Agile will NEVER be DEAD!

𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗!

A Sanskrit proverb says, 𝙀𝙠𝙖𝙢 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙝 - 𝙫𝙞𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙝𝙪𝙙𝙝𝙖𝙖 𝙫𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞 (एकम् सत् - विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति). It means that the 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗟, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱” 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀. Recently, when people have been discussing whether Agile is dead, this proverb came to my mind. People may use different names for Agile methods, ceremonies or frameworks, but if something has helped organizations thrive in uncertain times, it's just Agility and nothing else!

Let the “Learned” call as they wish and bring their judgement upon - but the truth remains unchanged.

In other words, if something is going to die, that’s not Agile - but nonetheless - the bad practices and flawed processes implemented in the name of “Agile” - will die. Some call it as “fake Agile” but in my opinion, something has to be either fake or true and there’s no such thing as a “fake truth.” 🙂.

The equation is pretty simple - 𝗶𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗱, 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲

Agile is more than just a mindset—it’s a “𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴”
If you plan, track progress, adapt, and learn, then you’re doing Agile—minus the jargon. It’s the driving force behind any successful product, project, or service. This applies not just to humans but to all beings for survival. Agile, at times, is a way of survival.

While Agile cannot be ‘dead’, it can definitely be rendered ineffective through bad practices and anti-patterns. Rather than branding it as ‘obsolete’, or 'dead', we need to fix the problems in the system. During COVID, we didn’t blame air and water for spreading the virus; we rather cleaned them and got ourselves vaccinated. That’s what we need to do NOW!

If Agility in your workplace is ‘ailing,’ it could be due to one of these common anti-patterns:

𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 “𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴” 𝗶𝗳 𝗶t :

• Focuses only on processes, ignoring PEOPLE
• Lacks leadership commitment
• Relies on bad metrics
• Fails to improve value flow and efficiency
• Stifles learning and innovation
• Exists just to follow frameworks
• Doesn't lead to Customer success

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿. Some might say technology can make it happen, but no technology can prosper without learning and improving, which is the essence of Agile.

𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛!

What’s one thing you would like to do to (re)invigorate the ailing Agility in your organization? Share in the comments.

Feel free to comment/forward this post to someone who may be wondering if Agile is dead 🙂

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