Take the time to read a terrific Innovation article – Embracing Agile in the Harvard Business Review May issue.
Personally, I always value the extraordinary insights from those who have been those architects of new ideas. It is valuable to learn in what way the new paradigm has stayed true to the original principles and how it has evolved over the years.
We recommend you take time to read this Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, authored by Darrell K. Rigby, Jeff Sutherland and Hirotaka Takeuchi.
This HBR article also links to another by the same authors in the April issue titled The Secret History of Agile Innovation. As far back as 1986, Takeuchi co-authored The New New Product Development Game in HBR. Much of the parallel work by a variety of authors led to the Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto, published in 2001.
I believe many of us in marketing and healthcare have begun to recognize agile methodologies, first applied to customer digital tool development. Scott Brinker eloquently describes how software and marketing have merged. I have witnessed external software developers such as Neudesic applying the agile sprint methodology to project management. At the same time, the knowledge of it and application of it with blue-chip corporate marketing appears to have been very limited.
“Marketing is a digital profession”, says Brinker
We have been examining the topics of agile as it applies to both marketing and hacking in healthcare, through our business blog.
READ OUR HACKING HEALTH TREND POST HERE
I have certainly, unconsciously, absorbed some elements of agile project management into routine ways of working; specifically, simple Kanban boards and weekly project updates on what has been done this week, what is planned next week and any impediments.
While many project teams have adopted an agile and hacking methodology, Brinker correctly points out that many executive management teams continue in a very waterfall structured mentality and decision-making process.
Featured image courtesy of Scott Brinker from his intelligent new book Hacking Marketing – Agile Practices to make Marketing Smarter, Faster and more Innovative.
Adapted from previous post published on LinkedIn Pulse