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practice. This also holds true in the opposite direction, for
example, when scrum teams are introduced at the
operational level without also preparing executives for
their new role, or without considering geographical
constraints that can make it difficult to set up crossfunctional
teams. The agility paradigm must be instilled
into every part of the company, in terms of both culture
and structure. Everyone, whatever their role in the organization
– be it in product development, accounting, sales or
customer service – should regard themselves as part of a
collective process pulling in the same direction and united
by the shared values of an inspiring mission.
In the turbulent and increasingly uncharted waters of the
world economy, organizations have to find an approach in
which change is not a one-off exception, but part of everyday
routines. For this to happen, the organization’s basic
setup has to be amenable to change. Operational activities,
processes, products and in-company collaboration become
dynamic applications that are able to adapt quickly and
flexibly. Resources and budgets are allocated wherever
they can deliver competitive advantage to the organization
– which means constantly revisiting the strategy and
reassessing the direction of the transformation journey.
Rather than a one-off adjustment to new circumstances,
agility requires continuous, overall transformation. ||
THE AGILE PERFORMER INDEX
The Agile Performer Index demonstrates that agility and performance are clearly related.
goetzpartners and the NEOMA Business School surveyed 285 executives from European companies.
Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which their company possessed certain
systems and processes. The 40-plus questions were aggregated into 14 equally-weighted agility
factors, which were organized, again with equal weighting, into the four agility routines: Strategizing,
Perceiving, Testing and Implementing. The authors used these routines to evaluate the
agility of the company, and then investigated potential correlations with available data on
company performance. 2) For the purpose of this survey, “success” was equated with financial
performance – return on assets for manufacturing companies, and return on equity for financial
service providers and insurance companies.
The Agile Performer Index correlates agility and performance using agility routines and
its underlying factors. Moreover, the survey provides detailed insights into how widespread
agile methods are within the organization, highlighting which industries, types of business
and regions are pioneers in terms of agile transformation. It is also possible to identify the
sectors in which the advantage of agile approaches are recognized poorly or not at all.
Interested users can quickly place their own organization within the index, as well as make
comparisons and draw conclusions across various levels.
2) Performance data over the ten-year period between 2005 and 2014 was examined. Success, defined as sustained, above-average performance, was measured by the number of years the firm’s
performance exceeded the industry median.