Agility and the Four Pillars that Allow Thriving in Chaos

At Hive17 Consulting we took our experience and evolved a model that identifies key ingredients that make teams successful in an environment that is ever-changing and complex - in short chaotic. We call these the four pillars of the wheel of antifragility: purpose, customer value, experimentation and relationships.

Each of these include important goals that support success. Though these goals can be contradicting; for example, if the team members have a singular focus on pleasing the customers, then the team spirit might be jeopardised. There is no set of actions that simply improve all four goals at the same time. Therefore, it is important to advance the four pillars in a balanced way. For example, focus on creating value for the customers based on strong team bonds.

While the pillars are based on solid research, our model is created through empiric knowledge. And, we continuously benchmark it to other concepts, thoughts and research, to make sure we are on the right track and further evolve our practice. The other day, I was reading this article "So What is Agile Really About?", in my eyes a great summary of the key principles for agility (which are in itself based on continuous innovation). Here are these 7 principles and how I see them supporting antifragility.

• Delighting Clients [Customer Value] - this is the core on how we can create value for our customers; let's focus on what makes them excited and experience the improvements.
• Client-Driven Iterations | Delivering Value to Clients in Each Iteration [Experimentation] - in order to evolve our solutions and come closer to creating value for our customers, we need to develop closely together with them; in small steps, trying out ideas and continuously learn along the way.
• Continuous Self-Improvement | Self-Organising Teams | Radical Transparency | Interactive Communication [Relationships] - the topic of relationships is broad and involves all people along the value creation journey - also customers; great relationships are based on self-awareness (self-improvement), support for the (self-organising) teams, and clarity for the collaboration (transparency & communication).

What is interesting to observe is that one pillar is missing in the linked article (and in many agile transformations): Purpose. At Hive17 Consulting, we like to give it many different names (to avoid labeling), for example 'Leitbild' - an imagination of the future that is guiding us; or shared vision, collective dream, meaningful purpose. The essence of the purpose is that it is created through a collective conversation, that it evokes passion, and that it is translated throughout the levels of the organisation.

Where do you see the key elements of an agile organisation? What have you observed that makes teams successful in an uncertain and complex environment?

Source: So What is Agile Really About?, Barry Overeem, Scrum.org