What if the world is our customer?

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In agile development we often talk about that our highest priority is to satisfy the customer or that we welcome change for the customer's competitive advantage. However, we always assume the customer is a business customer. In this session I want to attempt to broaden our horizon to have a more holistic perspective on who our customer is (or could be) and how this can change our actions. I will share both ideas about possibilities and examples from companies who make already attempts in implementing this holistic perspective. So, open your mind and explore with me how the agile community can expand their responsibility.

Business

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein11
What if the world is our customer?
Jutta Eckstein | @JuttaEckstein
www.JEckstein.com

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein4
An organization produces a design
that reflects the organization's
biases.
Eckstein’s Law

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein5
Differences & Exchanges
Source:https://www.hsdinstitute.org/resources/difference-matrix.html
high
low
Exchanges
Differenceslow high

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein6
Changing Differences & Exchanges
high
low
Exchanges
Differences
◼ Decrease exchanges:
• Reflection
• Separation
• Rest
◼ Decrease differences:
• Identifying similarities
• Creating common group
stories
◼ Increase differences:
• Identifying differences
• Asking for opinions
◼ Increase exchanges:
• Using questions and
stories
low high

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein7
Society is demanding that companies, both public
and private, serve a social purpose.
To prosper over time, every company must not only
deliver financial performance, but also show how it
makes a positive contribution to society.
Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock,
January 2018 open letter to CEOs.

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein8
Chef & Homeland Security
©https://www.fedscoop.com/protest-open-source-software-
company-chef-will-let-ice-contract-expire/

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein9
It is time for the computing community to face up
to computing’s growing environmental impact
– and take responsibility for it!
Andrew A. Chien, Editor-in-Chief of the CACM

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein10
©UnitedNationsUniversity:TheGlobalE-wasteMonitor2017

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein11
©Nature.Jones,N.:
Howtostopdatacentresfromgobblinguptheworld‘selectricity

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein12
In 2017 alone, we purchased more than seven billion kilowatt-hours
of electricity […] from solar and wind farms that were built
specifically for Google.
This enabled us to match 100% of our annual electricity
consumption through direct purchases of renewable energy…
©GoogleWhitePaper.Movingtoward24x7Carbon-FreeEnergyat
GoogleDataCenters:ProgressandInsights

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein13
“No single entity, (or sector) no matter how large
or powerful, can solve the complex problems in
our current systems.
Rather, the key to our success lies in optimizing
the activities, relationships, and interactions
among all the parts of the system.”
Srik Gopal, & Tiffany Clarke

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein14
Transparency & Societal Awareness
◼ Collects & publishes research data – also to competitors – about climate
change since the 70’s.
◼ They’re convinced that
– …only transparency allows them to learn from others & to improve
the data.
– …this increases the general societal awareness of climate change &
their own resilience.

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein15
Different Cultures
©https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein16
Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)
◼ Masculinity represents a preference in society for
– achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards
for success.
◼ Femininity, stands for a preference for
– cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life.
©https://www.hofstede-insights.com/models/national-culture

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein17
For Serving the World, Pay Attention to …
…People:
– Cross-functionality means also diversity & inclusion
…Planet:
– Responsibility for the full lifecycle of the product, like:
• Usage
• Energy-consumption & pollution
…Profit:
– Transparency is a precondition for collaborative learning
And… A feminine culture over masculine culture
Seealso:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line

agilebossanova.org | @JuttaEckstein18
Thank you!
Jutta Eckstein, @JuttaEckstein
Jutta@JEckstein.com
http://JEckstein.com
@AgileBossaNova
http://agilebossanova.org
https://leanpub.com/bossanovaenespagnol

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