Business	Agility
Srinath	Ramakrishnan
@rsrinath
What	is	Business	Agility?
• “Business	agility	refers	to	distinct	qualities	
that	allow	organizations	to	respond	rapidly	
to	changes in	the	internal	and	external	
environment	without	losing	momentum	or	
vision.	Adaptability,	flexibility	and	balance	
are	three	qualities	essential	to	long-term	
business	agility.”	- HR	Zone
• “Business	agility	describes	the	nimbleness
of	a	company;	that	is,	the	ability	to	adapt	
quickly	while	empowering	everyone	
associated	with	the	brand.	It’s	a	trait	many	
companies	desire,	but	few	possess.”		-
Forbes
https://lh6.ggpht.com/N73qzyBU3IPBizFQQPhbfiX8Bux9q92_X1sAk8y5melx-IaxRSOxqlXWHZgHp5gb9fA=w300
http://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/what-is-business-agility
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2016/07/12/does-business-agility-depend-on-company-culture/#7e47fff11ff6
What	is	Business	Agility?
• “Business	Agility	means	sensing	and	responding	to	
customer	and	market	needs	with	disruptive	products	
and	services	in	an	immediate	frictionless	manner.”	–
Solutions	IQ
• It	is	the	"ability	of	a business	system	to	rapidly	respond	
to	change by	adapting	its	initial	stable	configuration.
Business	agility	can	be	maintained	by	adapting	goods	
and	services	to	meet	customer	demands,	adjusting	to	
the	changes	in	a	business	environment	and	taking	
advantage	of	human	resources.	“					- Wikipedia
http://www.solutionsiq.com/pinning-down-business-agility/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_agility
Domains	of	Business	Agility
A	simple	model	consisting	of	9	interacting	domains	across	3	
dimensions	and	centered	around	the	customer.
http://theagiledirector.com/article/2017/05/25/domains-of-business-agility-v2/
Domains	of	Business	Agility
• Your Customer is	at	the	heart	of	the	model	and	shapes	
your	organization.	
• Surrounding	the Customer are	the	three	dimensions	
– Work	
– Connections
– Mindset
• Each	of	the	domains	in	each	of	the	dimensions	are	
equal,	necessary,	interrelated,	and	dependent	on	each	
other.	
• Business	agility	only	emerges	when	your	organization	
can	be	agile	across	all	the	domains	across	all	facets	of	
your	organization.
Customer
• The	heart	of	business	agility	is	the	
very	reason	we	exist	- our	Customer.
• They	provide	us	with	a	“Purpose”
• Having	the	customer	at	the	center	
does	not	mean	the	customer	is	
always	right	– the	work	we	do	and	
the	way	we	work,	revolves	around	
them	
https://www.flashbackdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/new-customer.jpg
Work	Dimension
Technical	Agility
Process	Agility
Enterprise	Agility
Techniques	for	delivering	work	in	an	Agile	way
Activities	undertaken	by	teams	and	projects
Scaling	Agility	across	divisions,	departments	
and	organizations
Technical	Agility
• Technical	practices	- Keystone	for	
“being”	Agile
• Increase	quality	and	throughput,	
embracing	uncertainty	and	change
• Technically	Agile	work	is	designed	for	
ambiguity,	be	customer	centric,	
seamlessly	respond	to	change	and	
promote	collaboration
• XP,	BDD,	TDD,	DevOps		
http://www.gmkfreelogos.com/logos/T/img/Technical_Agility.gif
Process	Agility
• Agile	frameworks	and	methods	-
form	of	agility	that	most	people	
think	when	they	hear	of	the	term	
“Agile”.
• Focus	on	outcomes	and	products	
over	outputs	and	projects
• Methods	such	as Scrum,	Kanban,	
SAFe,	LeSS,	DAD	operate	at	this	
level
Enterprise	Agility
• Agility	across	divisions,	departments,	the	organization	
and	ultimately	between	organizations.
• Enterprise	Agility emerges	when	there	is	an	agile	way	of	
working	across	multiple	teams	and	divisions.
• PMO,	HR,	Sales	or	Finance	departments	– which	
internalizes	an	Agile	mindset.		
https://www.slideshare.net/kentjmcdonald/the-3ds-of-scaling-do-only-when-needed-decide-wisely-deal-with-dependencies
Connection	Dimension
Structural	Agility
Leadership	Agility
Market	Agility
Relationships	between	individuals,	teams		and	
divisions	in	an	organization
Relationships	between	individuals	and	
authority	in	an	organization
Relationships	between	organizations	and	the	
marketplace
Govern	the	relationships	that	form	both	within	and	outside	the	organization.
