HR MEETS AGILEChris Philipps@The Secret HR Society

June 30th 2016

cphilipps@me.com

Chris Philipps

Tech Advisor for Startups / VCs

Interim CTO

Agile Enthusiast

In Tech since 2000

…and still NO clue about HR :-)

WHY AGILE?

We need to find an answer to constantly changing requirements

and big disruptions in a fast-paced world

that gets more and more complex

Agile is probably not the ultimate answer - but the best we have found so far

Agile provides… - mindset (values and principles) - best practices, tools and theories for complex environments

MINDSET Agile Values and Principles: - Trust - Collaboration - Feedback - Transparency - Openness - Commitment - Respect - Focus - Courage

MINDSET

Dan Pink’s “Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose”

THEORY Complexity Theory e.g. Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Model

THEORY

TOOLS - Retrospectives - Stand-up meetings - Iterative approaches (“Sprints”) - Testing (“A/B-Testing”) - Collaborative, interdisciplinary problem-

solving approaches (“Open Space”)

AGILE HR 2026 - Thesis 0: Hyperagile businesses are

standard.

AGILE HR 2026 - Thesis 0: Hyperagile businesses are

standard. - Thesis 1: Agile is the new normal.

Everywhere.

AGILE HR 2026 - Thesis 0: Hyperagile businesses are

standard. - Thesis 1: Agile is the new normal.

Everywhere. - Thesis 2: Post-heroic management has

succeeded, heroic managers joined the dinosaurs

AGILE HR 2026 - Thesis 0: Hyperagile businesses are

standard. - Thesis 1: Agile is the new normal.

Everywhere. - Thesis 2: Post-heroic management has

succeeded, heroic managers joined the dinosaurs

- Thesis 3: There are no hierarchies anymore

AGILE HR 2026 - Thesis 4: HR is

- Trust Agent - Change Facilitator - Sparring Partner for personal growth

AGILE HR 2026 - Thesis 4: HR is

- Trust Agent - Change Facilitator - Sparring Partner for personal growth

- Thesis 5: Recruiting still plays a role, but HR mainly helps identifying meta-skills rather than specific technical skills in a fast and standardised way

AGILE HR 2026 - Thesis 4: HR is

- Trust Agent - Change Facilitator - Sparring Partner for personal growth

- Thesis 5: Recruiting still plays a role, but HR mainly helps identifying meta-skills rather than specific technical skills in a fast and standardised way

- Thesis 6: Bureaucratic B.S. is dead / fully automated

CHALLENGES - No good alternatives for classical “career-

path” yet - Contemporary HR is biased (“Those who care

are the those who kill”) => Role Conflict

- What is the value HR can add? Still needed?

EXAMPLES

ONLINE RESOURCES: Dan Pink on Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Simon Sinek: On “Why” https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

Spotify Engineering Culture https://vimeo.com/85490944 https://vimeo.com/94950270

Tribal Leadership http://www.culturesync.net/tribal-leadership-book/

Radical Management http://www.stevedenning.com/

Cynefin Model / Complexity Theory http://andrewcerniglia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Cynefin_Framework.pdf