What does it mean to be an agile business? It means remaining nimble and change-focused, responding to daily and weekly challenges without losing sight of your vision. Here is a nine-step framework to make it happen.
Why Agility Matters Now More Than Ever
The business landscape is shifting faster than at any point in history. As David Maples discusses on The Buck Stops Here podcast, artificial intelligence alone will impact 80% of businesses within 18 months, with 30% being fundamentally restructured.
Companies that cannot adapt quickly will not survive. But adaptation does not mean chaos—it means having a framework that enables rapid response while maintaining direction.
The good news? This framework already exists. Software development has been perfecting agile methodologies for decades, and these principles translate directly to any business challenge.
The 9-Step Agile Business Framework
1. Define Vision and Objectives
Start with clear goals. What are you trying to achieve? If you are implementing new sales training, your objective might be “close 20% more deals” or “improve sales rep effectiveness by a measurable amount.”
Without a clear destination, no framework can help you get there.
2. Break Into Manageable Tasks
Here is the rule: if you cannot explain a task in 5-10 seconds, it is too large and needs to be broken down further. Each task should be completable within 1-2 weeks.
Large, ambiguous projects paralyze teams. Small, clear tasks create momentum.
3. Prioritize Using MOSCM
Not all tasks are equal. Use the MOSCM method to categorize:
- Must have: Non-negotiable; the project fails without these
- Should have: Important but not critical; can be deferred if necessary
- Could have: Nice additions if time and budget permit
- Will not have (Wishes): Future phase aspirations; out of scope for now
This clarity prevents scope creep and ensures the most important work gets done first.
4. Include Stakeholders
Avoid top-down isolation. If you are revamping sales training, involve sales managers, trainers, and top performers in the decision-making process.
People support what they help create. Exclusion breeds resistance.
5. Organize Into Sprints
Work in defined time blocks—typically 1-2 weeks. During each sprint, focus exclusively on completing the highest-priority tasks identified for that period.
Sprints create urgency, enable focus, and provide natural checkpoints for evaluation.
6. Hold Daily Check-ins
Brief 15-minute meetings where each team member reports:
- What they accomplished yesterday
- What they plan to do today
- What obstacles are blocking progress
These check-ins surface problems quickly. If someone discovers their Audible account is not working and they cannot complete training, the team knows immediately—not at the end of the sprint.
7. Conduct Retrospective Reviews
At the end of each sprint, review what was completed. What worked well? What did not? What would you do differently?
This is not a blame session—it is a learning opportunity. Honest retrospectives are where teams actually improve.
8. Adapt and Iterate
Based on retrospective findings, adjust your plans. As Maples notes, “Rules are meant to be bent. And if a rule does not work, you should break it.”
Rigid adherence to failing processes is not discipline—it is stubbornness. Adapt based on what you learn.
9. Gather Customer Feedback
Share progress with internal and external stakeholders. Your “customers” might be the accounting department benefiting from better sales data, or actual clients experiencing improved service.
Feedback loops ensure you are building what people actually need, not what you assume they want.
Do Not Forget to Celebrate Wins
Acknowledge team accomplishments and completed milestones. Recognition boosts morale and reinforces the behaviors you want to see repeated.
Change is exhausting. Celebration provides the energy to keep going.
Applying This to AI Adoption
This framework is particularly valuable for navigating AI integration. As Maples warns, “You do not want to be caught flatfooted when this shows up in your organization in 6-12 months.”
Use this framework to:
- Define what AI adoption success looks like for your organization
- Break the initiative into small, testable experiments
- Prioritize which use cases to tackle first
- Learn rapidly from each sprint and adjust
The companies that thrive through disruption will not be those that tried to plan everything perfectly upfront. They will be the ones that moved quickly, learned constantly, and adapted ruthlessly.
This article is based on Season 3, Episode 2 of The Buck Stops Here podcast: “Adopting an Agile Mindset.”