MAY 20198 BY PARIKSHIT BASRUR, DIRECTOR, ENTERPRISE AGILITY, DELOITTE This article is second in the "Leading Enterprise Agile Transformation" series and follows on from the (March 2017 issue) publication. I identify 4 key ingredients for success (a) type of leadership, (b) level of enterprise adoption, (c) approach to execution and (d) stickiness. My focus is now on the key challenges that are faced on this journey. Some of these are internal to organizations and others are driven by market forces. First, I present the problem statement, analyse root causes with proof points to arrive at "leadership" as an essential missing ingredient and in conclusion, recommend that we, as practitioners and thought leaders, reframe "Agile" to its real form ­ "Enterprise Agility".The McDonald's Drive-thru ApproachOrganizations everywhere claim to be undergoing some form of an enterprise agile transformation or the other - I have come to believe that we, now, live in the age of transformations. Among the approaches is one which seems to be quite popular ­ I call this, "The McDonald's drive-thru Approach". I am sure most of you know how a drive-thru works. Imagine you are driving on a highway and feel hungry. You don't want to stop and would prefer something quick, relatively cheap, tasty and convenient. You see the yellow archway and pull in, look at the set menu with pre-ordered meals and drinks, order, pay and drive off, a total of five minutes at the max. What drives your choice to fast-food than a healthy, nutritional meal? Fast, cheap, convenient and instant results. Let's look at it through an "Agile" lens. It usually starts with an executive announcing that "they have to become an Agile organization". External parties are engaged to staff augment. Without a deep understanding of the business or their problems, a menu of solutions is presented. Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, LeSS or the Spotify Model. A templateAgile playbook is published and rolled across the entire organization, detailed with roles, responsibilities and a comprehensive operating model. Staff is sent on "agile" training and an army of external (generally contract) "Agile Coaches" brought on board, with zero influence to rollout the playbook. So, what's happening under the hood? The external agencies promise cost savings of 10-30 percent by changes to job families which result in large-scale redundancies. Loyal employees who have given most of their lives and careers to this organization are walking out with fat paychecks and organizational knowledge. The opportunity to bring them along the journey and make them key change champions, all lost. Phrases such as "agile", "new ways of working" now equating LEADING ENTERPRISE AGILE TRANSFORMATION SERIES - CHAPTER 2: FROM AGILE TO ENTERPRISE AGILITYParikshit BasrurIN MYV EW
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