Agility in business is about the ability to learn from its environment and act in an appropriate manner so that it enhances its value proposition. Value proposition is the promise it makes for future through a set of products, services, relationships (with all stakeholders) brand perceptions and economic value that it creates today. In today’s fast changing landscape, agility may prove to be the difference between success and failure for any business. An organization can be agile only and only if it is focused on business drivers and the factors that shape the business drivers.

Leadership drives agility
Leadership style is of paramount importance as leaders have the prime responsibility for understanding the reason for change and making it happen in an organization. So to be an agile organization the organization must probe the leadership style and put concerted efforts to develop leaders, who believe in capitalizing on the opportunities available and thus beating the competition with speed of dissecting the environment and surging ahead on the basis of insight gained. It is leaders who bring about clarity in what needs to be stable in the company and what needs adaptability. This clarity brings focus on things that organization needs to do to be agile.

Question the fundamentals of business
Companies can develop focus on business drivers when leaders question the fundamentals of the business. Among other things leaders must primarily look at short term and long term opportunities and clearly understand the implication of following short term opportunity on the long term goals of the business. Generally organizations following one short term prospect after another appear to be agile but equally agile and shrewder are those businesses that have assessed the long term benefit of short term prospects and have made informed decision of pursuing them or dropping the idea.

Assumption and confidence that what had worked so well for the organization in the past will continue to fuel its future growth makes the organization numb to the challenges and prospects that lie ahead. The means and ways adopted to achieve success in the past have huge influence on the culture of the organization. Arrogance in leaders at all levels and being unmindful to the emerging needs and expectations of stakeholders are some of the outcomes which create invisible and seemingly impenetrable wall between the organization and “agility”.

The layers of hierarchy which was at a different point of time nimble response to the need for standardization of work, uniformity of control and efficient use of human resources, may cause sluggishness and indifference in the organization. The bureaucracy is single handedly the biggest enemy of agility as it insulates the decision making authority from the ground realities of the market place. The built up control and command structure destroys agility as important issues bounce up and down for decisions to be made.

To gain agility in today’s typical environment, the leaders must question the structure, the processes and even the culture in the organization and empower people by enhancing their knowledge and competencies and trust them to take decisions in the best interest of the company. People must be made to face and understand ground realities – unhappy customers, frustrated stockholders and confused partners – to create a sense of urgency and be challenged to solve the real time business problems to unleash their capabilities.