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Responding to new market conditions or competitors -

The first and arguably most important advantage of agile businesses is that they are more able to respond to changing market conditions.

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Responding to new market conditions or competitors -

No matter how good your product or service is, sooner or later there will be adverse macroeconomic conditions or a new competitor you need to deal with, and agility helps with that.

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Solving and responding to problems -

Agile businesses are also better at solving problems. Whether it’s supply chain issues or internal disruptions, problems are a daily reality for all businesses.

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Solving and responding to problems -

Organizations that achieve agility are more able to recognize these problems proactively and solve them before they become business critical.

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Launching new products and services -

Enterprise agility also fosters a culture of innovation, making it easier and more natural to launch new products and services.

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Launching new products and services -

If you are more senior in your organization, bear in mind that creating an atmosphere of agility is a great way to outmaneuver your main competitors.

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Minimizing time spent internally -

And last but not least, achieving agility is a great way to ensure that time is used efficiently within your organization.

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Minimizing time spent internally -

Agile businesses are generally more efficient because their managers can more easily recognize inefficiencies and eliminate them.

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Robust data streams -

In order for a business to be agile, it needs to achieve four main things. The first is robust data streams. No business can operate with agility if it doesn’t have objective data.

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Robust data streams -

It should therefore be a business priority to establish robust data streams for each area of the business. Performance should be measured and analyzed across the business to work out the necessary actions.

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Fast decision making -

Secondly, businesses need to be able to make fast decisions. If a new competitor comes out of nowhere, for example, your business needs to be able to react in a matter of weeks, not months.

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Fast decision making -

Practically, this often means getting rid of slow, heavily bureaucratic systems and replacing them with more decisive and efficient ones.

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Flexible systems -

Agile businesses also need to be flexible, and that goes for their tech infrastructure as well as their operational workflows.

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Flexible systems -

If neither of these are able to accommodate rapid fire changes or expansion, your business will struggle to achieve the agility it needs.

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Innovation -

And, finally, an agile business needs some sort of engine for innovation. When you think that the opposition to innovation is maintaining the status quo, it sort of goes without saying.

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Innovation -

For agility to be really effective, there needs to be an engine of innovation that supports new ideas for products and services.

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Encourage entrepreneurial thinking and autonomy -

If you are keen to make your business more agile, a good first step is to actively encourage entrepreneurship and autonomy among your employees.

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Encourage entrepreneurial thinking and autonomy -

If you are an employee yourself, do your best to start thinking like an entrepreneur. Make your own decisions and solve your own problems wherever possible.

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Foster clusters of small teams -

If you are a manager, bear in mind that it is best to divide your workforce into small teams. Big, hierarchical organizations are by nature unagile.

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Foster clusters of small teams -

Do your best to work closely together in small teams, and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy that limits agility.

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Avoid becoming too accustomed to anything -

Another tip for both managers and employees is not to become too accustomed to anything in the business.

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Avoid becoming too accustomed to anything -

This goes for people, software, workflows, and even culture. Do your best to remain flexible, and you will be better at incorporating new ideas.

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Cut whatever isn't working -

As a manager, you also need to be ready to cut anything that isn’t working. This is a truth that people often find difficult to swallow.

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Cut whatever isn't working -

Whether it’s a new lead generation strategy that just isn’t showing results, or a new marketing strategy that doesn’t quite fit, you need to get rid of the dead weight.

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Focus on sprints, instead of marathons -

Again, this one can be tricky because it’s important for businesses to think in the long term, but when it comes to planning, it’s best to think in sprints, not marathons. Don’t plan your major projects too far in advance. Instead, work on projects in short sprints to keep your organization nimble and prevent wasted effort.

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Check in regularly -

Last but not least, be sure to check in with your people regularly. Again, this goes for both employees and managers.

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Check in regularly -

Talk to each other about how things are going, and don’t be afraid to give feedback about how things could be improved and made more agile in the future.

Sources: (Entrepreneur)

See also: Top tips for writing a successful business plan

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