How agile is your business?

Competition is a massively under-used tool when it comes to driving performance. Without adequate competition both internal and external teams will fail to raise their game. How many times have you been through the insource, outsource, centralise, decentralise loops in your career? Did any really deliver on the promises they made?

Ironically it is the very act of trying to introduce competition which often leads to a lack of it. Similarly attempts to remove risk often introduce it, as risk-averse teams typically avoid early testing rather than embracing it. Lengthy tender processes inevitably lead to complex contracts with hidden single supplier lock-in clauses and a complete lack of ongoing competition. If they are to be truelly world class, teams need competition all the time, not just at the outset.

So what is the 501 challenge?

There is a commonly believed myth that agile approaches only work for small projects. The 501 challenge aims to blow this myth apart. Choose your biggest and ugliest project and put the contingency budget to work. With just 10% of the overall budget an agile approach will always deliver better performance than the main project. But don't just take our word for it - try it for yourself.

Only having a single solution to any problem is by definition a complete lack of competition. Work out a way to introduce competition and you will raise the bar. High performing, agile teams welcome and thrive on competition, non agile teams do everything they can to avoid it!