Beyond Agile: Why It Pays To Be Anticipatory, Not Reactive

I know full well that people are generally averse to change of any kind. Life would just be simpler if everything that is working stayed the same, and these individuals also tend to abide by the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The problem is that “broke” in that phrase too often implies that a current system that is in place at a business or organization is unshakable solely because it works. Just because something “works” doesn’t mean it will work forever, and more often than not, a business leader using agility alone to innovate and operate will wait until a stronger, more efficient system disrupts the organization’s process before they take action.

I have written at length about how disruptive change happens from the outside-in if you operate with an agile mindset alone. What I want all business leaders and c-Suite executives to transition to is an Anticipatory mindset where they actually create opportunity for themselves by implementing changes from the inside-out!

Now there are a multitude of ways in which business leaders and employees alike can create an environment for this to happen, all of which are situational to the industry a business is in. But there are three unique thought processes that I have always found effective in facilitating transformation from the inside out…