Structural	Agility
• the	relationships	between	
individuals,	teams	&	divisions	to	
create	an	agile	organization.
• Agile	teams	are	small,		cross	
functional	,	multi	disciplinary	
teams	formed	around	business	
outcomes
• “Four	A’s”	- Alignment,	
Autonomy,	Authority,	and	
Accountability
• E.g.	Squads	and	Tribes,	Teal	
Organization,	Holocracy
https://agilevideos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AGT-001.jpg
Leadership	Agility
• The	relationship	with	
between	individuals	and	
authority	within	an	agile	
organization.
• Start	thinking	of	everyone	in	
the	organization	as	a	leader	
- Servant	Leadership
• Concept	of	self-organization	
- teams	or	divisions	with	no	
managers.	
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/90/42/bc/9042bceb7bf3e4d0a6c80d13cc055a85.jpg
Market	Agility
• The	relationship	between	the	organization	and	the	
marketplace.
• Organization’s	capability	to	survive	in	an	ambiguous	and	
uncertain	market.
• Key	measures	of	market	agility	are	speed	and	
effectiveness	to	adapt	to	competitors	and	disruptors	
• Lean	Startup,	Design	thinking,	Lean	Enterprise	are	
examples
Design	Thinking	Lean	Startup	Agile
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b6/e9/97/b6e997238686eb0c92a7a7d5f74fe040.png
Mindset	Dimension
Learning	Mindset
Collaboration	
Mindset
Ownership	Mindset
Organizations	that	succeed	are	those	which	
experiment	and	learn	faster		
A	culture	of	collaboration	and	transparency	
across	individuals,	teams	and	divisions
Individuals	and	teams	take	pride	and	
accountability	in	their	work
Concerned	with	addressing	the	cultural	domains.
Mindset
http://dimensionsguides.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/4/8/14488728/6431975_orig.png
Learning	Mindset
• Agile	organizations	are	fundamentally	learning	
organizations	at	all	levels
• Ability	to	experiment,	fail	fast	 and	recover	faster.
• Failure	should	not	be	seen	as	making	a	mistake,	but	
rather	as	an	opportunity	to	learn.
• Use	of	Feedback	loops,	such	as	“Inspect	and	Adapt”,	
and	practices	such	as	the	Retrospectives	- towards	
continuous	improvement.
Collaboration	Mindset
• The	very	construct	of	an	Agile		organization	promotes	
collaboration	and	cooperation.
• The	complexity	of	collaboration	is	one	of	the	
fundamental	reasons	teams	in	an	agile	organization	are	
kept	small.
• Decentralized	decision	making	as	far	as	possible
• E.g.	Social	contracts,		Pair	Programming,	Mob	
Programming
Ownership	Mindset
• Take	accountability	for	the	quality	and	success	of	both	
the	output	and	outcomes	of	your	work.	
• About	why	you	are	doing	the	work	 and	making	sure	
that	what	you	produce	is	fit-for-purpose.	
• Be		willing	to	collaborate	with	others;	to	learn	from	
them,	ask	for	help	
• Take	pride	in	their	work	without	being	arrogant.
Modern	Agile
http://modernagile.org/
Recap
http://theagiledirector.com/article/2017/05/25/domains-of-business-agility-v2/
References
• http://theagiledirector.com/article/2017/05/25/domain
s-of-business-agility-v2/
• https://blog.crisp.se/2012/11/14/henrikkniberg/scaling
-agile-at-spotify
• http://www.holacracy.org/how-it-works/
• http://modernagile.org/
• Talk	on	Mindset by	Eduardo	Briceno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc
• TED	talk	on	Mindset by	Carol	Dweck
https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of
_believing_that_you_can_improve
Thank	you
@rsrinath
https://in.linkedin.com/in/srinathramakrishnan
ramakrishnan.srinath@gmail.com
Additional	Information
Agile	HR
• Focus	on	creating	valuable	employee	experience	and	
exceeding	expectations
• Give	people	purpose,	meaning	and	context
• Create	a	stimulating	work	environment	and	provide	
necessary	tools	and	access
• Build	an	organization	around	collaborative	teams	and	
motivated	people
• Ensure	continuous	learning	and	exchange		ideas,	
knowledge	and	information
• Care	about	the	happiness	health	and	welfare	of	your	
people	
https://www.slideshare.net/meolesen/agile-leadership-introduction
Beyond	Budgeting
Holacracy
http://www.holacracy.org/how-it-works/
Characteristics	of	Servant	Leaders
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/servant-leadership-its-application-contemporary-dipti-hattangady-phd
Frederick	Laloux – Reinventing	organizations
http://www.enliveningedge.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ReinventingOrganizationsImage-1024.jpg

Business agility