Navigating Agility and Change – Lessons from Volkswagen’s Recent Headlines

Volkswagen Group made headlines today, though unfortunately, not for positive reasons. As the world’s second-largest carmaker by production volume, Volkswagen is reportedly considering closing three plants in Germany. My sympathies go out to the employees, who must be understandably anxious about their jobs. I wish them the best and sincerely hope these drastic measures won’t be necessary.

This headline underscores a critical point relevant to companies across industries and scales: such events rarely happen overnight. Often, they are the result of small, missed signals over years, building up and culminating in a drastic outcome like the one Volkswagen faces today.

In a recent interview with Tagesschau, Stefan Bratzel, Prof. Dr. and Director of Automotive Management at Fachhochschule Bergisch Gladbach, highlighted a key issue for Volkswagen. According to Bratzel, the company needs to accelerate its decision-making and streamline internal processes. While calls for leaner, more flexible systems are frequent, implementing agile and lean processes effectively is a complex task. Volkswagen has been on an agile transformation journey—so how did it end up here?

The Challenge with Agility and Transformation

Interestingly, Gallup recently reported that “Everyone wants agility. Everyone thinks they understand it. But only 18% of U.S. employees say their company is agile.” Organizations are making substantial investments in agile frameworks, yet results often fall short of expectations. This is not just a problem with processes; it's a leadership issue. Many companies adopt frameworks like Scrum or Kanban and expect immediate cultural change. Yet agility is not a set of processes or tools; it’s a mindset that requires a fundamental cultural shift.

Around two years ago, I began writing Agile Kata to illustrate that agility goes beyond frameworks. Frameworks provide roles, events, artifacts, and guidelines—a great starting point but not the destination. An agile mindset is not something acquired in a two-day training or even from a book; it needs to be continuously practiced and ingrained. This is where Kata comes in—practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent. Agile Kata emphasizes this continuous practice, helping teams develop new habits that make agility sustainable.

The Gap Between Aspiration and Practice

Gallup’s findings point to a widespread disconnect: while many companies aspire to agility, only a minority actually practice agile principles. I’ve observed this repeatedly—companies install frameworks, wave the “mission accomplished” flag, and release their agile coaches, expecting long-term agility. Unfortunately, this often leads to teams that become skilled at following a process rather than learning the process of continuous improvement and change.

Concerns with Volkswagen’s Strategy

What concerns me about Volkswagen’s current strategy is the mention of three-year plans. This approach feels outdated—a big-bang, project-driven method that stands in contrast to true agility. The fast-changing market requires adaptability that extends beyond a multi-year plan.

Agile Kata as an Alternative

Agile Kata offers an alternative—a universal pattern for continuous agile improvement that focuses on adaptability, experimentation, and iterative progress. I encourage companies facing similar challenges to consider experimenting with Agile Kata. Start small, learn as you go, and adapt based on real-time insights.

Agile Kata has tremendous potential for sustainable change, and I hope it inspires continuous, meaningful transformation in your organization.