The Agile Organization
May 9, 2019
Pratteln, Switzerland - Hosted by Clariant
We all acknowledge that change seems to be the constant of our world, and that the ability to navigate these changes quickly, in an informed way, is therefore important. The increasing need for speed to market and for agility in the marketplace, the reality that competition that can come from unpredictable places, and the pace at which smart connectivity continues to grow in almost all parts of the world, creates an external setting in which the ability to react flexibly and quickly matters. The democratization of data, the digitalization of everything including products and the services around them, and the changing workplace expectations of millennial and other employees, establish internal expectations that we must rise to meet. New technologies emerge all the time that impact how we do business, with the capabilities of technologies such as IoT, augmented reality and artificial intelligence barely tapped. Our ability to generate, collect and combine data, both internal and external, grows by leaps and bounds, limited mainly by our individual and organizational ability to absorb and utilize it.
In this roundtable, we will discuss what we believe to be at the center of functioning in an agile manner that answers the needs of the market and desires of our own people, as well as the challenges that complicate the execution. We will discuss questions of organizational structure, corporate culture, responsive processes, digital workplace and individual talent. Some of the questions we will seek to address are:
- What are the key elements of driving a digital and agile mindset throughout the organization? How do we reduce risk enough so our people are able to accelerate adoption of behaviors that will enable change and acceptance of new ways to operate?
- What are the elements of your digital transformation journey? Where are you in this journey? What has already been accomplished and what critical objectives remain?
- How is digital transformation related to the pursuit of agility, both in general and in the case of your specific company? Are they mutually supportive or necessary?
- How do we create and sustain an organizational culture of agility and flexibility?
- How are agile organizations structured? Do we need to organize differently to be able to get out of our silos and operate in a speedier and more responsive way?
- What can we learn from agile software development or the lean movement?
- How do we encourage and support the rapid development of innovative capabilities—“the blooming of a thousand flowers”—while ensuring that data can be shared, infrastructures leveraged but not duplicated and yet critical information protected?
- What technologies are helping you in your agility endeavors?
- How is the leadership challenge different in an agile environment? What are the new imperatives, and how do we have to organize, manage, and lead differently in order to meet them? Who drives this in a corporation or other large organization?
- Are the work expectations of employees changing? How do millennials define development, growth and career? What values are they seeking in an employer?
- How is the nature of work changing? What are the trends and how have they affected you so far? Where are we headed longterm?
- How is the gig economy changing the picture? Is it a plus or a minus for creating organizational agility? How good are you at incorporating freelancers and partners?
- How do we connect and network people more productively, embracing external colleagues?