The Agile Organization explores the nature and behaviors of different kinds of networked agile enterprises and their implications for military organizations.
Summary
Title: The Agile Organisation: From Informal Networks to Complex Effects and Agility
Author: Simon Reay Atkinson and James Moffat
Themes: Leadership, Management, Business, Agile, Software, Lean, Scrum
Year: 2005
Publisher: The Command and Control Research Program
ISBN: 9781893723160, 189372316X
Pages: 211
A military book about agility? Really? Yes!
"The Agile Organization" is a book written by Simon Reay Atkinson and James Moffat that provides an overview of how to implement Agile methodologies throughout an organization, not just in software development.
In an uncertain and dynamic security environment, militaries around the world are transforming themselves, becoming more network-centric and information-enabled.
These transformations are still driven by command and control. Military strategies that are agile are the gold standard of the information age.
In the new age of command and control, traditional approaches are being questioned and replaced by new ones.
In this nascent revolution in how militaries organize, operate, and think about themselves and their adversaries, the criteria for success may be the most significant change.
To meet 21st-century security challenges, new organizational forms and approaches to command and control are needed. The focus of this book is on applying insights from modern and complexity theory to military organizations, as well as applying those insights to other organizations.
For a set of selected missions (approved planning scenarios), traditional militaries and military analysis concentrate on mission effectiveness.
My Book Highlights:
"... It is this newly emerging complexity of new connections and re-established old connections that will define our future—who we are to become as much as who we are. Globalization, therefore, poses many challenges to the way we aggregate, how we see ourselves, and so see the opportunities and threats that will confront us in the 21st century. In some regards, they will be similar to those that existed before the 20th century, and in others very different. Historically, the 20th century may be seen as the exception and not the norm of man’s means of aggregating with his fellow man. We examine these new transnational challenges to our security from the viewpoint of Complexity and the new types of aggregation that will emerge to address them..."
"... To fight effectively, one needs to have trust in one’s fellow sailors, soldiers, and airmen to do the right thing. Extending beyond this, one needs trust between one’s commanders and, in an alliance or coalition, between one’s political leaders and states to engage forces appropriately..."
"... We are no longer isolated from our other man as we were before and this new linkage and connectedness brings with it new responsibilities and rights, including a recognition that both war and peace are now “joined permanently” as are prevention and pre-emption— we will have little or no warning..."
Armed forces in the Information Age are discovering the value of agility, both as a core competency in operations and as a value metric for policy and investment decisions, in order to cope with the complexities, uncertainties, and risks associated with the 21st-century security environment.
The book covers the principles and practices of Agile methodologies, and how to apply them throughout an organization, not just in software development.
The authors cover the key practices and strategies needed to successfully implement Agile methodologies throughout an organization, including Lean, Kanban, and Scrum.
The book provides real-world examples and case studies from the author's experience implementing Agile methodologies in various organizations.
The book covers the importance of leadership, communication, and collaboration in the Agile process.
The book includes practical tips, tools, and checklists to help organizations implement Agile methodologies effectively.
Chapters of the Book:
CHAPTER 1
Stop the World, I Want to Get Off!
Globalization
Idealism and Realism, trust and rules
Post-Modernism and Post-Belief
Networks and organizations in partnership
What works
The future into which we gaze
CHAPTER 2
Complexity: New Insights into Systems and Networks
Open systems
Self-organization
Power laws
Fractals and power laws
The sandpile model
Where have we gotten to so far?
Self-organizing social groups
The conceptual framework of complexity
Complex networks of interaction
Random Networks
Percolation
Small World Networks
Scale Free Networks
Network vulnerability
Patterns of interaction
Complexity and cascading effects: A real example
The attack on Port Stanley Airfield: The Falklands War, 1982
The cascade of effects
CHAPTER 3
Policy through Change
Institutes of state
Back to the future and out of the wilderness
Returning to power
Into office and all at sea
Effects Based Operations and the Battle of the Atlantic
Break out
Experimentation
CHAPTER 4
Informal Networks
What is an Informal Network?
Who decides?
Can we prove that Informal Networks add value?
A simple example
Types of Informal Networks
Random Networks
Small World Networks
Scale Free Networks
Complex Networks and Formal Organizations
Getting nearer or further?
CHAPTER 5
Social Linkage and Dynamics
Social organizations
Policymaking in government: A defense policy-related example
Stakeholder perception space
The effects space
The Influence Network and management roles
Management agility: The range of options available
Enterprise agility and integration
Directive and emergent management and control
Directive versus emergent management and control
Influence Networks as complex systems with emergent behavior
Base level classification of network types
Cascading failures at the median level
CHAPTER 6
New Order: New Effects
The six aspects of Effects Based Operations
Complexity, effects, and experiments
Effecting all things possible
That he should not be able to command the rain
Effect of command
The importance of agility
CHAPTER 7
Back to the Future
Bounding command
Stovepipes to communities
From consent to concessive
Institutional friction
Trust exchanges
Final thoughts
In conclusion, "The Agile Organization" is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding and implementing Agile methodologies throughout an organization.
The authors, Simon Reay Atkinson and James Moffat, provide a comprehensive overview of the key practices and strategies needed to successfully implement Agile methodologies throughout an organization and offer real-world examples and case studies to illustrate the concepts.
The book also covers the importance of leadership, communication, and collaboration in the Agile process, and includes practical tips, tools, and checklists to help organizations implement Agile methodologies effectively.
It's a must-read for anyone involved in organizational development looking to improve their Agile skills and knowledge in an organizational context.
Simon Reay Atkinson joined the Royal Navy in 1979. After training as an electrical and systems engineer and gaining his first degree, he served in the Falklands, and the Gulf during the mine war. He has recently completed a tour to Washington, as the Chief of Defence Staff’s “directed telescope” in the U.S. on Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Global War on Terrorism. He is an active committee member of the Naval Review and has written widely for the review and other professional publications.
Jim Moffat is a Senior Fellow of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, U.K., a Fellow of the Operational Research Society, a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, and a visiting Professor at Cranfield University, U.K. He was awarded the President’s medal of the Operational Research Society in the year 2000. His most recent works include the books Command and Control in the Information Age: Representing its Impact and Complexity Theory and Network Centric Warfare.
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