We all experienced the challenges with Neo-Taylorist management, and after years of working with Agile and Lean, the contrast seemed obvious and the contours of a way forward emerged.

“Management 3.0”, “Radical Management” and “Fourth Generation Management” are just a few of the more recent attempts at optimizing the way organizations work. Each contains valuable insight no doubt, but scholars and theorists aside, those on the front-line battling through complex projects with fragmented, or no prior knowledge to work with, understand that there is still much more to learn.

Which is why some humble Scrum trainers and coaches from Scandinavia have taken the time to reflect on their many years’ practical experience and have developed a customer-first, team-centric approach, which they believe will make a real difference.

Why have we launched this initiative?

The founders are rooted in the Scandinavian business world with years of experience, good and bad. They have worked extensively outside their own countries and interacted with many cultures and value systems. Many years ago they discovered Scrum and were challenged and impressed, enough to become Certified Scrum Trainers, which has been their enduring focus.

In recent training courses and coaching engagements they have been questioned about how to expand the use of Agile and Lean methods beyond Scrum’s home turf of product development.

Alongside a combined experience, their roots in societies that favor low power distances, tolerance of experiments and concerns for the individual, it was concluded that in real teamwork, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” to quote Aristotle. That is, by empowering team members to contribute and take responsibility, output will exceed that of traditional command and compliance driven organizations, where team members have little or no mandate, initiative or ability to think for themselves. 

With the transition from the industrial age to knowledge-based work in full bloom, the biggest obstacles to success are traditional power structures with their over-focus on plans and compliance and viewing individuals as “resources” rather than sentient beings. It is now time to develop people’s intrinsic motivation and in doing so, help organizations improve outcomes for all of their stakeholders.

It is easy to over complicate the change process, so this approach makes adopting Agile Lean patterns simple by using a consolidated set of values and principles, patterns and practices that provide transparency, accountability and clearly defined roles.

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” – Albert Einstein