Doing Agile Right: Transformation Without Chaos

Darrell K. Rigby · Sarah Elk · Steven H. Berez

May 2020 · Gildan Media · Narrated by Steve Menasche

About this audiobook

For decades business leaders have been painfully aware of the huge chasm between their aspiration for a nimble, flexible enterprise and the reality of silos, sluggishness, and frustrated innovation. Today, agile is being hailed as the essential bridge across that chasm. Agile, say its enthusiasts, can transform your company, catapulting you to the head of the pack. Not so fast. In this clear-eyed and indispensable book, Sarah Elk and Steve Berez provide a much-needed reality check. They dispel the myths and misconceptions that have accompanied agile's growth-the idea that it can reshape your organization all at once, for instance, or that it should be used in every function and for all types of work. They affirm and illustrate that agile teams can indeed transform the work environment, make people's jobs more rewarding, and turbocharge innovation-but only if the method is fully understood and implemented the right way. Agile, done well, frees and facilitates vigorous innovation without sacrificing the efficiency and reliability essential to traditional operations. The authors break down how agile really works, show what not to do, and explain the crucial importance of scaling agile properly in order to get its full benefit. They then lay out a road map for leading the transition to a truly agile enterprise.

About the author

Darrell Rigby is a partner in the Boston office of Bain & Company, where he leads the Global Innovation practice. He is a frequent speaker and writer on innovation, agile, and retail and has appeared on CNBC, CNN's Moneyline, and Bloomberg. His research has been published in Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, and other publications.

Sarah Elk is a partner in Bain's Chicago office and the global head of the firm's Operating Model practice.

Steve Berez is a partner in Bain's Boston office and a founding member of the firm's Enterprise Technology practice.

Steve Menasche is a conservatory-trained actor, musician, and martial artist who has toured the world with West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, and the American Folk Theatre. As a voice actor, he has completed over 250 audiobooks and has been featured in national radio and television campaigns.