1melanie@agilechangemanagement.co.uk

How do we “sell” Agile to senior managers?

2

Shape the “sell” message to the audience• Objectives• Learning preferences• Waves of mutually reinforcing changes

3

What do senior managers care aboutDevelop empathy by understanding the senior management perspective:• Cost efficiencies• Revenue growth• Margin improvement• Customer service levels• Product and service innovations• Succesful implementation of corporate initiatives –

systems; regulatory requirements

4

Activity: extrapolate your project successes to the highest level.

5

Learning preferencesGive me all of the backgroundReassure me about the best practice credentialsHave we got an expert view?

Tell me who else is doing this.Give me some examples of success elsewhere.Why are other organisations choosing an agile approach?

Give me a demonstration.Walk me through one of our projects and show me how Agile is different.I will attend a daily stand up and see how it works.

How does this fit with our objectives?How does this support our customers?How does this impact on our governance structure?

Theorists

6

Give me all of the background.

Reassure me about the best practice credentials

Have we got an expert view?

Reflectors

Why are other organisations choosing an agile approach?Give me some

examples of success elsewhere.

Tell me who else is doing this.

Activist

8

I will attend a daily stand up and see how it works.

Walk me through one of our projects and show me how Agile is different.

Give me a demonstration.

Pragmatist

9

How does this impact on our governance structure?

How does this support our customers?

How does this fit with our objectives?

10

Activity: Come up with an action to sell the benefits of agile that meets one of these learning styles

11

Waves of mutually reinforcing change

Emotional

LeadershipProcedural

Environmental

12

Waves of mutually reinforcing changeEmotional levers:• Create a competitive element – which other organisations in the same industry have moved to an

agile approach? • Create the impression that your organisation is being left behind. • Arm yourself with research and case studies of successful adoptions of agile.Procedural levers:• Tie agile techniques into existing processes so that the approach becomes part of the ‘norm’ e.g.

all team meetings are to be held as a standup; all progress reporting is to be in the form of a burn down chart

Environmental levers:• Good housekeeping over your physical environment to ensure that there is visual reporting at the

project/portfolio level, not just the scrum level e.g. make sure there are lots of whiteboards• Make it easy for executives to visit your area by letting them know when you are having stand-ups

and retrospectives so they don’t feel as if they are intrudingLeadership levers:• Demonstrate the most useful and relevant elements of agile to give real examples of the benefits• Senior leaders explain strategy and commercial perspective at key meetings• Be selective, and concentrate on the provision of information, the reassurance about the

evaluation of criteria before decisions are taken and don’t bore executives with all of the details about how projects are managed!

13

Activity: Come up with an example of your favourite type of leverage.

Twitter: @AgileMelanie

Linkedin: Melanie Franklin YouTube: AgileCM

melanie@agilechangemanagement.co.uk07960 995262

www.agilechangemanagement.co.uk

Further resources

Next course:1-4 August

Next course:22-26 August