Today companies and organizations are expected to be flexible and both rapidly responsive and resilient to change, to both survive but also to thrive on disruptions. These challenges originate in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world and call for the whole organization to become agile. To become truly agile (meaning flexible, responsive, adaptive, fast, and nimble), you need to think outside the box. Organization-wide agility requires a holistic approach, a combination of different principles: First and foremost the principles of Beyond Budgeting, Open Space, Sociocracy, and Agile. However, in talking with various experts about how to address the challenges organizations organizations face, we got answers from within that expert’s “box.” For example, A Beyond Budgeting expert said, “Stop fixing the budget annually, because otherwise you won't have the flexibility to react to frequent market changes.” An Open Space expert said, “You need to make space for what you don’t know and can’t control, for totally new things to emerge. If people can follow their passion, you will be able to implement company-wide Agility, otherwise people will just do what they are asked.” A Sociocracy expert said, “You first need to resolve the power structure, because as long as you have a hierarchy defined as top-down you will not become agile.” An Agile expert said, “You need to start inspecting and adapting by using regular retrospectives in order to react flexibly, otherwise you will neither be able to learn from the market nor from within your company.” All of these perspectives are true, but each perspective was always from within the discipline (or within the box). We synthesized the approach into a wider perspective dubbed BOSSA nova: B = Beyond Budgeting, OS = Open Space, S = Sociocracy, A = Agile. We describe how everyone can use “probes” to implement BOSSA nova in their own organization. Examples will lead to discussion of what probes might mean to you.

1. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck11
John Buck, @johnabuck
John.Buck@GovernanceAlive.com
http://GovernanceAlive.com
Jutta Eckstein, @juttaeckstein
Jutta@JEckstein.com
http://JEckstein.com
Agile BOSSA nova:
an “Unrecipie” for Thinking Outside the Box with
Beyond Budgeting, Open Space & Sociocracy

2. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck22
#agilebossanova
http://agilebossanova.org

3. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck3
WHAT? CHALLENGES

4. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck4
PRINCIPLES & VALUES

5. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck5
Values for Company-wide Agility?
Self-Organization
Transparency
Constant Customer Focus
Continuous Learning

6. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck6

7. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck7

8. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck8
Beyond Budgeting
 Beyond command & control
– Toward a management model that is more empowered and
adaptive
 Separate the 3 budget purposes
– (relative) targets
– (rolling) forecast
– (dynamic) resource allocation

9. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck9
Open Space
 Self-organization
– Everyone is invited to suggest and work on any idea
 Passion bound by responsibility
– Self-responsible for learning and helping others learn
– Passion follows the overall strategy
 Empowerment
– Anything can happen inspired by anyone

10. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck10
Sociocracy
 Equivalence
– Shared decision-making by consent
– Feedback embedded in the structure: double linking

11. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck11
Agile
 Continuous learning through feedback:
– Rapidly, regularly, and frequently
– On needs, product, technology, process, quality, …

12. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck12

13. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck13
INVITATION TO PROBE

14. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck14

15. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck15
Is Trust Cheaper?
 Background:
– Traditional travel expense procedures are burdensome and
assume people can’t be trusted.
 Hypothesis:
– Such procedures cost more than they save and are
demoralizing.
 Experiment:
– Pre-survey and audit. Try for three months in a few units
with other units as controls. Post-survey and audit.

16. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck16
Failures are Opportunities

17. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck17

18. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck18

19. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck19
BOSSA nova for Company-wide Agility
 Never stop…
– …trying
– …learning
– …changing

20. ©2016-2018 by @JuttaEckstein & @JohnABuck20
Many Thanks!
John Buck, @johnabuck
John.Buck@SociocracyConsulting.com
http://SociocracyConsulting.com
Jutta Eckstein, @JuttaEckstein
Jutta@JEckstein.com
http://JEckstein.com
PicturesbyKatjaGloggengießer
#agilebossanova
http://agilebossanova.org