Agile culture and leadership

This episode follows up on the words of the guests from our previous episode, who said that agile transformation is primarily a cultural transformation. We will be talking with two Czech companies. We’ll look at the Brno-based IT company Kentico, which has been developing agility long-term and is a pioneer of innovative approaches in the field of agility in the Czech Republic. As a contrast, there will be the engineering company ICE Industrial Services, which relatively recently introduced agility in a manufacturing environment.

Why should you watch this episode?

• The episode contains minimal theory and a maximum of practical examples and stories from Czech companies.
• You’ll learn which organizational structure supports an agile culture and which can actually kill it.
• The guests will share how they got to where they are with agility today, what worked for them along the way, and what didn’t lead to the goal.

What will you take away?

• What is the role of leaders in an agile organization?
• Tips on how to practically create the environment necessary for agile principles and methods to work.
• How to change the company environment (reward systems, structure and goal setting, etc.) so that it leads to a shift in mindset and company culture.

Who are the guests?

Petr Palas

Petr Palas is the CEO and founder of Kentico Software, a Brno-based company that is one of the pioneers of the agile approach in the Czech Republic. Kentico creates solutions for managing content on the web and other channels. Since 2004, it has helped customers in 120 countries tell their stories in the digital world. Kentico started with agile more than ten years ago. Since then, it has learned that agile cannot be limited to just the product. At Kentico, agile thinking starts with leadership and is applied across the entire company. After years, Kentico has developed its own approach to agile, based on close connection between employees and customers, sharing context, and shifting responsibility and decision-making to individual teams.

Tomáš Vránek

Tomáš Vránek is the CEO and founder of the first Czech industrial company to officially abolish hierarchical structure. ICE Industrial Services is one of the most significant Czech automation companies. It supplies machines and lines to 30 countries worldwide for industries such as automotive, engineering, and metallurgy. At ICE, decision-making based on values and trust is deeply rooted. They describe themselves as operating like a hockey locker room. They are gradually eliminating management and introducing an organization based on agile principles, personal responsibility, and self-management. Tomáš is the recipient of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Vysočina Region 2019 award.