Over the past 25 to 30 years, agile innovation methods have greatly increased success rates in software development, improved quality and speed to market, and boosted the motivation and productivity of IT teams. Now those methods are spreading across a broad range of industries and functions and even reaching into the C-suite. But many executives don't understand how to promote and benefit from agile; often they manage in ways that run counter to its principles and practices, undermining the effectiveness of agile teams in their organizations. From their work studying and advising companies that have successfully employed agile methods, the authors have discerned six crucial practices for capitalizing on agile's potential: (1) Learn how agile really works; (2) understand when it is appropriate; (3) start small and let passionate evangelists spread the word; (4) allow teams that have mastered the process to customize their practices; (5) practice agile at the top; and (6) destroy corporate barriers to agile behaviors. They expand on each, providing executives with a practical guide for accelerating innovation and profitable growth.
CEO Kikawa of Yamato Transport gave orders to his managers right after the triple disaster hit the Tohoku region of Japan to do whatever it takes to save lives and not to worry about costs. He also felt that he had to confront the government to make donations to the affected district tax-free. He also wanted to donate 10 yen per Takkyubin package the company was delivering as relief money for Tohoku but was wondering how the shareholders would react to this proposal.
Supplement for case 712480. CEO Niinami Takeshi (HBS '91) stared out his corner office window as the Tokyo skyscrapers swayed and the concrete trembled. He was in the midst of the largest seismic event to hit Japan in recorded history. Lawson's managers understood earthquake response. They had prior experience from the earthquakes in Kobe (1995), and Chuetsu (2007).
Supplement for case 712480. On the evening of March 11, 2011, Mayama Fumihiro, the Managing Director of Ishinomaki Kouwan Hospital knew that it would be a long, cold night. The 103 staff members and 162 patients and families were huddled on the top two floors of the four-story hospital, where they had gone to escape three tsunami waves that had destroyed the first floor and part of the second floor.
Few hours after the earthquake hit on March 11, 2011, CEO Tadashi Yanai of Fast Retailing was eating sushi at a restaurant near his office. He was confident that his store managers would be able to decide for themselves the best action to take in midst of this crisis. Some of the pending decisions were whether or not to reopen the UNIQLO stores that were wiped out by the tsunami, to follow government orders to turn off the store lights, and to distribute warm clothing in the devastated areas.
At 2:46pm on March 11th, 2011, a 9.0M earthquake shook the Tohoku (Northeastern) region of Japan. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the coastal waters of Tohoku and reverberations from the quake triggered a tsunami that ravaged the coastal shores of Eastern Japan. The tsunami was the greatest recorded wave in history, with its highest peak at 38.9m and waves higher than 10m hitting 530km of coastal Japan.
In an era of increasing discontinuity, wise leadership has nearly vanished. Many leaders find it difficult to reinvent their corporations rapidly enough to cope with new technologies, demographic shifts, and consumption trends. They can't develop truly global organizations that operate effortlessly across borders. And they find it tough to ensure that their people adhere to values and ethics. The world needs leaders who pursue the common good by striving to create social as well as economic value and who pair micromanagement with big-picture aspirations about the future. The authors, who have studied, taught, and interviewed executives in some of the world's leading companies, assert that such leaders must acquire practical wisdom, or what Aristotle called phronesis: experiential knowledge that enables people to make ethically sound judgments. Wise leaders demonstrate six abilities. They make decisions on the basis of what is good for the organization and for society. They quickly grasp the essence of a situation and fathom the nature and meaning of people, things, and events. They provide contexts in which executives and employees can interact to create new meaning. Phronetic leaders use metaphors and stories to convert their experience into tacit knowledge that others can use. They exert political power to bring people together and spur them to act. And wise leaders use apprenticeship and mentoring to cultivate practical wisdom in others.
On January 1, 2011, Tadashi Yanai, the CEO of Fast Retailing Group (FR), sent his annual New Year's message to everyone in the company. The message, entitled "Change or Die," declared that FR which included UNIQLO, Theory, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam and others within the group - would become the No.1 apparel company in the world.
ASAHI Net developed a cloud-based platform for higher education institutions to use in Japan and was wondering if that platform could be accepted in the U.S. as well.
Toyota has become one of the world's greatest companies only because it developed the Toyota Production System, right? Wrong, say Takeuchi, Osono, and Shimizu of Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. Another factor, overlooked until now, is just as important to the company's success: Toyota's culture of contradictions. TPS is a "hard" innovation that allows the company to continuously improve the way it manufactures vehicles. Toyota has also mastered a "soft" innovation that relates to human resource practices and corporate culture. The company succeeds, say the authors, because it deliberately fosters contradictory viewpoints within the organization and challenges employees to find solutions by transcending differences rather than resorting to compromises. This culture generates innovative ideas that Toyota implements to pull ahead of competitors, both incrementally and radically. The authors' research reveals six forces that cause contradictions inside Toyota. Three forces of expansion lead the company to change and improve: impossible goals, local customization, and experimentation. Not surprisingly, these forces make the organization more diverse, complicate decision making, and threaten Toyota's control systems. To prevent the winds of change from blowing down the organization, the company also harnesses three forces of integration: the founders' values, "up-and-in" people management, and open communication. These forces stabilize the company, help employees make sense of the environment in which they operate, and perpetuate Toyota's values and culture. Emulating Toyota isn't about copying any one practice; it's about creating a culture. And because the company's culture of contradictions is centered on humans, who are imperfect, there will always be room for improvement.
New product development has become fast paced and competitive. Managers need to realize that the traditional, sequential approach to developing new products will not work in the new arena. Instead, they must adopt a more flexible, holistic product development strategy where a development team works as a unit to reach a common goal.
Dunkin' Donuts franchises and operates retail donut shops for take-home and in-shop consumption. Looks at three growth alternatives: 1) More shops (owned or franchised); 2) A broader product line; and 3) More advertising. Raises important issues related to franchise relations. A merger of Dunkin' Donuts (A) and (B).
The quality of customer service is often as important as the quality of the product. A company can evaluate its customer service by performing a customer service audit. To effectively implement a customer service program the company should educate customers; educate employees; be efficient first, nice second; standardize service response systems; develop a pricing policy; involve subcontractors, if necessary; and evaluate the customer service operation.