#97 - R.I.P. Agile, Long Live Agile 2 with Cliff Berg

04/01/24 • 58 min

On today’s podcast, we host someone who - has been at the forefront of the Agile revolution, and, at the same time, became one of Agile movement's most vocal critics, to the extent, that he dared to say: “R.I.P Agile”.

Cliff Berg, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Agile 2 Academy, and a leading figure in Agile and DevOps advising joins our podcast bringing his fresh perspectives on the decline of Agile. He also gives us a peek into the story of a book he recently co-authored, ‘Agile 2: The Next Iteration of Agile’.

Cliff takes us through what it means to re-imagine organizational practices and challenges the conventional framework-oriented approach, that often needs more contextualization and grounded action-based research.

Join us, as we discuss balancing leadership and self-organizing, and explore pragmatic approaches to operating successful businesses with agility and accountability.

This episode goes through a journey - we talk about Cliff’s viral post on the demise of Agile, and what he and a team of co-authors have done to consciously course-correct it, and publish a whole set of new ideas on how to approach Agile with a more contemporary and less ideological stance: Agile 2.

Cliff dismisses the narrative of “You don’t need managers”, and challenges why it’s important to reel our thoughts back in when it comes to decentralization of organizations.

He lays it out as it is: structure is not a bad thing per se, and the conversation goes through healthy ways of administering structure in organizations.

Tune in, if you’re interested in non-ideological ways to embrace agile practices, mixed with some of Boundaryless's staple topics: building optionality, entrepreneurial organizations that go big with skin in the game, and more.

Key Highlights
👉 Critical intersection between human behavior and technology, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of our digital coexistence.
👉 Calm Technology as an essential way to creating designs that respect human attention without overwhelming users.
👉Building tools that help users focus on the task and not the tool.
👉 Complexities of governance in technological and organizational contexts, with a focus on the potentials and pitfalls of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
👉 Ways to bring a shift towards innovations that serve humanity and contribute to a more equitable future.
👉 Developing a questioning mindset for driving meaningful technological advancements.

Topics /chapters
(00:00) R.I.P. Agile, Long Live Agile 2 - Intro
(02:09) The transition from Agile 1.0 to Agile 2.0
(10:36) Solving Limitations of Agile 1.0
(18:26) Frameworks as a means to an end
(31:23) Increasing Optionality and Designing for Problem Solving
(38:16) Finding a Balance in Beauraucracy
(44:43) The transformation that sticks

Remember that you can always find transcripts and key highlights of the episode on our website: https://boundaryless.io/podcast/cliff-berg/

Episode recorded on February 23, 2024

Get in touch with Boundaryless:
Find out more about the show and the research at Boundaryless at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://boundaryless.io/resources/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/boundaryless_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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Music
Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blss.io/Podcast-Music⁠⁠

Join us, as we discuss balancing leadership and self-organizing, and explore pragmatic approaches to operating successful businesses with agility and accountability.

Cliff dismisses the narrative of “You don’t need managers”, and challenges why it’s important to reel our thoughts back in when it comes to decentralization of organizations.

He lays it out as it is: structure is not a bad thing per se, and the conversation goes through healthy ways of administering structure in organizations.

Remember that you can always find transcripts and key highlights of the episode on our website: https://boundaryless.io/podcast/cliff-berg/

Episode recorded on February 23, 2024

Get in touch with Boundaryless:
Find out more about the show and the research at Boundaryless at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://boundaryless.io/resources/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/boundaryless_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://boundaryless.io/contacts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/boundaryless-pdt-3eo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music
Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blss.io/Podcast-Music⁠⁠

Previous Episode

#96 - Building Calm Technology and Organizations with Amber Case

We rarely (if ever) get to host a cyborg anthropologist on our podcast, so we are thrilled to have Amber Case join us as a special guest for this episode.

Amber, who works at the intersection of human and technology interactions, shares her journey into envisioning what a calm technology is. Calm Technology is a design philosophy that advocates for technology to integrate into our lives, enhancing our ability to focus rather than distracting us. She takes us through everyday objects that have been designed this way and leaves us challenging what’s really “transparent technology”?

We stretch the boundaries to include a conversation on organizations and governance: a leading thread is that of keeping asking questions and not drinking the kool-aid of truthiness in how we think about tech and organizing.

Tune in to this provocation that leaps into the future of technology, its impact on society, and how you can navigate these landscapes with mindful intent.

