Becoming Agile ― How the Seam Approach to Management Builds Adaptability

Becoming Agile: How the SEAM Approach to Management Builds Adaptability illustrates the process of becoming an agile organization. Reflecting the principles presented in The Agility Factor, readers are taken on a real-world journey of transformation and change. This short-format case study of the French company Brioche Pasquier highlights how one organization successfully implemented the principles of agility using the socio-economic approach to management, detailing each step of the process and describing how every decision brought the goal closer within reach. Readers get inside the heads of decision makers to gain insight into how tough decisions were made, how new, important, and flexible management tools were implemented, and how the necessary changes ultimately benefitted both the organization and the people who made it work. From overarching policy to day-to-day procedure, the story provides a clear example of how an agile organization is developed, giving readers a foundation upon which to implement similar changes in their own organization.

Smart companies understand the importance of agility, but identifying where and how to initiate those first steps often leads to paralysis by analysis. This case study allows readers to learn from an organization that got through the inertia and put the principles of agility into action, with incredible results.

• Understand how the principles of agility can be implemented using a specific intervention strategy
• Tailor those principles to suit any organization
• Calculate and convert the "hidden costs" of traditional organizational design into flexible, value added activities
• Formulate and execute an actionable agility strategy

Big changes require a deep understanding of the problem at hand, and a viable plan for steering the organization in a better direction. By seeing how it's been done before, organizations can take a proven approach and tailor it to their specific needs. For those tasked with formulating the agility strategy, Becoming Agile: How the SEAM Approach to Management Builds Adaptability provides invaluable insight.

CHRISTOPHER G. WORLEY is Professor of Strategy at the NEOMA Business School in France and the Strategy Director for the Center for Leadership and Organization Effectiveness. He is also a Senior Research Scientist at USC's Center for Effective Organizations.

VERONIQUE ZARDET is Professor of Management at IAE Lyon, University Jean Moulin, France and Director of the ISEOR Research Center at University of Lyon.

MARC BONNET is Professor of Management at IAE Lyon, University Jean Moulin, France and Deputy Director of the ISEOR Research Center.

AMANDINE SAVALL is a PhD researcher at ISEOR, Lyon, France and examines management of international practices in family-owned businesses.