all aspects of work and play.