Leading the Agile Mindset through Executive Product Ownership

Opportunity

Call to Action

Plan

Implement

Validate

The key is being able to guide from the center, and enable innovation from the edge

A key role for executive in the agile world, enabling rapid learning and improvement with alignment and autonomy

Executives Teams

1

2

3

Improvement

1

2

3

Define Outcomes and review Challenges that crosses organizational boundaries, and identify or sponsor a cross cutting impediment

Validate existing root cause analysis, suggest or support an Improvement, define a Single Key Metrics, and target Line In The Sand

If necessary Identify, and then authorize Improvement owners to act, provide permission, and gain agreement to proceed

Measure either quantitative factors or qualitative factors, while embracing both success and failure! Determine whether the impediment is still a Topic of Focus

Execute experiment by doing something small and trying something new

Plan the Actions that addresses the Outcome Impediment as evidenced by the Key Single Metric, phrased as an experiment

Track visually using SLT OMTM Kanban system

Alignment provided through data oriented feedback provides teams with the autonomy to solve problems across organizational boundaries

Teams

LeadersExecutives

1Leaders align with teams on how to solve impediments that are outside of the team’s scope of control

Executives align with leaders on the priority of cross cutting impediments and challenges

2

Executives review data from teams to sponsor them to test out solutions to problems

3

Strategic Objectives

Opp

ortu

nity

Impr

ovem

ent H

ypot

hesis

Concern

Outcome

Evidence

One Metric That Matters

Root Cause

Line In The Sand

Impacted Associates

Improvement Experiments

What do we want to achieve with to our business?

What concerns do we have with the current progress?

What evidence or metrics are we basing our concern on?

What are the cross cutting impediments, is there a common root causes?

What is the key metric that can be used to represent the progress towards the outcome? Ability to resolve the impediment?

What is our level of performance that indicates we are achieving the outcome?

Which Pods, Lanes, Associates are impacted by the concern and can drive the organization towards a solution?

What Improvement Experiments will be tried by impacted associates?Call

to A

ction

Executive Canvas – Where do we need to focus?

Visualize Flow of Opportunities – Are we making progress?Identify

Opportunity(1)

Sponsor Improvement

(1)

Ready to Start(3)

Plan (4) Implement

(2)Validate

(3)

• Analyze impediments to Outcome

• Analyze for Root Cause and Counter Measures

• Review Advice• Agree on 1 Key

Metric and Line In the Sand

• Communicate to Team and Stakeholders

• Identify Improvement Owner and Team

Next(2)

• Commit to Start Plan Improvement Activity

• Agree on Overall Timeline

• Implement Improvement Experiment

• Measure Weekly• Report on Progress

• Showcase results• Still a Topic of Focus?

Yes /No • Identify new

Impediments

Soon(4)

Later(4)

Impe

dim

ents

Impr

ovem

ents

Expe

rimen

tsEx

perim

ents

Expe

rimen

ts

Key Metric (Title & Description)

Insight / Evidence Collection – Are we moving the needle?Line In the Sand

By Area

Area Score Rank Experiment Insight

Overall

Area Score Rank Key Insight

Area: Level

Appendix A: Methods to foster the Executive Product Owner

A page from Beyond Budgeting; Internal competition that fosters collaboration, an increase in experimentation, and ultimately to global optimization

Leaders

Executives

1rst

2cnd

3rd

4rth

2cnd

1rst

2cnd

3rd

4rth

1cnd

3rd

1rst

Portfolio Leads are responsible for improving the score of the department

Teams are responsible for improving the score of the portfolio

Executives are responsible for improving the score across Departments

Portfolio Portfolio

Department

Organization1

2

3

A page from Boeing; Design a decision rule that provides economic incentives that reward localized innovation towards a centrally defined outcome

… and create a decision rule that encourage teams to achieve that goal,

Leaders centrally define an organizational goal…

…the rule is often tied to an economic incentive (ie extra team budget) tied to contributions to the goal

Teams self-organize in order make progress against the goal, and are awarded budget with appropriate inspection

When a particular team cannot participate, it can “trade” the economic incentive with others teams that are able to make further progress

1

2

3

Centralized authority is able to harness local innovation required to address solve global problems