Is your organization in search of business agility?
If so, here's one pragmatic tip: Reduce WIP (Work in Progress) everywhere.
Start with the portfolio of everything you have to do. Ask the Zeroth Question, “Should we do this work at all?”
Then, consider these questions, from One Quick Way to Start to Manage Your Project Portfolio:
- Which projects will make a difference in the next 1-3 months? If a project won't make a difference, don't fund it yet. Move to the next project.
- Limit the choices managers can make. Choosing zero projects is great. That's a terrific way to limit WIP, for now.
- Only commit projects to teams. Don't choose people—choose teams to work on projects.
This part is much easier if you can create an overarching goal. Now, you've limited WIP and bought yourself some organizational breathing room.
Ask the product leaders to manage their WIP, also. While roadmaps might offer everyone a look ahead, too-long roadmaps might clutter people's brains.
And at the team or person level, ask everyone to collaborate where possible, so they can finish one thing at a time. And when collaboration isn't reasonable, suggest that people leave their work clean, so they don't multitask even if they have to context switch. (See Context-Switching vs. Multitasking: Postpone Clean Work vs. a Messy Mind.)
Business agility requires more slack and resilience in the organization's system. So reduce WIP at all levels, starting with the organization. Then, move to teams and then move to individuals.
You'll get the conditions you need for business agility.
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