The Agile Executive

Yesterday we held a great Rally Agile Success Tour (AST)  event in Seattle (which I will describe in a subsequent post). On the 15th we will be doing the AST event in Chicago. This post is about an intriguing element of the forthcoming Chicago event.

Every one of the 9 events we held so far (click here for sample video clips from the events) was unique in some ways. The demographics in Atlanta, GA were not like those in Boston, MA. The issues brought up in Los Angeles, CA were different from those in Washington, DC. The panelists in New York, NY addressed a set of topics that did not come to the fore in the Santa Clara, CA event. Each event was characterized by locality of reference – topics, discussions, breakout sessions and 1-1 meetings that were of relevance and importance in the context of the local Agile community.

Having worked with the Chicago panelists in preparation for the forthcoming event, my sense is that we will immerse the participants (and ourselves, of course) in a set of Agile/Lean challenges that could be quite different from those we addressed in other cities. Some very unique companies are represented in the panel we will hold in Chicago.

I actually consider Chicago on the 15th a potential pivot in deepening our understanding of the way Agile applies to various verticals. We are progressing from a horizontal approach to applying Agile toward a more vertical assimilation. The differences between the two might be subtle, but they are all important for the success of the Agile champion.