Episode A.035 Leading Your Market by Being Agile

Introduction
Even though the new quarter doesn't start until Wednesday, we are jumping into it with both feet. BTW - that is also the theme for July - Being Agile. Two quick reasons for this theme now. First is we are in new territory when it comes to the economy, social factors, government action and how it is affecting our ability to run a profitable business. The second is how it matches with our previous emphasis around building a "Lean Organization'. The difference is simple - Agile is a mindset that uses the principles of Lean to succeed in unstable times.
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Show Objectives
Let's start this series by going back to the shows on Business Models and specifically Profit Multiplier. The idea with this model is build it once and reuse it over and over again. After the first or second use it has paid back the cost of creation and it is pure (almost) profit from that point forward. This type of company has an enormous parts-bin to draw upon. They organize around what needs to be built at the time - a very good definition of being agile.

The objective for today's show is to lay the ground for this week's programming. Nothing we will discuss counters previous shows like Lean. Rather it is another perspective for building a professional organization that dominates its market because it out hustles and out produces the competition with value.
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What You Need to Know

1. Reinterpretation of JIT
2. All Processes Built on Speed, not Costs
3. Keep Everything Simple
4. Learn From Doing, Not Planning

​What You Need to Do
Reinterpretation of JIT (Just In Time)
This is a concept that also applies to creating organizations that are anti-fragile - prosper during instability. Just in Time is the philosophy of producing what the customer wants when they want it without it being delayed or held in inventory. The issue now is if those supply processes are interrupted supply will quickly dry up and only those operations with some slack will continue to do business.

How much slack to build in is a topic for the B Track - 039 Flexible Use of Resources .

Processes Built on Speed, Not Costs
Much like the old business saying"you can't have speed with features at low cost - make a choice" A lean focus on your processes would select features (quality) and cost with speed not a factor. An Agile business makes a different trade-off - speed & what? You get to make the final selection. If your pricing is driven by market pressures then the second choice is cost. If you are not in a price sensitive market than the second choice is obvious - more features with higher quality.

Keep Everything Simple
These type of organizations are much closer to our concept of 'Self Managed' What is meant by self managed is there is no reason structure beyond creating a project team when necessary with everybody clear on their role. Much like a Fire Department - great example of agile in operation, nobody knows when the alarm will be sounded but know exactly what to do when it happens. That is why it takes less than 5.5 minutes to have the trucks and equipment out of the building.

Learn From Doing, Not Planning
You can only be so smart and it is difficult to anticipate changes in customer tastes or the next economic crisis. By making an informed decision then doing it you will learn far more than waiting for better information. Most of the discoveries or surprises that will greet you can only be learned in that moment of time. The future will not be won by the passive - smart urgency is how to stay in business during uncertain times and grow from the disruption.

Next Show: A.036 Being Creative Instead of Reactive