The document discusses strategies for gaining executive buy-in and support for agile adoption. It recommends understanding executives' goals and priorities in order to frame agile changes as helping address executives' key challenges. The document suggests giving executives options to become involved and allowing them to help solve problems themselves. It also provides an exercise where participants discuss pains executives face and reframe issues in a way that shows how agile could help achieve executives' goals.

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How to get Executive Buy-in and Support
©2016 Agile Velocity – Proprietary and Confidential

2. David Hawks
Agile Trainer and Coach
CEO of Agile Velocity
@austinagile
david@agilevelocity.com
AgileVelocity.com
Accelerate Agility
Transformation | Training | Coaching

3. What We Do
Agile Training & Certification
Certified ScrumMaster and Product Owner, Team Training, Leadership Training, Lean/ Kanban
Agile Team Coaching
Coach teams to reach hyper productivity
Agile Leadership Coaching
Guide leadership to empower teams
Agile Transformation
Formulate agile adoption strategies and plans tailored to the client environment and support execution
Accelerate Agility

4. Why do we need
Executive Support?
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- - - Discussion - - -

5. ORG CULTURE
ALIGNMENT

6. Limit WIP
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7. How we Normally Assign Work
Project 1
Project 3
All High
Priority!
How does Alex decide what to work on next?
Carter
Alex
James
Camryn
Janet
Will
Project 2

8. Org Change - Feature Teams
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9. Product vs Project Mindset
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10. What did not work well?
What has worked well?
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How have you motivated
change in others?

11. Buy-in starts with
Motivation
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12. Integration &
Practice
Chaos &
Resistance
Status Quo New Status Quo
Change is Painful
I have to really really want the end goal and believe it is possible

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Focus on Outcomes,
not Practices

14. Motivating Executives is different,
Why?
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15. Have you ever Heard an Executive
Say…
1. Agile is a Team Problem
2. Agile Just Impacts the
Technology Dept.
3. I Don’t Have a Problem, You Do!
4. I Don’t Need to Change
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What are your favorites?

16. Understand their Goals
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17. What Keeps
them Up at
Night?
Where is the
Pain?
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18. Better…How
Can we HELP
you LOOK
GOOD
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19. Help them See The Problem
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20. Let them Solve it
for Themselves
Give Them Options
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21. 1. Covert - Come show your support in Training
2. Attend Day 1 if you don’t like it opt out
3. Leadership Education before Team
4. Leadership Training after Team surfaces frustrations
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Get them educated,
So they can own the solution!

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1. Pick an Executive Role (CEO, VP Sales, VP of Finance, VP Marketing, CIO/CTO, VP of
Operations)
2. Form Teams of 5-7 (Pick 1 person to be Scribe, Pick 1 person to present to Full Group)
3. What are their top goals? What is a Pain that keeps them from achieving one of their top
goals?
4. Reframe the problem so they understand how their actions negatively impact the ability to
accomplish one of their own goals.
5. Describe a potential change and how it would make a positive impact on their goals (without
using specific Agile/ Scrum practices and terminology)
Exercise

23. Pain Team not very motivated, energy low
Tech Problem Too much Technical Debt
Reframe Dirty Disorganized House
Solution Give the team time to cleanup and they will
engage and go faster
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CEO

24. Pain Slow ROI
Tech Problem Locking Budget, Scope and Date
Reframe Does not encourage early release and iteration
Solution Investment Driven vs. Plan Driven
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VP of Finance

25. Pain Long Delivery Cycles
Tech Problem Lots of WIP and everything is High Priority
(Dates already set)
Reframe Shoving more paper in the Printer
Solution Focus will allow the team to deliver faster
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VP of Sales

26. What is one technique you
can use and who are you
going to target?
Share with a Neighbor
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27. FREE WHITE PAPER
& COPY OF THE SLIDES
Leave a card with name, role, company,
email
And we will send you a White Paper on
Agile for Executives
Accelerate Agility

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