Market Leadership with The Agile DNA Date:   Tuesday , December 01, 2009 “The flexibility and speed with which organizations incorporate feedback is a measure of their capability to innovate and create economic value. Such organizations have the Agile DNA.” Few companies define their stated objective to be: Catapulting customers to market leadership position. Because such a strategy requires intense focus and application of all creative energies of the organization to success of the customers rather than self. When profitably applied, focus on leadership position of customers creates market-leading companies. The agile DNA strives to achieve exactly that by constantly helping companies maximize opportunities for themselves and their customers. Maximizing Opportunities through Innovation Markets forces change with time and so do organizations. Companies drive change or are driven by them. The changes can be slow and subtle or rapid and decisive. Companies need to be in a constant state of preparation to be able to set the direction of these changes or exploit new opportunities profitably. A big challenge or change can turn out to be a bigger opportunity when viewed from that lens. Being innovative is the surest way to attain this state of perpetual preparedness and application of the “opportunity lens”. Just as sparks of brilliance do not make fire in the absence of Oxygen, innovation must be a continuous and organized process –Institutionalized, in order to be sustainable. Institutionalizing Innovation Innovation is a discipline that can be perfected through a vibrant work culture and rigorous application of processes that are aimed towards exploiting opportunities, interpreting intermediate results and constantly incorporating market feedback. Building the agile DNA to achieve this requires constant focus on developing people, maximizing their effectiveness and constantly exchanging two-way candid feedback at every level. When this is done in partnership with customers, it brings sustained economic value to both organizations involved. Customers value it when they get the “Agile DNA”. Our Experience with Institutionalizing Innovation We at Kuliza, consistently strive to catapult our customers to market leading position by inculcating leadership at every level. Our career framework encourages multi-dimensional growth of our people, while requiring people to develop deep technical/ functional expertise in their area of focus at the same time. People at every level are encouraged to provide inputs, communicate and provide candid feedback to people at any other level in a constructive way. How we deal with difficult feedback and situations is what makes us vibrant and agile. Customer value being pushed back and challenged when it improves overall results and helps them become market leaders! Such an entrepreneurial spirit has created the India’s fastest growing offshore product Development Company. Measuring Innovation As a discipline and an organized process, innovation has its own metrics indicating successes and failures. Intermediate success parameters and metrics for financial control, quality and people practices are all drastically different for innovative organizations as compared to established businesses. The innovative organization has only one goal – market leadership in a profitable field doing things differently to solve present challenges. Innovation and the Agile DNA Building the Agile DNA is a journey and not an end. Yet, once set in motion, its value is felt far and wide. When institutionalized, it becomes a cultural as well as a strategic tool for creating lasting value.