To Shorten the Agility Bubble, Con-
sider the Following Programs:
Shuffle the Domain Leaders – Break the per-
Speed is the new
currency of an
organization. Freed
from the burden of
legacy infrastructure,
systems and
processes, agile new
competitors pop up
like prairie dogs on a
Kansas farm.
mafrost layer of management that controls your
technology silos. These are the leaders of Ops,
Architecture, Customer Service, Storage and Net-
working. Move them around and expose them to
how other teams operate. Their fresh views on the
subject will give them perspective and compassion
for their counterparts.
Get a Sherpa – We highly recommend hiring a
consultant to help navigate the agility waters. Just
remember, this is not your typical organizational
change. There is a whole new set of challenges,
because teams are moving to self-directed,
self-forming and self-defining structures. So be
sure to qualify consultants regarding their skills
and plans.
Forget Job Descriptions – If they haven’t done
so already, your HR department will come to you
looking for job descriptions for DevOps Engineer,
Cloud Architect, Cloud Security Architect and a
host of other roles you may or may not even know
you need. The problem is, these roles change every
three months! What you required in skills last
quarter will change again in the next.
Look For and Support Hand-Raisers – Your
Digital Transformation Is Not Your
Agility Program
Do not get confused – digital transformation is not
your agility play. Digital transformation is basically
analyst jargon — a marketing term that lacks clarity
and teeth. It has many definitions and no consensus
as to its hard deliverables. Agility, on the other hand,
refers to the ability of all the organization’s product
development teams to respond to challenges and
opportunities. So, the Agility Bubble is actually a
PEOPLE problem, not a technology solution. The
people must learn how to leverage new tools and
techniques, and to do that, we must look to a cul-
tural change in the organization.
greatest assets are the first movers and innovators
on your teams. Support their desire to start and
lead the cloud teams, go to Meetups and get certi-
fied. Look to build their colleagues and support the
informal teams that are advancing high-speed
technologies and trends. These are your change
agents – back them!
Your Agility Bubble will last longer than you ini-
tially estimate because people do not change as
fast as you think. They fall back into their old, com-
fortable ways, since it is easier to do the same thing
than to learn something new. Never forget, the
Agility Bubble is a PEOPLE issue, not a technology
problem. Spend the time and effort necessary to
train your teams. Demonstrate your commitment
through your actions and your leadership.
See you on the other side!
SUMMER 2018 | THE DOPPLER | 39