Story 16: Agile
The story: They were both in agile mode and pleased about it. Then he rewrote the entire plan in a single morning. She pushed back: agility is not chaos. He said flexibility was the whole point. Same badge, two methodologies.
What it means for organisations: Methodology labels are among the most reliable sources of false alignment in organisations. Agile, lean, customer-centric: these travel fast and land differently in every team, and the label does something a plain instruction cannot. It gives each person's existing preference a name that sounds like a shared standard. He was not ignoring the method. He was citing it.
Where next?
Read the comic as text
The Alignment Gap, Story 16
by Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. (weallagreed.com)
Scene 1: The office
An office with a bookshelf, plants, a hanging lamp, a pinboard, and a desk with a laptop. Axel and Ally, both wearing matching yellow T-shirts that say "AGILE MODE: ON," share an enthusiastic high five. No one speaks.
Banner between scenes: “What could go wrong?”
Scene 2: The new plan
A whiteboard titled "NEW PLAN" is covered in arrows, crossed-out steps, and redrawn charts. Axel, still in his "AGILE MODE: ON" shirt, gestures proudly at the board. Ally, in her matching shirt, stands with her hands on her hips, unimpressed.
Axel: We changed the whole plan this morning!
Ally: Wait – agility isn't chaos!
Axel: But isn't it about flexibility?
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