Good management processes help a company execute its strategy and exercise its capabilities. But in fast-changing business environments, companies also need agile management processes that can help the organization change when needed.
THE WORD “AGILITY” has entered the business lexicon like few other terms in recent memory. 1 Today’s strategists extol the importance of strategic agility and resilience. IT professionals talk about the need for agile software development. Yet even as agility is mentioned more often and in more management contexts, 2 we believe that the core concept is misunderstood. Agility refers to an organization’s ability to make timely, effective, and sustained changes that maintain superior performance. 3
An essential feature of agility is repeatability. Agile organizations continuously adjust to changing circumstances by, for example, launching new products or eliminating old ones, entering new markets or exiting underperforming ones, or building new capabilities. This requires management processes that can support adaptability over time.
Agility Routines and Management Processes
To develop our ideas on agility, we studied performance data from the largest public global companies in 22 industries between 1980 and 2012. (See “About the Research,” p. 78.) We also administered strategic change and organizational design surveys in more than 50 companies. We sought to understand the factors that explained sustained levels ​enable organizations to keep pace with a changing world. Others, such as designing superior customer experiences or reducing the time it takes to achieve profitability in new markets, can provide distinct advantages. The agility routines play the critical role of making continuous change possible and profitable.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Fall 2016-Ausgabe von MIT Sloan Management Review.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Fall 2016-Ausgabe von MIT Sloan Management Review.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Ask Sanyin: How Do You Build for an Unpredictable Future?
While the pandemic was a wild ride of uncertainty for me and many of my peers in leadership, it feels like we never regained our footing.
What You Still Can't Say at Work
Most people know what can’t be said in their organization. But leaders can apply these techniques to break through the unwritten rules that make people self-censor.
Make Character Count in Hiring and Promoting
Most managers focus on competencies when evaluating candidates but it’s character that will transform the DNA of the organization. Here’s how to assess it.
Why Influence Is a Two-Way Street
Managers achieve better outcomes when they prioritize collaborative decision-making over powers of persuasion.
Know Your Data to Harness Federated Machine Learning
A collaborative approach to training AI models can yield better results, but it requires finding partners with data that complements your own.
How Integrating DEI Into Strategy Lifts Performance
Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion practices into core business planning can provide a competitive edge.
The Myth of the Sustainable Consumer
Companies that understand the different kinds of consumers for sustainable products can market to them more effectively.
A Practical Guide to Gaining Value From LLMs
Getting a return from generative AI investments requires a systematic approach to analyzing appropriate use cases.
Improve Workflows by Managing Bottlenecks
Understand whether process or resource constraints are stalling work.
Craft Schedules That Work for Everyone
Business leaders can improve retention and business performance with schedules that make sense for workers’ lives.
