Life brings change and it seems as if change occurs at a much faster pace these days. Then again, the same observation was probably made in the Middle Ages or even when the pharaohs ruled. The world continues to turn and every day is new and brings a unique set of circumstances. How we respond to fluctuating conditions has a big impact on our fortunes in life.

The ability to move quickly, whether to take advantage of goodies that unexpectedly appear or dodge something unpleasant, is a skill known as agility and it is worth cultivating. In business, the ability to incorporate agility into strategy, management and culture enables company leaders and team members to facilitate smart decisions that enable beneficial changes that can be instituted quickly and efficiently. This capability delivers a number of advantages, often making a business more competitive, sustainable and ultimately, more profitable. During periods of generally adverse business conditions, agility often makes the difference between keeping a business viable or presiding over its failure.

Benefits of an agile business 

• Responding to new market conditions or competitors. Every business will at some point encounter a wily competitor or challenging market conditions. When agile practices are baked into your organization, the leadership team will be better prepared to adjust to evolving conditions. You expect change—you monitor the Key Performance Indicators, you pay attention to the competitive scene, you follow industry developments that help you anticipate what might impact your organization, for good or ill. You are accustomed to making decisions and changes to accommodate new realities. The agile business is resilient.
• Solving and responding to problems. The pandemic shutdown has been Problem #1 for most of us. Hollowed out industries, disappearing clients, supply chain delays and difficulties in finding help thanks to the stimulus payments that have made staying home more profitable than working for some. These and other disruptions can prevent you from efficiently serving your customers. But leaders of agile businesses have been training like a prize fighter, giving the entity quick reflexes, effective offense and defense strategies and stamina to weather the storm. You’re able to recognize what may become a problem and proactively institute alternatives that will soften the blows and limit damage. The agile organization is prepared to defend itself and prevail. 

Tools of an agile business

• A Robust data streams. Agility won’t help you unless your decisions and actions are based on 1.) objective data and 2.) you measure what it makes sense to measure. Accordingly, your first goal should be establishing credible and relevant streams of data for key aspects of your business. You should consistently measure your performance in every department, and across the entire business. Analyzing and interpreting the data will help you figure out which actions to take next.
• Fast decision-making. Agile businesses are capable of making important decisions quickly. That capability requires both preparation and courage. If a problem arises, a quick decision can mitigate its impact. If a competitor emerges, your agile business may be able to pivot in a matter of weeks, instead of months. This usually means avoiding the development of slow, bureaucratic systems in favor of those that support decisiveness and action. Good data, especially in the form of well-chosen KPIs, is essential, as is the willingness to act on it.
• Flexible systems. Flexibility is crucial for agility. If your technology infrastructure and operational workflows can’t accommodate rapid-fire changes or expansion, they’re not going to support agility.
• Innovation. Your organization also needs a mechanism and encouragement for innovation. For agility to be effective, it needs to foster and support novel ideas, including ideas for new products and services.

Practices of an agile business

• Encourage entrepreneurial thinking. If you’ve built a good team, you’ll be able to extend to them a degree of autonomy. Empower your employee in to develop a sense of ownership and behave as if a steward, a stakeholder, of the enterprise. Encourage them to solve their own problems and allow them to make their own decisions whenever possible. The more autonomy your employees have, the faster they’ll make decisions (and the more agile your business will become).
• Foster clusters of small teams. Big, hierarchical organizations have some advantages, but they’re inherently unagile. Instead, it’s better to work closely together in small teams. Try to avoid becoming overly bureaucratized.
• Avoid becoming too accustomed to anything. Don’t get too attached to anything in your business, including people, software, workflows and even the company culture. You need to remain flexible and willing to incorporate new ideas.
• Cut whatever isn’t working. Whether it’s a new tactic or a strategy with a long history of producing results that at one time pushed the company forward, you need to be willing to cancel whatever isn’t working. If it doesn’t provide an objective benefit to your organization, get rid of the dead weight.
• Check in regularly. You should have reliable metrics to inform you of your progress and check in with them regularly. While you’re at it, ask for feedback from your employees and ask how they think the organization could be made even more agile in the future.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Olga Korbut, superstar gymnast from Minsk, Belarus (formerly USSR) at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, (West) Germany. Korbut won four gold and two silver medals at the Games.