The Irony of the Agile Industry

At the start of the new millennium, an idea (Gestation 🤔) emerged to jointly uncover better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. In 2001, it resulted (Birth 🌱) in the Agile Manifesto with four guiding values and twelve principles.

What started with a manifesto to improve software development became a vast, profitable industry (Maturity 💰) to help organizations survive the increasingly VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous).

However, things started to shift a couple of years ago. Demand for training, coaching, and consultancy decreased, and events that used to be fully booked no longer sold out.

Some people took notice, reinvented themselves, and created new initiatives, but the overall Agile industry didn’t. Maybe the profits made the Agile industry lazy, complacent, or even arrogant. Or perhaps there was a lack of imagination, creativity, and innovation. Most people knew change was needed, but things seemed stuck (Rigidity Trap ❌)

The problem is that the longer you’re stuck in the Rigidity Trap, the more painful Creative Destruction💥 becomes. Reality eventually bites you in the butt. So, quickly adapting to new market circumstances is often better than ignoring it.

It might still be challenging, but ideally, it results in new ideas, experiments, and initiatives — things we consider valuable but haven’t invested enough time in (Scarcity Trap).

Ironically, the whole point of the Agile industry was to support organizations in smoothly moving through the Ecocycle’s phases. They probably didn’t always literally use it, but the essence remains the same. Help organizations innovate, navigate complexity, and thrive within new realities.

It’s time for self-reflection. Are we practicing what we preach? 🤷‍♀️

Change is inevitable, and because the Agile industry has been stuck for quite a while, I expect more inevitable painful decisions.

I’m not pessimistic about the future. We — members of the Agile industry — can reinvent ourselves. Maybe not all of us; some companies, institutions, and alliances might not survive, but that isn’t necessarily wrong. Darwin, right?

So, let’s face new realities and work together to uncover better ways of developing software, products, or work in general. 🥳

I’m ready, what about you?

PS: I don’t like the term ‘industry’; in my mind, it relates to the machine-thinking mindset we want to change. However, the ‘Agile industry’ term has been used frequently in the past weeks, so I used it.