3 Reasons Agile Strategies Drive Innovation in Any Industry

In 2001, a group of software developers created the "Agile Manifesto," a framework designed to speed up processes and improve collaboration. Over time, Agile has expanded beyond software to help organizations across all industries become more adaptive, efficient, and customer focused. 

Today, embracing agility means uniting teams to work smarter and faster, delivering better results to customers. But what does this look like in practice, and why should organizations care about agility? Let’s break it down. 

What is Agility? 

At its core, agility is all about increasing a team's ability to achieve its goals efficiently. This concept otherwise is the key to maximizing your use of time, resources, and effort. Agility isn’t limited to one type of organization. Whether it’s a company like McDonald’s improving food prep times or Disney crafting magical customer experiences, agility allows teams to work smarter by aligning their processes to a clear objective. 

Agility focuses on making constant improvements, reacting swiftly to changes, and prioritizing customer needs at every step. This allows for faster innovation at every stage of your workflows, so your team can adapt to new challenges or expectations quickly, and consistently achieve important operational goals. 

Why is Agility Important? 

Regardless of industry, time is always a valuable commodity. Teams are under pressure to find ways to increase output while lowering costs. Adopting agile strategies helps organizations accomplish more by reducing waste, avoiding inefficiencies, and ensuring everyone stays focused on what matters most: delivering value to the customer. 

Here are three reasons agility can significantly impact your organization: 

1. Enhanced productivity: By continuously reassessing priorities and focusing on what moves the needle, teams can work more efficiently and spend time on tasks that deliver the most value. 
2. Higher employee engagement: Agility allows employees more flexibility and control over how they get things done. This sense of ownership fosters higher job satisfaction and greater collaboration. 
3. More customer-centered thinking: Agile teams deliver ongoing value by consistently considering customer feedback, ensuring products and services evolve alongside new customer needs or demands. 

What Does Agility Look Like? 

In practice, agility means breaking down complex projects into smaller phases, allowing for regular feedback and adaptation. 

Imagine two teams trying to build a product to get from point A to B. One team works without clear milestones, only revealing the finished product at the end. The other team hits milestones early, iterates based on feedback, and continuously improves the design. 

The second team, following agile principles, wastes less time, incorporates customer needs throughout the process, and delivers a better result. Agile strategies are highly effective in fostering this kind of collaboration and iteration. 

But achieving agility doesn’t just happen by flipping a switch -- it’s about creating a culture where continuous improvement becomes second nature. To help your team embrace agility, you can follow these steps: 

• Establish a clear purpose: What’s your team’s north star? Define a clear objective that unites everyone. 
• Measure success: Use KPIs or other performance metrics to track how effectively your team is moving toward its goal. 
• Align actions: Ensure all activities and workflows contribute to achieving the main objective, with no wasted effort. 
• Regularly evaluate progress: Continuously assess your workflows to identify areas for improvement. 
• Iterate and improve: Use feedback to make necessary adjustments and increase efficiency. 

By fostering an environment of agility, organizations can enhance productivity, adapt more quickly to changing demands, and deliver better results to customers. 

Industry-Specific Benefits of Agility 

Agile strategies can offer benefits to organizations in nearly any industry, helping to increase efficiency and flexibility, making it easier to achieve better outcomes. Here’s how agility can impact a few key industries: 

• Manufacturing: With agile strategies, manufacturers can streamline operations, reduce downtime through proactive maintenance, and drive innovation across production teams. 
• Healthcare: Agility helps healthcare facilities respond rapidly to issues like equipment breakdowns, improving patient safety and operational efficiency. 
• Government: By adopting an agile approach, government organizations can better manage infrastructure, extend asset lifespans, and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently. 
• Education: Educational institutions can use agility to accelerate maintenance, prioritize critical needs, and improve decision-making across stakeholders. 
• Senior Living: For senior living communities, agility helps improve care plans, enhance resident satisfaction, and streamline maintenance workflows to create a more appealing environment. 

Why Agility Matters 

Agility is no longer a strategy exclusive to software -- it’s now critical for any business that wants to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. 

We’ve developed a full-length guide on “Why Agility Matters” that dives deeper into how to apply agile strategies in your organization, what it looks like and doesn’t like, and how Brightly can help you become more agile to ensure that your team is always aligned, productive, and ready to adapt to changing demands. 

Want to learn more about how agility can transform your organization? Download the full “Why Agility Matters” guide here.