Introducing AHAg!le – the surprising power of Agile beyond code
For about 15 years, I too equated Agile with Scrum, to be used solely in software development. It felt as if the world was divided into two camps: Agile for Software and Lean Six Sigma for everything else. Agile seemed distant. And while some have claimed (and still do) that Scrum can be applied everywhere, it made no sense. (In fact, I can now confidently say—that’s nonsense.)
Over the last three years, I’ve been immersed in the Agile world, both within IT and beyond. I’ve been fortunate in several ways. First, I received excellent coaching from incredibly knowledgeable and humble individuals. Second, in consecutive assignments, I was exposed to frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, and RLC.
Then, during my assignment at Barry Callebaut, it all ‘clicked’. The request of their manufacturing technology innovation team was simple: help their organisation reduce lead time by adopting Agile. Scrum was the initial ask, as they didn’t know any better, and most other consultants were offering Scrum too. But what we truly needed was agility. We also needed Lean. And Six Sigma. And BPM. We even benefited from Sociocracy and non-violent communication. We had to blend it all—and suddenly, it made sense.
In working on initiatives traditionally seen as far removed from Agile, I noticed that applying one or more Agile principles had a significant, positive impact. So the question is no longer, “Should we do Agile?” or “Can we implement Scrum or another framework?” It’s not about replacing Lean or Six Sigma; it’s about enhancing and augmenting what’s already there. Agile, at its core, is about adaptability, collaboration, and incremental improvement — all of which align beautifully with Lean and CI principles.
This blog post series ” AHAg!le ” will explore the AHA! moments I’ve experienced while applying Agile principles in traditional contexts like manufacturing, business process management, and Lean Six Sigma. If you’ve ever thought Agile was just for tech teams, think again! We’ll dive into how Agile thinking can transform workflows, empower teams, and boost productivity in any sector.
I’ve set myself the goal of exploring one AHAg!le moment every two weeks here on my website, https://ithaki.support/.
Each post will explore a different theme, offering insights and practical tips on applying Agile principles where you might least expect them. Whether you’re a Lean practitioner, Six Sigma expert, team leader, department manager, or C-suite executive — or simply someone looking for new ways to enhance performance — this series will show you how Agile can be the game-changer you never saw coming.
It’s time to rethink what Agile can do and embrace its surprising power to drive productivity, well-being, and customer value.
Stay tuned.
