Agility: How to Navigate the Unknown and Seize Opportunity in a World of Disruption

by Leo M. Tilman, Charles Jacoby

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution barrels forward and the pace of disruption accelerates, all organizations must operate with agility. But this urgent priority, now widely-accepted by senior leaders, presents a major challenge: In business, government, and warfare, agility is a buzzword. There is no common understanding of what it means, or of what it takes to be consistently agile.

In this groundbreaking book, Leo Tilman and Charles Jacoby offer the first comprehensive assessment of the fundamental nature of organizational agility and then describe the essential leadership practices for achieving it. They show that agility is far superior to mere speed or adaptability. Pinpointing its distinctive features, they define agility as the ability to detect and assess changes in the competitive environment in real time and then take decisive action. They demonstrate that agility enables an organization to outmaneuver competitors by seizing opportunities; better defending against threats; and acting as a well-orchestrated collective of teams that are empowered to take disciplined initiative.

Combining their personal experience of building and leading agile organizations, Tilman in the realm of business and finance and Jacoby in battlefield command and homeland security, they present a powerful approach to fostering agility up and down an organization, and out to its very edges. They show how to detect opportunities and threats by fighting for risk intelligence; how to pierce through complexity and unleash creativity by nurturing a culture of honesty and trust; how to meld top-down vision and planning with decentralized execution; and how to enhance strategy by recognizing organizations as dynamic portfolios of risk.

In a world where leaders and their teams must brave the unknown and step confidently forward – or risk extinction – Agility provides a vital roadmap for seizing the unprecedented possibilities of the new age and dominating change instead of being dominated by it.

Genres: Business

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[David Knapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Brene Brown's "Dare to Lead," Joe Friel's "Fast Over 50," and Arthur Yeung and Dave Ulrich's "Reinventing the Organization," I found the content of this book valuable - but the presentation of that content lacking. This wasn't quite as dense as Yeung and Ulrich's book on agility, but neither was it a particularly enjoyable book to read.

That's a shame, because the content Tilman and Jacoby cover in this book is critical for many of the leaders and organizations with which I work. However, I can't picture many of those leaders - especially those in the C-Suite - having the time and patience to work through this somewhat dry tome. Therefore, I guess it's up to me to take these important topics and "dumb them down" for the my clients. (Hmm...maybe there's a market for "Agility for Dummies"?)

Seriously, if the first nine chapters had been as enjoyable to read as the final two chapters were, I would have loved this book. (It's like they found their voice by the end of the book.) But they weren't. So I had to give it three stars...and I was torn between that rating and the same two stars I gave all three books I mentioned above.

Still, I'm glad I discovered their work. And I will draw on their content with my clients. I just wish they could have presented their insights in a more succinct and readable fashion.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much appreciate this valiant effort to recast the writings of Clausewitz to modern day risk management and business consulting. It does appear that an editor watered down many parts of the text to make it come off as more relevant with plenty of buzzwords, jargon, and overused but catchy phrases. There are gleams of light and sparks of good insight sprinkled throughout.

In books such as this, the case studies, anecdotal references, and interpretations of events, while entertaining, should be taken with more caution in developing policy and response mechanisms than the author suggests. Particular circumstances never fit the case in point as closely as it may seem and we almost never have the facts of what happened completely correct.

[Fivequotebookchallenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agility is defined in the book as "the organisational capacity to effectively, detect, assess and respond to environmental changes in ways that are purposeful, decisive and grounded in the will to win." The book challenges the traditional approach to risk as something to be avoided and offers a framework to be applied to capitalise on risks in a controlled manner. The book blends the combined experiences of Leo M. Tilman and General Charles Jacoby (Ret) referencing real world examples of successful and unsuccessful management of risk and uncertainty.

It was interesting to see the military approaches to risk and how these can be applied by organizations, especially in the modern disrupted world.

Recommended for leaders from all walks of life.

@fivequotebookchallenge

[ROBERT · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are living in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Disruption is accelerating, no organization will escape its impact. Stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and fear is upclose and personal on a global scale. The author's of "Agility" clearly state that speed and adaptability are not enough if Government and Corporate leaders want to survive and thrive in today's world and tomorrow's. Leader's will need to embrace "Agility" to be able to detect and assess changes in the environment and be able to take decisive action.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is clear: business agility is not about responding to change, too defensive. I enjoyed reading this book, with reference to war times, still practical, easy to read but will make you think.

[Backslash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good premise and helpful idea. But book was not well organized to make it easy to capture the fundamental point. Needs an editor.

[Victor V Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Rance Randle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read overall, balanced with theories, stories and real world principles that leaders face today