Uncertainty is fast becoming the new word when you think of global markets, with seismic shifts in geopolitical activity over the past decade alone, it’s not surprising that predicting what will happen next is nigh on impossible. From Brexit to COVID-19, inflation to interest rates, the world’s markets have undergone radical periods of highs and lows. Gone are the days of sustained business practices and hope to incrementally climb the profit ladder, now is the time for agile business transformation.
As the Middle East copes with the ever-changing landscape around them, businesses in the region are faced with the challenging task of remaining relevant and competitive. Customer expectations have increased dramatically and the need to react quickly to these demands is higher now than ever. If the Middle East wants to keep pace, its traditional approach to business operations is no longer sufficient to ensure sustained success.
In this context, this is why the adoption of agile methodologies stands as a non-negotiable strategy, enabling Middle East businesses to navigate through these uncertainties whilst fostering innovation, adaptability and sustainable growth.
Agile is more than just management speak. It’s a culture that underpins a business transformation. It’s about abandoning old rigid practices in favour of adaptive strategies. Agile takes complex objectives and breaks them into smaller, manageable goals, allowing teams to progress quickly, gather customer feedback and refine their approach, step by step.
These steps are created in a smaller timeframe, with the ability to review more frequently, allowing businesses the time to react to ever changing customer expectations, technological enhancements and global market shifts.
Within the “Agile World” there are many methodologies available, the more well-known being: Scrum, Lean Six Sigma and Kanban. Scrum prioritises organised collaboration and timed sprints, Lean Six Sigma – a fusion of efficiency-focused Lean principles and data-driven Six Sigma techniques – provides an effective toolkit to optimise processes. In my experience, I have found that using both the Scrum framework and Lean Six Sigma methodology work well in driving a cultural change throughout a business.
The capacity to pivot strategically ensures businesses remain ahead of the curve. There have been many high-profile examples where a failure to be agile to an ever-changing market has taken down some of the world’s top companies, the most famous being Blockbuster vs Netflix. It’s well documented that Blockbuster had the chance to purchase Netflix, it failed to see the change in customer expectations.
Netflix saw this evolution and were agile enough to change their business model from postal DVDs to a streaming site thus transforming the home video rental market forever.
Implementing agile is no easy task. It requires a full mindset shift that starts from the leadership and cascades down. Leaders must embrace and champion a culture of flexibility, empower their teams to experiment and create an environment where failures are seen as progress. Operating processes need to be re-thought, re-imagined, keeping the customer at the heart of everything the company does.
Forgo with traditional compartmentalised departments in favour of a more cross-functional collaboration to allow for open communication and faster decision making. Lastly, invest in people. Give them to training and tools necessary to help drive the change. Create an environment where out of the box thinking is applauded, progress is rewarded, and success is celebrated.
The shift to an agile mindset has already started in the region. UAE government agencies have taken a real initiative to drive real transformation in their operations. Creating competition between agencies with the ‘customer happiness’ survey has shown a real drive for each agency to change quickly with the customer being the focal voice of transition.
Making innovation a key pillar in its strategy, the UAE is fast becoming the hub for business transformation. Exhibitions and conferences such as GITEX and STEP are examples of an increasing drive to push innovation and with Saudi’s 2030 vision, it’s clear the Middle East is using agile business methods to push towards a more innovative business landscape.
In conclusion, the Middle East’s journey towards agile business transformation is one that has already begun, and business have a decision to make, are they brave enough to make that leap, can they get out of the shackles that maybe past success keeps them in?
Or will they revert back to what’s comfortable? One thing is for sure, uncertainty will remain, change is constant, and customers will become more demanding. The question for all Middle East businesses is: do you want to prosper or perish?
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