This podcast started on a personal note - Amber shared her experience being a child of engineers, and also having early exposure to the natural world - both of which she believes set the precedence for what she does today.

She takes us through a wealth of experience she gained in her multifaceted career - having been a renowned book author, TED speaker, serial startup founder, advisor, co-founder of DAOs, Research Director at the Meta Governance Project, and most recently the founder of the Calm Tech Institute.

Amber advocates for a future where technology "gets out of your way and lets you live your life."This episode will elicit new questions for you and your career. This episode has been occasionally recorded as “sound only”.

Topics /chapters
(00:00) Building Calm Technology and Organizations - Intro
(02:09) The start of a cyborg anthropologist
(11:19) What happens as Technology fades into the background/ disappears?
(19:55) Technology as facilitator vs. distractor
(31:06) How to limit and grow technology
(48:53) Organizations shaping itself to build better technology
(59:37) Breadcrumbs and Suggestions

Remember that you can always find transcripts and key highlights of the episode on our website: https://boundaryless.io/podcast/Amber-Case/

Episode recorded on February 22, 2024

Get in touch with Boundaryless:
Find out more about the show and the research at Boundaryless at ⁠⁠⁠https://boundaryless.io/resources/podcast⁠⁠⁠

Music
Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: ⁠⁠⁠https://blss.io/Podcast-Music⁠

Next Episode

#98 - Sandwich Economics: a New Era of Competition with Sangeet Paul Choudary

We have a three-time returning guest on the podcast today, Sangeet Paul Choudary - certainly one of the most influential minds in the world of modern business.

Sangeet, an advisor and best-selling author, known for his work on platform economics and network effects, joins us to take us through the next era of competition in business: Sandwich Economics.

He speaks on the principles of the new phenomenon and shares insights into how organizations are now increasingly "sandwiching" markets vigorously consolidating profits and power. As this happens, Sangeet argues, it’s not always a driver of quality improvement in services and products.

Sangeet’s episodes are always packed with insights on the future, and this conversation is no different - in the closing, we even walk through AI agents, AGI, societal and ethical considerations, and much more. Tune in, this is not an episode to miss.

As our close followers and general practitioners of Platform Ecosystems know, Sangeet is not only one of the most distinguished thought leaders, renowned for his pioneering work on platform economics but also someone who can spot the intricacies of the impacts that such phenomena have on society.

He has authored two bestselling books, "Platform Scale" and "Platform Revolution," and comes with over a decade of expertise in advising global firms and governments on crafting effective platform strategies through his organization, “Platformation Labs”.

Sangeet always has golden insights, and this episode is packed with them. He takes us through the new term he coined to describe dangerous market dynamics that key players use to “sandwich” value across multiple layers of value chains and grounds them on examples from various industries. He further challenges conventional thinking and brings fresh perspectives on the ongoing dynamism and complexity of the market.

Key Highlights
👉 Transition from platform-based business models to Sandwich Economics
👉 Dominating multiple layers of the value chain, transforming competition and power dynamics in digital markets through Sandwich Economics.
👉 Case studies on organizations that implemented Sandwich Economics: Reliance's strategic maneuvers in India, and Amazon’s creation of their own value assets.
👉Difference between vertical integration and sandwich economics - and the importance of dominating horizontal layers at an industry scale for capturing profits and exerting control.
👉 Broader societal implications of shifting economic models, and the role of digital transformation in redefining value creation, capture, and distribution.
👉 The emergence of Artificial General Intelligence, and how it makes digital economics, organizational structures, and the essence of competition even more complex.
👉 Leadership methods (decentralized/ centralized) in an era of Sandwich Economics Contrary.

Topics /chapters
(00:00) Sandwich Economics: a New Era of Competition - Intro
(00:58) Introducing Sangeet
(02:23) All things Sandwich Economics
(10:26) Why is Sandwich Economics different from Vertical Integration?
(18:17) New Ways of Competing
(24:08) Playbook of Sandwich Economics and how is it different from enshittification?
(38:28) What are the antibodies?
(46:14) Where’s this evolving to?
(49:45) The emergence of AGI and the shape of markets
(55:41) Value Creation vs. Value Capture

Remember that you can always find transcripts and key highlights of the episode on our website: https://www.boundaryless.io/podcast/sangeet-choudary-3/

Episode recorded on August 7, 2023 Get in touch with Boundaryless:
Find out more about the show and the research at Boundaryless at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://boundaryless.io/resources/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music
Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blss.io/Podcast-Music⁠⁠