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Agility Winners Believe and Perservere

By Tom O'Shea, CMC, Organizational Agility Practice Leader

Have you heard the phrase ... "the race is often won or lost before it starts"? Over the past month, we witnessed several weeks of races and contests of many different varieties as the 2016 Olympics finally arrived in Brazil.

That phrase might have even applied to the entire Olympics with as much controversy, uncertainty and potential drama that was expected based on the heavy drone in the media the past couple of years.

Thankfully, the Rio Olympics exceeded expectations with lots of competitive drama and limited "off-track" drama with one notable exception. So, whether your competitive landscape is 100 meters swimming or swimming with the corporate sharks on Main Street, there is one thing that is definitely true ... MINDSET MATTERS.

In our work, we get to see wide varieties of organizations, teams and leaders up close and competing in the stadiums of their work zones ... battling fearlessly against fierce competitors or sometimes just content to battle aimlessly internally with the department next door. Some operate in the major leagues of corporate competition and on grand stages while others are plowing away in modest surroundings ... just doing the best they can with what they have. The best examples of winning leaders and teams are those with a deeply rooted optimism for success. They have a determination to believe and persevere no matter the adversity or viscosity of the VUCA that they face every day.

VUCA Masters™

by Nick Horney, Ph.D., Leadership Agility Practice Leader

Where would you look to find organizational talent who could be referred to as VUCA Masters™? The answer -- those military Special Operators who have survived and thrived in a VUCA world over the past 10-25 years. These are talented resources who know how to preemptively create VUCA for the competition as well as demonstrate resilience based on the VUCA created by their competition. Both the preemptive and resilient VUCA skills are required by businesses today and into the future. Contact us if you would like to discuss the application of the VUCA Masters Seminar with your organization.

Agile Started with Hardware Not Software!

By Mike Richardson, Team Agility Practice Leader

Most people assume that AGILE methodologies started with the software industry, the creation of The Agile Manifesto by a meeting of software gurus in 2001 and evolution of "Agile Software Development" thereafter (read more: Waterfall vs Agile/Sprints/Scrum - Pivoting to the future of Agile-Teamwork), using that as support for their argument that AGILE doesn't apply to hardware companies.

They would be wrong! Actually it can be attributed back to Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka's 1986 Harvard Business Review's article entitled "The New New Product Development Game" in which they studied hardware companies who were breaking the mold of traditional approaches to product development and moving towards the early incarnations of agile approaches, first using the Rugby analogy of a "Scrum":

"In today's fast-paced, fiercely competitive world of commercial new product development, speed and flexibility are essential. Companies are increasingly realizing that the old, sequential approach to developing new products simply won't get the job done. Instead, companies in Japan and the United States are using a holistic method-as in rugby, the ball gets passed within the team as it moves as a unit up the field."

Your Most Precious Resource

By Ben Baran, Ph.D. , Agility Analytics Practice Leader

I recently heard someone quote a deceptively insightful short poem. Titled, "How did it get so late so soon," it's one of many gems penned by the late Theodor Geisel, and here it is.

"How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?"

Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, captures here the feeling that I get frequently when I think about seasons ending, new years beginning and everyone (including me) aging.

It's not just about nostalgia; it's not just about how even a 100-year lifetime is but a flash in the course of history.

It's more than that.

Agility Consulting Affiliate Corner

Chad Brown Counseling and Consulting, LLC will officially celebrate one year in business on August 18th, 2016.

On the following night, Chad is attending a business awards gala hosted by a local Central Florida Chamber of Commerce where his company may be awarded and recognized as "New Business of the Year" (currently in the top 3).

Chad is a pretty unique new age professional whose thirst for learning has included a BA in Public Administration, Masters in Mental Health and finally an MBA to support his drive for helping young leaders be successful.

Agility has always been a part of Chad Brown's make-up and perhaps it is the reason for his greatest successes in the past, present, and future. He has gained valuable insight and perspective from more than a decade of working with leaders in public, private and nonprofit sectors.

He has provided global business consulting for seven years in China, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Argentina and across the United States. During this time, Chad specialized in coaching leaders and consulting in the areas of communications, strategy and marketing.

Chad Brown