The Agile CEO Readiness for a War You Hope to Never Fight with General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy | The Agile CEO
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Sep 30, 2025 Join General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy and a former Commandant of the Royal Marines, as he discusses transforming traditional naval operations through agility. He reveals the power of Scrum in breaking down bureaucratic walls, enhancing team morale, and fostering multidisciplinary collaboration. Jenkins highlights time as the ultimate risk for leaders and frames agility as a vital warfighting capability. His candid insights offer a roadmap for any leader struggling with inertia and seeking to inspire change.
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Going All-In After One Book
- General Sir Gwyn Jenkins discovered Scrum after reading a recommendation and invited Scrum Inc. to run an away day with his team.
- He chose to go "all in" quickly because the fallback was to rely on a few experts and he wanted broader team input.
Liberating People By Role, Not Rank
- Breaking rank and creating multidisciplinary teams freed people to apply their best skills where needed.
- The result was faster decisions, better coordination, and a highly energized workplace.
Bureaucracy Sacrifices Speed For Micro-Risk Control
- Bureaucracies optimize for micro-risk and stability at the cost of speed and clarity.
- That risk-averse stovepipe approach often loses the "golden thread" of readiness for war.