12
BECOMING AN AGILITY LEADER:
A VALUABLE STEP
A closer look at the performance comparison shows that ongoing
efforts to drive and evolve agility deliver a clear payoff.
Organizations that have already taken
the first steps towards agility can also
benefit by aligning their actions even
more closely to the agility routines.
As shown in Figure “Agility and company performance” on
page 10, companies in the third quartile of agility scores outperform
their industry 36% of the time on average. For companies
in the second quartile, this rises to 44% of the time. As
a result, the most agile organizations, which outperform their
competitors 69% of the time, are nearly 3 times as successful
as those in the fourth quadrant, nearly twice as successful
as those in the third quadrant, and 1.5 times as successful as
those in the second.
Agile management has substantial marginal utility: agility
followers – Lame Ducks and Endangered Performers that introduce
agility later and to a lesser extent than their competitors
– can benefit by pushing ahead with further efforts. The step
to becoming an agility leader delivers a substantial payoff in
terms of performance and profitability. ||