One of the perennial challenges in my career is convincing managers and leaders that agility belongs to management. It’s not something you can outsource to coaches or bolt on with a framework. Business Agility is about managers owning the work, solving real problems, and releasing agility every day.

So instead of arguing about Scrum vs Kanban vs SAFe (seen it, lived it, not going back there 😅), here’s my A–Z of what really matters for Business Agility.

A – Agility
Agility isn’t an end state. There’s no magic moment where you’re “done.” It’s an ongoing journey, always in service of business results.

B – Business
Business Agility is about moving smoothly and quickly towards your business goals — revenue, growth, retention, customer outcomes. Not just “being agile.”

C – Communication
Almost every business problem is a communication problem. Honest, timely, clear communication unlocks everything else.

D – Discipline
Agility needs discipline — follow processes, study them, then improve them. No discipline = no learning.

E – Every Process
Every process can be improved. If it doesn’t work, study it and fix it.

F – Frameworks
Frameworks (Scrum, SAFe, Kanban) only help if they solve your actual problems. Don’t start with them, start with reality.

G – Goals
Be clear on what you’re paid to deliver. Without clear goals, you’ll move quickly in the wrong direction.

H – Honesty
Own your current reality. You can’t plan the path forward if you won’t admit where you really are.

I – Information
Information must flow — up, down, across. When info gets stuck, agility does too.

J – Jumping
Don’t jump from one initiative to another. Stick long enough to change behaviours, not just processes.

K – Kindness
Kindness doesn’t mean avoiding tough conversations. It means respect, care, and clarity.

L – Laugh
If your team isn’t having fun, it’s a warning sign. Energy and joy fuel agility.

M – Measure
Measure business results — revenue, retention, customer outcomes. Agility is in service of these.

N – No Dismissals
No idea for improvement should be dismissed. Frontline people often know the best fixes.

O – Obstacles
Obstacles will appear. Business Agility is the practice of solving them one by one.

P – Provide Common Goals
Customer value crosses silos. Shared goals encourage cooperation over conflict.

Q – Quick
Don’t obsess about speed. First be effective, then get faster.

R – Release
Your business is already agile somewhere. Find it, remove blockers, and release it.

S – Systemic
Most blockers are systemic. Fix those, and big change happens.

T – Time
Agility can’t be forced. It takes time, consistency, and persistence.

U – Understand the purpose
Understand your business purpose and your team’s role. Otherwise, you won’t know if improvements matter.

V – Values
Real values are behaviours, not posters. Watch what leaders do, not what they say.

W – Work
Work carefully and consistently. Daily management actions release agility.

X – Xylograph
Like a carved impression, leave your mark through behaviours. People remember how you act. This was a hard one to find a word for 😄

Y – You
You can’t control your reputation, but you can control your character — how you respond, behave, and lead.

Z – Zestfullness
Agility isn’t about tools or methods. It’s about business results, behaviour change, and energy.

👉 If you want business results to get better, people to have fun, and agility to be released — print the poster.

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