WHY - HOW - WHAT
The Golden Circle of Inspiration in favor of a Agile Sport Manifesto
Conscious Reading Time: 10 minutes, Time to think and reflect: 10 to 15 minutes
Why does it need to be published?
“Being agile” these days is closely associated with Digitalisation, meaning the continuous and irreversible tracing of digital technologies and processes to all parts of life. Though the overall social impact of this development hasn’t been clarified yet, surely digital ideas and solutions are mutually encountering a dynamic VUCA-framework, i.e. a World full of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.
Couldn’t the Sporting Life under COVID-conditions between long time closed athletic clubs of the neighborhood on the one side and major apparently immaculate Sport Events like the European Championship or the Olympics on the other side be a more obvious example of VUCA patterns in the World of Sport?
Let’s face the facts: The probability that VUCA will vanish in favor of (dangerous) simplifications could and reasonably should be estimated as impossible. In other words: We, the people, have to deal with it. By heart and by senses.
As early as 1995 the - literally - “elderly white guys” of the IT-World found their way to do so: By inventing and creating Agile Frameworks such as The Agile Software Manifesto or Scrum. From this starting point on, these Frameworks have been - by all respect - consciously reviewed and continuously revisited.
Especially that is true for the Scrum Guide, an Agile Framework for operationalizing Software Development efficiently, aiming for IT-impact of high value for customers.
Now, for all of the Sport enthusiasts, here comes an amazing finding, you all should know of: Scrum - a framework for Software Development is based on five values: Commitment, Courage, Focus, Respect and Openness.
Aren’t these five values of the most influential and popular Agile Frameworks of the IT-Business similar to those of many Institutions of organised Sport?
If this is so obvious, why can’t there be found a movement or at least a published vision of Agile Transformation in the World of Sport?
So, while new innovations like eSport, Gaming, Freerunning and Virtual or Augmented Reality will change the tangible Sport Ecosystem by revolutionary speed, reach and duration, for all of its participants, why is an intangible intellectual framework missing at a state of the art, worth an authentically diverse and dynamic 21st century way?
At least, this is the state of affairs that the initiators of this Website as real agile minds and makers researched as far as the World of Sport is concerned.
Though we wouldn’t wait for a stewart firing a starting gun, but initiated a sprint with a goal that might be a shot heard around the World of Sport in another, i.e. agile way.
That is why “The Agile Sport Manifesto” came into creation.
We, the initiators, are considering this published version here as an increment, an initial piece of work reaching towards a (product) goal of high value for the World of Sport.
Though, there can’t hardly be more truth to the word than on the occasion of this first Agile Sport Manifesto increment, that the work of many would be more valuable than the sum of its parts.
So, Sports enthusiasts all over the World: Be aware, read the lines, think of it, comment, contribute.
The Agile Sport Manifesto is all yours!
How can it help to change the World of Sport?
Speaking on “How”, again the parallels between the Worlds of Software, Businesses and Sports are of very obvious patterns.
So let's help on how these correlations could be more transparent and better understood by providing some terms and definitions:
First and foremost, how should the meaning of “Being Agile” or “Agility” be understood? “Agility”, by textbook, is the skill to develop something of value for tangible or intangible needs flexibly, creatively and quickly, while controlling risks in complex environments.
Sounds like the conditions of your exercises and coaching on everyday scales, doesn’t it? So are you already getting inspired, how the Agile Sport Manifesto might benefit?
“Inspiration”, by the way, is not granting Golden Trophies to people, but a process called “the Golden Circle” - From a Vision, over to a Mission to a Product of High Value. Any athlete that works on mental fit as addition to physics should know about the impact of an Inspiration as far as the performance is concerned.
This Golden Circle of Inspiration should be an “Infinite Game” for all good leaders of teams - in organisations, businesses as well as in sport.
And there is even more: Isn’t Sport - by individuals or teams, by professionals or commons the most “Infinite Game” and at the same time “High Value” activity of all, don’t you think?
Now here comes the tricky part:
We all - as active athletes, their supporters and sponsors consider and - surely - expect that Sporting Activities are aiming for goals, performance and - to be honest - money.
The Olympic Movement's idea of performance is traced by the dictum: “Higher. Faster. Stronger.”
But how about looking for an alternative, though more agile meaning of “performance”, straight away from the shores of agile project management:
Here “Performance” equals “Stakeholder Satisfaction”, (What is Stakeholder Satisfaction? - Simplica) i.e. that all and every participant of a project is fine with its results and output. Hence to find contentment with achieved goals is of more value than striving for the victory by all means.
Again, the pure authentic Olympic Ideas might have had similar intentions.
So, when we as initiators of the Agile Sport Manifesto state, that this increment of a future artifact of the Sport Ecosystem is s obliged to the elements of Commitment, Courage, Focus, Respect and Openness, we are of two essential convictions:
Firstly, Agile Transformation in Sport will be carried out by a new grassroots development with focus on performance as individually content athletes, their teams and stakeholders beside sport organisations.
Secondly, Agile Transformation is the overall premise that changes and with chances of a fit, diverse and hybride global sport community making the future Sport prevail and prosper under new conditions.
Hence, this increment of an Agile Sport Manifesto should be considered as the first ignite torch, ready to get carried into and around the new World of Sport.
From Europe to New York, Rio, Sydney, Cairo, Tokyo.
What might be the next steps to take?
With the Agile Sport Manifesto, we, the initiators, just seeded the first straw of a grassroots development for more Agile Transformation in the World of Sport that should find the way to and within the communities and events of athletic sport authentically, autonomously and enduringly.
Hence we will publish further thoughts and backgrounds here in this blog in the future, but we are also happy about lively debates (please respect netiquette!)
Next issues to be raised might be:
“How should we organise the review of this first Increment of an Agile Sport Manifesto which might become a sustainable framework of global reach?”
“How can the idea of Agile Transformation in Sports become something which necessity should be spread, understood and conducted to initiate changes to Sport all over the World and integrate all athletic people and frameworks?”
“Do you think that the lemniscate (infinity sign, or “lazy eight”) in olympic colors is an appropriate symbol visualizing the challenge that the Agile Sport Manifesto might cause on the sincerity and authenticity of the World of organized Sport?”
“How could/would/should Agile Transformation by mindset and methods build bridges between the World of Sport and other scopes of life as well as between materialized and digital Sport?”
“Is it possible to learn more on the idea of Agile Transformation in Sport and how it might be part of future athletic lifes?”
“How should the process of translating this Agile Sport Manifesto be undertaken, considering that this definitely will be a project of cultural transfer?”
Finally, a conscious statement on our own behalf:
The Agile Sport Manifesto is a private project / initiative, based on our free opinions as well as personal and professional experiences. It is not connected to or associated with any companies, associations or other institutions.