We live in a knowledge economy that requires very different mindsets, practices and cultures from past paradigms. Lean-Agile principles are the foundation for navigating and thriving in this economy. Adopting the principles and the ways of working they promote effectively edits an organisation’s DNA, providing it with a new – and more relevant – set of instructions to deliver value. The principles must be adopted, sustained and acted upon at scale by individuals, teams and leaders. Helping everyone achieve this requires a proven transformation framework , a robust change story and a means of aligning individuals’ intrinsic motivations to organisational purpose…

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The desired state for teams working in the knowledge economy looks broadly like this...

People have adopted contemporary Lean Thinking and ways of working that creates a culture focused on the delivery of customer value – with the ability to adapt quickly to complex change

Beneath this high-level description is a set of desirable characteristics which are the result of the edits made in the adoption of Lean-Agile.

We use the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®) to help organisations make the required edits. It’s the world’s most widely-used framework, rigorous yet adaptable, and it’s 100% based on Lean principles. The key here is that SAFe® is a framework, not ‘Agile by numbers’ and, as such, it allows itself to be ‘right-sized’ to your organisation. (Our Scaling Lean-Agile playbook has an FAQ section which provides more answers to ‘Why SAFe®?’).

The Framework is an extensive knowledge base of proven principles, values, desired mindsets, competencies and practices. It brings together all the new ways of working – Lean, Agile, Design Thinking and DevOps – and scales beyond IT to encompass the whole organisation. SAFe® 6.0 is the newest version of the Framework designed to help organisations meet the evolving demands of a constantly changing marketplace and changing customers' expectations. It also helps them organise people and work around the accelerated flow of value.

SAFe® has a comprehensive set of training courses which form the foundations for implementation. Over 660,000 people worldwide have been trained. We’re proud – as a Scaled Agile Gold Partner – to have trained more in New Zealand than any other provider.

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As the nation’s leading SAFe® practice, we have implemented SAFe® in dozens of organisations. Our experience tells us what works at New Zealand scale. The foundation Configuration of SAFe® 6.0 is called Essential SAFe®. Every organisation must start at that level and, for the vast majority of New Zealand organisations, there is no need to go further. (Don’t be put off by the complex-looking FULL SAFe® Configuration picture which, unfortunately, seems to be most people’s first acquaintance with SAFe®). For more details about implementing Essential SAFe®, see our playbook.

Taking your teams on a transformational journey like this is arguably the most important dimension of uplifting the organisation’s ability. There are four clear factors essential in achieving success – irrespective of the framework used. Each asks questions of the organisation:

A purpose for change

What is the organisation trying to achieve, how are people aligned to this, how will this impact the business? In short… what’s the big picture and the story you tell?

The central role for leadership

What is the role of leadership in the transformation? What behaviours are expected of leaders ‘to do by example’? How will they ensure that others maintain commitment to – and deliver – change?

Developing the ability to work in complex, adaptive systems

How can individuals and teams work knowingly, confidently and effectively in the new, innovation and customer-centric environments created by Lean-Agile transformation?

Sustaining transformation – paying attention to the individual

How do you align the intrinsic motivations of people to the purpose of change, get them onboard, turn capability into competency and give them the mental agility skills to adapt to a new and complex world? (Frameworks tend to ignore the individual!)

We provide the answers to these questions along with more detail about SAFe®, its principles, values and competencies in our Scaling Lean-Agile playbook. It will help you consider your organisation’s DNA, whether it’s right for your future and how you might change it for the better. We’d love to help you get there.