Business agility describes the capabilities or behaviors that give an organization the freedom, flexibility, and resilience to carry out its purpose and provide customer value. Business agility is an operating model for the next generation of businesses, helping them thrive in unpredictable markets, be adaptable to change, and reduce costs without sacrificing quality.
Understanding business agility
The world of business has never been more dynamic. Organizations of all sizes are struggling to remain relevant to their customers, whose expectations have never been higher.
What’s more, employees are searching for more empowerment, clarity, and meaning in their roles.
It’s important to think of business agility as a common thread that runs through an organization, binding everyone together. Every employee is responsible for agility.
Indeed, a business is only as agile as its least agile division.
Rather predictably, business agility has a customer-centric focus. This means listening to the needs of the customer and meeting them as quickly as possible by creating superior user experiences.
Business agility helps the organization proactively respond to market changes or emerging opportunities with innovative solutions.
It also facilitates a suitable response to internal and external threats – whether they be commercial, legal, technological, social, or political in nature.
The business agility framework
The business agility framework consists of twelve interacting domains across four dimensions centered around the customer.
Proficiency in each domain across all areas of the organization must be achieved before the benefits of business agility are realized.
Let’s take a general look at the four domains and the dimensions they incorporate.
Leadership domain
One team
Business agility requires a one-team mindset where creativity and collaboration work toward shared goals.
These goals span departments, functions, and teams across the organization.
People management
Leaders need to recruit, hire, nurture and develop recruits with a strong organizational fit. They must actively embody mission and culture.
Strategic ability
Leaders must also formulate and communicate adaptive strategies and empower teams to innovate by identifying new opportunities.
Operations domain
Structural agility
To embrace change with relative ease and little disruption, the right structures need to be in place.
Process agility
Similarly, operations need to adapt and evolve as required to continually meet customer value expectations.
Enterprise agility
Here, business operations governance must encourage and facilitate innovation as opposed to stifling creative growth.
Individuals domain
Craft excellence
Business agility recognizes excellence as the ability for individuals to take advantage of emergent opportunities for customers.
Growth mindset
Individuals must also be open to continuous change and personal development in sometimes ambiguous environments. Importantly, they also need to be comfortable with making mistakes.
Ownership and accountability
Employees who are invested in customers and customer work tend to make better decisions and can adapt to change quickly.
Relationships domain
Workforce
Business agility requires an empowered and passionate workforce aligned with the company mission and strategy.
Partners
The relationships a business has with partners should be flexible and driven by customer value.
They should not, where possible, be driven by contractual transactions.
Board
Lastly, the board of directors and the leaders of an organization should have an open, collaborative working relationship.
A focus on the customer and long-term success should always be maintained, which helps the business resist the temptation of short-term wins.
Key takeaways
- Business agility applies the principles of agile development to an entire organization. Among other things, business agility facilitates adaptability, change responsiveness, and cost reduction.
- Business agility has a customer-centric focus. Customer needs must be understood and met as quickly as possible by developing a high-quality user experience.
- Business agility is based on a framework comprising four core dimensions, with each dimension in turn comprised of three domains. Collectively, they detail how business agility may be applied at the organization level.
Key Highlights:
- Definition of Business Agility: Business agility encompasses the capabilities and behaviors that enable an organization to be flexible, resilient, and customer-focused. It provides an operating model for modern businesses to thrive in unpredictable markets, adapt to change, and maintain quality while reducing costs.
- Dynamic Business Environment: Businesses are facing dynamic challenges due to high customer expectations and the need for employee empowerment and clarity in their roles. Business agility serves as a unifying thread that binds the entire organization together.
- Customer-Centric Approach: Business agility centers on understanding customer needs and swiftly delivering superior user experiences. It empowers organizations to proactively respond to market changes, seize opportunities, and address both internal and external threats.
- Business Agility Framework: The business agility framework consists of four dimensions with twelve interacting domains, all centered around the customer. Each domain’s proficiency is essential for achieving the benefits of business agility.
- Leadership Domain: Encompasses a one-team mindset, effective people management, and strategic ability.
- Operations Domain: Focuses on structural agility, process agility, and enterprise agility.
- Individuals Domain: Highlights craft excellence, the growth mindset, and ownership and accountability.
- Relationships Domain: Emphasizes the empowered workforce, flexible partnerships, and a collaborative board.
- Leadership: Leadership plays a crucial role in promoting collaboration, recruiting talent aligned with the company’s mission, and formulating adaptive strategies.
- Operations: Organizational structures and processes must be adaptable to embrace change and innovation while maintaining customer value expectations.
- Individuals: Individuals must exhibit a growth mindset, be open to continuous development, and take ownership and accountability for customer-related work.
- Relationships: A customer-focused workforce, flexible partnerships, and an open, collaborative board contribute to the organization’s agility.
- Key Takeaways: Business agility applies agile principles to the entire organization, promoting adaptability, change responsiveness, and cost reduction. A customer-centric approach, coupled with the framework’s four dimensions and twelve domains, provides a comprehensive strategy for implementing business agility at the organizational level.
Connected Agile & Lean Frameworks
Read Also: Continuous Innovation, Agile Methodology, Lean Startup, Business Model Innovation, Project Management.
Read Next: Agile Methodology, Lean Methodology, Agile Project Management, Scrum, Kanban, Six Sigma.
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