Welcome to Auspicious Agile

Auspicious Agile is all about using Agile successfully in the Enterprise, in business, as a leader and adapting Agile methods for Asia.  So first a little background on me:  My name is John Okoro, I have worked in the technology and consulting space for nearly two decades, and have used Agile methods for roughly seven years.  I started my career working for a Big 6 consultancy (now Big 4) and have seen a wide range of projects in numerous industries.  Throughout my career I have been responsible for leading projects and teams.  In this blog I hope to bring insights that I have developed throughout my career, as well as valuable insights from the many colleagues and peers I have worked with along the way.

Agile as discussed here refers to the combined group of methods that derive from the Agile Manifesto (http://agilemanifesto.org), Lean principles, and related methods.  These include but are not limited to:  Scrum, Kanban, XP, and SAFe.  One consistent theme that I have encountered with these and other Agile methods is the need for an approach to leverage Agile at all levels of the Enterprise (from teams up to executives).  The need for Agile leadership principles that align with the use of Agile methods (Servant Leadership, empowering teams, vision casting), and Agile business methods (Lean Start-up, Design Thinking) are also quite consistent.

Finally, Agile methods in Asia call for additional consideration in applying to different cultural contexts from those found in the US and the West.  There is often more hierarchy, and the pronounced need to approach Agile from both a Leadership and Team level to be successful.  Enterprises, in particular in China are often much larger with technology groups numbering in thousands instead of hundreds as is frequently seen in the West.  I hope to address these nuances and promote a fun and lively discussion on these topics as well.

I look forward to highlighting stories, cases, and insights each week that will help each Agile practitioner, agilist, and participant in this conversation to practice Auspicious Agile.  Have a great week ahead.  John.