Joshua Kerievsky on the Joy of Agility -- It’s Not Just for Software Companies

CEO of Industrial Logic, author of Joy of Agility

Episode page with video, links, transcript and more

Joining us for Episode #475 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Joshua Kerievsky, the founder and CEO of Industrial Logic, one of the oldest and most well-respected agile consultancies on the planet. 

Since 1996, Joshua and his global network of colleagues have helped people in teams across many industries leverage the wisdom and power of modern product development methods. An early pioneer and practitioner of Extreme Programming, Lean Software Development and Lean Startup, Joshua most recently crafted “Modern Agile” to help people and organizations benefit from a principle-based approach to agility.

Joshua is passionate about helping people produce awesome outcomes via genuine agility. He is an international speaker and author of books including most recently, Joy of Agility: How to Solve Problems and Succeed Sooner.

In today's episode, we discuss how “agility” doesn't strictly mean “Agile” in software. How was Joshua inspired by leaders including former Alcoa CEO Paul O'Neill? What can all kinds of organizations learn about the art of evaluating experiments in ways that lead to more improvement and greater innovation?

Questions, Notes, and Highlights:

• What's your “origin story” when it comes to these methods?
• Agile is an adjective… “ready ability to move with quick, easy, grace” — resourceful and adaptable
• It's not just about speed, but also quality?
• Do you recall when you were first introduced to “Lean” — was it via “Lean Startup” early days?
• The Industrial Logic name?
• “Process” sounds bad? Why is that?
• Toyota – enabling bureaucracy vs. limiting bureaucracy
• SAFE experiments
• Paul O'Neill admiration – safety 
• 2012 The Power of Habit book
• What does safety mean in software?
• The risk of mistakes — expensive $$ decision… small tests of change???
• The art of evaluating experiments? Keep going? Pivot or persevere?
• For those who don't know, what's “agile” vs. what you describe as “agility”?
• This is NOT a book about software development
• Driving out fear like Deming?

The podcast is sponsored by Stiles Associates, now in its 30th year of business. They are the go-to Lean recruiting firm serving the manufacturing, private equity, and healthcare industries. Learn more.

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network.