Why an Agile Mindset is Critical to Success
Jan Becker has nearly 20 years of broad IT experience in the healthcare sector. During his time as CIO of Curalie, he focused on developing digitally supported business models, pioneering digital solutions, and sustainably transforming the healthcare system. While preparing for his new role as CIO and cofounder of cuno.health, Becker realized two things: customer-centric development of digital products would be critical to organizational success, and Driving Organizational Agility—Virtual would be the perfect vehicle to make it happen.
Why did you choose to attend Driving Organizational Agility—Virtual?
In today's fast-shifting world, it's very important to be prepared for all future challenges. We need agility at all levels of the organization, not only in top-level management. To ensure success, an agile mindset must be implemented across the culture. I wanted to dive deeper into how to lead that transformation, and that's why I chose to attend the Driving Organizational Agility—Virtual program.
What is the key program takeaway that you've brought into your professional life?
The main takeaway for me was that it's hard to connect agility to the mindset and culture of a company. Agility isn't something you can write about in a strategy, vision, or mission statement. People at all levels of the organization have to really live it.
Did the program provide any unexpected learnings/experiences for you?
Yes, I was surprised to learn how important customer centricity is to organizational success. If you want to be agile, you have to understand your customer. It's imperative to create a customer-centric environment so you can really focus on and delight your customer.
Who would be the right fit for this program, and how should they prepare for it?
People who want to drive an agile organization are the right candidates for this program. To prepare, think about your own organization: Is it agile on the team level? On the management level? The program connects learning concepts to real-world cases so you get the best of both worlds.
What were the benefits of the virtual aspect of Driving Organizational Agility—Virtual?
I live in Germany, so the virtual program was much easier timewise. It would have been a huge effort for me to travel around the world to take the program in person. Because my time wasn't limited, I had the flexibility to adapt my normal work to the schedule of the virtual program.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering this program?
It's very important to be active in the program. Engage with your peers and the HBS faculty, be transparent during group discussions, and don't be afraid to ask questions. In the end, you get out of the program what you put into it.