As part of the wrap-up and retrospective of Agile2024 – the European Experience, we sat down with Peter Coesmans, Chief Agility Officer at the Agile Business Consortium, to hear his thoughts, highlights and main takeaways from the event. Those who attended Agile2024 will no doubt have seen Peter throughout the three days, as he played the role of MC, in addition to giving his own talks. Speaking to Peter immediately afterwards, we sought to capture the overarching feeling of the event while it was still fresh.
Just a few days after Agile2024, how do you feel it went?
“What an action-packed, insightful and exhausting three days that was! It was a real privilege to see our fellow agilists in their creative flow.
"In a world where we are more digitally connected than at any other point in history, there is still no substitute for getting together in the same room to share ideas, connect with old friends, make new ones and work through problems together. Hosting this event is always a personal pleasure of mine and a highlight of the year for me.”
From your perspective, what was the main theme from the event?
“We covered many topics, but one theme that really stood out and ran as a common thread through most sessions was sustainability, and how agility has a meaningful role to play in delivering more sustainable products and businesses. Jutta Eckstein kicked off day 2 with her talk 'Creating Better Products by Focusing on Sustainability'. She showed us how sustainability needn’t be a barrier to innovation. Far from it. Today we can make our products more accessible and thus more beneficial for all. Her session showed us how, through simple changes, we can increase the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of products during their development. Even the simplest of changes can create better and more sustainable products.
“My keynote with Michael Pace, Director of Academic Practice at greenprojectmanagement.org (GPM), reflected this theme by looking at the power of the sustainable agile organisation. Most businesses are on their own sustainability journey, and a business agility journey too. There is tremendous power and opportunity in combining these journeys. Without a focus on sustainability, how can you really be providing value? Organisations need to become ever more sustainable - socially sustainable, ecologically sustainable, economically sustainable and so on.
"In our talk we looked at how business agility supports the sustainability journey. We want to start a movement in the agility world to support this, and a movement in the sustainability world to show agility is the way forward.”
Peter and Michael have co-authored a White Paper on this topic; The Agile Advantage in Sustainability Leadership: A New Paradigm for Organizational Success. If you'd like to learn more about this topic, click here to download the paper.
Any other topics or “Aha!” moments that stood out for you?
“If sustainability is one of the most – if not the most – central goals of organisations today, then coaching was firmly expressed as the best way for agilists to achieve the changes required to bring it to life. Irrespective of the goal, we all need support. No matter where we are on our journey or how much experience we have, we can all go further with the support of others. This was a strong message throughout Agile2024 and came through especially powerfully during the famous “Lightning Talks,” where the delegates have an opportunity to take to the stage themselves. Scheduled spontaneously during the conference, these 10-minute talks empowered the delegates to share their wisdom with their peers on a topic of their choice. These are always popular, and they didn’t disappoint this year.
"The various discussions around mental health, which were inspired by Cassandra Van Gelder’s talk, meant this was another standout theme for me. Looking after our mental health should always be a priority, but it is too often overlooked and deprioritised, especially when we’re busy. Cassandra gave a very powerful talk on how to create more healthy agile teams. Having worked through all manner of mental health challenges with her teams over the years, from ADHD, OCD and anxiety, to Asperger's Syndrome, autism, and Bipolar Disorder, Cassandra shared ways in which teams can work together more effectively.
"Another presentation that stood out for me was the 'Agile Strategy Beyond Frameworks' by Patrick Hoverstadt. With my own focus on agile organisations (rather than agile teams developing software), this one generated so many new inspiring insights I will want to take away and work on further.
"As delegates embraced the subject and really opened up about their own struggles, this proved to be an incredibly moving and inspiring session.”
Are there any other thoughts you’d like to add?
"I came away from Agile2024 feeling invigorated! I witnessed a community that is supportive in so many different ways. I saw breakthroughs, a few revelations and even a few tears shed among the delegates as they solved their problems with each other and for each other.
"I now have a room covered from floor to ceiling in Post-It Notes of new ideas to work through. You can’t ask for more than that!”
Please note blogs reflect the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the recommendations or guidance of the Agile Business Consortium.