In the last two years, numerous Managers approached me, asking an opinion about propositions they got from very known consultancy firms regarding "Agile Transformation Initiatives." Noticing common traits, I came up with the name of "Cosmetic Agile." What are the pros and cons of this approach? When could it be useful? Is it worth the money? How to recognize "Cosmetic Agile" and how would it be different from a real Agile approach?

1. THE HYPE OF THE “COSMETIC AGILE”
HTTP://PAOLO.SAMMICHE.LI

2. PAOLO SAMMICHELI – AGILE BUSINESS COACH

3. AGILE ORGANIZATIONS
In the last four years, I've been lucky enough to visit companies around
the world with excellent Scrum implementation. Thanks to my dearest
friend Joe Justice, the kind folks at ScrumInc, many other respected
colleagues and friends, I observed Agile Organizations from a diverse
set of fields: Aeronautics, Aerospace, Manufacturing Industries, IoT,
Fintech and Software.

6. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hype-cosmetic-agile-paolo-sammicheli/

9. WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS?
THE COSMETICS AGILE DRAWBACKS

10. PROBLEM 1
COSMETIC AGILE WILL NOT MAKE YOU AGILE, PERIOD.

11. PROBLEM 2
IT'S EXTREMELY COSTLY.
THAT'S THE REASON
ALMOST EVERY
CONSULTANCY FIRMS
TODAY OFFERS AGILE
SERVICES, WITHOUT EVER
TRIED IT THEMSELVES.

12. PROBLEM 3
IT'S A SHALLOW CHANGE,
WILL NOT LAST.

13. PROBLEM 4
MANY PROCESSES ARE
IMPLEMENTED IN
A CARGO-CULT WAY.
SO THE DESIRED AIM IS
NOT ONLY NOT ACHIEVED
BUT ALSO NOT EVEN
UNDERSTOOD.

14. PROBLEM 5
THE PROPOSITION COMES
FROM CONSULTANCY
FIRMS THAT NEVER TRIED
AGILE FOR THEMSELVES.

15. PROBLEM 6
EXPECTED RESULTS AND
BENEFITS ARE NOT PRESENT IN
THESE KINDS OF PROPOSALS.
THESE CONSULTANCY FIRMS
ARE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT,
AND THE RESULT IS OFTEN
OPINION BASED AND NOT
RELATED TO ROI.

16. PROBLEM 7
IT WILL NOT BE A
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
BESIDES, NOTHING THAT
CAN BE EASILY BOUGHT OR
COPIED HAS EVER BEEN A
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
DOES IT?

17. HOW TO SPOT IT?
THE COMMONS TRAITS IN THIS PROPOSALS

18. HOW RECOGNIZE IT ?
IT'S A VERY CLEAR, EASY
TO UNDERSTAND, AND
REASSURING MODEL TO
IMPLEMENT.

19. HOW RECOGNIZE IT?
IT'S A WATERFALL PLAN
FOR AN AGILE
TRANSFORMATION.

20. HOW RECOGNIZE IT?
COSMETIC AGILE LOOKS
LIKE A PICTURE.

21. HOW RECOGNIZE IT?
THEY ARE CUSTOMER-
CENTRIC, SILOED,
COMMAND & CONTROL,
MATRIX ORGANIZATIONS.

22. HOW RECOGNIZE IT?
IT'S COPY-PASTED FROM
THE SO-CALLED "SPOTIFY
MODEL”.

23. HOW RECOGNIZE IT?
THERE'S NO TRACE OF
FEEDBACK LOOPS AND
CONTINUOUS
ADAPTATION.

24. HOW RECOGNIZE IT?
TOP MANAGEMENT IS NOT
INVOLVED IN THE
TRANSFORMATION PLAN.
THEY JUST SIGN THE
CHECK.

25. HOW SHOULD IT BE?

26. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
IT WILL LOOK LIKE WEIRD
AND SLOW TO
UNDERSTAND. DIFFERENT
FROM ANYTHING ELSE
PREVIOUSLY SEEN IN
BUSINESS SCHOOL.

27. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
IT WILL NEED YOU, AS A
MANAGER, TO BE ON THE
STEERING WHEEL OF THE
BOAT, NOT IN THE FIRST
CLASS CABIN DRINKING
CHAMPAGNE. THE CHANGE
START FROM YOU!

28. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
IT WILL BE A PROCESS,
SOMETHING THAT NEVER
ENDS.

29. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
YOU WILL TAKE DECISIONS
BASED ON SMALL AND
FREQUENT EXPERIMENTS.

30. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
YOU WILL NEED EXTERNAL
TRAINING AND COACHING
SUPPORT ONLY TO BUILD
YOUR INTERNAL
CAPABILITY.

31. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
IT WILL NOT PROGRESS
LINEARLY, ALONG THE TIME.
SOMETIMES IT WILL LOOK
LIKE NOTHING PROGRESS
AND OTHER TIMES YOU'LL
SEE ACCELERATIONS THAT
YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING.

32. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
SOME PEOPLE WILL LEAVE,
OTHERS WILL JOIN.
SOMEBODY WILL LOVE IT,
OTHERS WILL HATE IT.

33. HOW SHOULD IT
BE?
YOU'LL MAKE MISTAKES.
SOME MISTAKES WILL
LEAD TO SOMETHING
GOOD YOU WEREN'T
EXPECTING.

36. DARK SCRUM IS EVIL, BECAUSE IT HURTS PEOPLE
IF YOU USE IT YOU’RE A BAD PERSON, AND YOU’LL BURN IN THE HELL!

37. THANKS, LET’S STAY IN TOUCH!
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