Autonomous End-to-End Delivery Streams: Structure teams as mostly-autonomous units responsible for end-to-end delivery of marketing initiatives, from strategy development to execution and analysis. Equip teams with a diverse range of skills necessary for handling situations autonomously while ensuring they have the authority to act upon information promptly. This autonomy enhances the team’s ability to respond to market changes and healthcare professionals’ needs rapidly.
Capability and Value Stream Integration: Define each team’s role within the broader context of delivering business value to customers. Teams should understand how their work contributes to the company’s value streams, encouraging a holistic approach to marketing strategy and implementation. This understanding promotes alignment with the company’s goals and ensures that marketing efforts are coherent and strategically focused.
Design and Support Ownership: Encourage a culture where teams that design marketing strategies or campaigns are also responsible for their execution and ongoing support. This ownership ensures that teams are fully invested in the success of their projects and encourages a deeper understanding of the market and the effectiveness of different approaches.
Thoughtful Team Formation and Autonomy: Form teams deliberately, considering the need for cross-functionality and autonomy. Teams should be capable of operating within a collaborative ecosystem, with autonomy defined by their ability to access self-service tools and make decisions based on their expertise. This setup encourages innovation and allows teams to leverage their unique strengths effectively.
Fostering Collaboration Through Shared Objectives: Establish shared objectives across teams to encourage collaboration rather than competition. Leadership should facilitate this collaboration, ensuring that teams work together towards common goals. An agile PMO (Project Management Office) or similar structure can help coordinate efforts and maintain transparency, ensuring that multi-team initiatives are successful.
Long-Lived Teams for Competitive Advantage: Recognize the value of long-lived teams that develop deep expertise over time. Avoid frequent reformation of teams; instead, focus on evolving existing teams and occasionally rotating members to spread knowledge and foster innovation. This approach maximizes the return on investment in team development and positions the organization for long-term success in a competitive market.
Agile Funding Process: Adapt the funding process to support agile operations, moving away from project-based funding towards capability-based funding. This shift allows for more flexible resource allocation, enabling teams to adapt to changing market needs and opportunities quickly.
Applying these principles not only enhances agility and responsiveness but also builds a strong foundation for sustained competitive advantage. Through careful organizational design and a commitment to agile principles, companies can create an environment where teams thrive, delivering exceptional value to customers.
