How Fujitsu and Four Fortune 500 Companies Managed Time Complexities Using Organizational Agility
Daniel Gerster, Christian Dremel, Kieran Conboy, Robert Mayer, Jan vom Brocke
This study examines how established companies can manage time-related challenges during digital transformation by using organizational agility. It presents a detailed case study of Fujitsu's successful attempt to set a Guinness World Record and analyzes four additional cases from Fortune 500 companies to provide actionable recommendations.
Problem
In today's fast-paced business environment, large, established enterprises struggle to innovate and respond quickly to market changes, a challenge known as managing 'time complexities'. Traditional methods are often too rigid, leading to delays and failed projects, highlighting a gap in understanding how to effectively manage different dimensions of time—such as deadlines, scheduling, and team coordination—during complex digital initiatives.
Outcome
- Organizational agility is a crucial capability for managing the multifaceted 'time complexities' inherent in digital transformation, which include timing types, temporal interdependencies, and individual management styles. - The study identifies two effective approaches for adopting agile practices: a selective, 'bottom-up' approach for isolated, high-pressure projects (as seen with Fujitsu), and a proactive, 'top-down' implementation of scaled agile for organization-wide challenges. - Key success factors include top management commitment, empowering small, dedicated teams, creating 'agile islands' for specific goals, and leveraging a strong partner ecosystem. - Agile practices like iterative sprints, focusing on minimum functionality, and fostering a culture that tolerates failure help organizations synchronize tasks and respond effectively to unexpected challenges and tight deadlines.
Host: Welcome to A.I.S. Insights — powered by Living Knowledge. I’m your host, Anna Ivy Summers. Host: In business, time is everything. But what happens when managing time becomes more complex than just meeting a deadline? Host: Today, we’re diving into a fascinating study titled, "How Fujitsu and Four Fortune 500 Companies Managed Time Complexities Using Organizational Agility". Host: With me is our expert analyst, Alex Ian Sutherland, who has studied this work in depth. Alex, welcome. Expert: Great to be here, Anna. Host: This study examines how established companies can handle time-related challenges during digital transformation. It uses a really unique case—Fujitsu’s attempt to set a Guinness World Record—to draw some powerful lessons. Host: So, let's start with the core problem. The study talks about ‘time complexities’. What does that actually mean for a business? Isn't it just about being faster? Expert: That's the common misconception. It’s not just about speed. 'Time complexities' refer to all the tangled ways time impacts a project. Expert: Think about it: you have hard deadlines, which is 'clock time'. But you also have dependencies, where one team can't start until another finishes. That's about sequencing and coordination. Expert: Then add in different team schedules, time zones, and even individual management styles—some people thrive under pressure, others don't. The study found that large companies really struggle to juggle all these temporal dimensions, especially when they're trying to innovate. Their traditional, rigid processes just can't keep up. Host: That makes sense. It’s a much richer view of time. So how did the researchers untangle this problem? Expert: They took a really practical approach. They conducted an in-depth case study of a single, high-stakes project at Fujitsu. Expert: Fujitsu decided to set a Guinness World Record for the largest animated tablet PC mosaic—coordinating over 200 tablets to act as a single screen. And they had an immovable deadline of less than three months. Host: Wow, no pressure there. Expert: Exactly. It was the perfect pressure cooker to observe these time complexities in action. To make the findings more robust, they then compared the Fujitsu case with four other Fortune 500 companies that were also using agile methods to tackle their own large-scale challenges. Host: So what was the secret sauce? What did the study find was the key to managing this complexity? Expert: In a word: agility. But a very specific, intentional form of organizational agility. It's the capability to not just move fast, but to sense and respond to unexpected problems. Host: We hear the word 'agile' a lot. What did it look like in practice here? Expert: The study identified two distinct and effective paths. For Fujitsu's one-off, high-pressure goal, they used what you could call a 'bottom-up' approach. Expert: They created an 'agile island'—a small, fully dedicated team, led by a project manager who was given extraordinary power to bypass normal rules, control the budget, and make instant decisions. Host: So they were shielded from the usual corporate bureaucracy. Expert: Precisely. For the other companies facing broader, organization-wide digital transformation, a more structured, 'top-down' approach was needed. They implemented scaled agile frameworks across entire departments to change how everyone worked, not just one team. Host: This is fantastic. So for our listeners leading teams and businesses, what are the key, actionable takeaways? Expert: I’d boil it down to three main points. First, leaders need to re-think how they see time. It’s not just a resource to be managed; it’s a dynamic challenge with multiple dimensions. Acknowledging that is the first step. Host: Okay, so a broader perspective on time. What’s second? Expert: Second, choose your agile strategy wisely. Are you tackling a specific, high-stakes project? Then maybe the 'agile island' model is for you. Create a small, empowered commando team and protect them from the rest of the organization. Expert: But if you're trying to change the entire company's metabolism to compete with new rivals, you need a more systemic, top-down approach with clear executive sponsorship. Host: And the third takeaway? Expert: Empowerment isn't a buzzword; it's a prerequisite. The Fujitsu team succeeded because top management trusted them. They made it clear that failure was an option, which gave the team the psychological safety to experiment and solve problems quickly. The project manager insisted on this before he even took the job. Host: That’s incredibly insightful, Alex. So, to recap: managing time in the digital age is about more than just speed; it’s about navigating 'time complexities'. Host: Organizational agility is the key capability, and businesses can adopt it through a targeted 'bottom-up' approach for special projects, or a broad 'top-down' transformation for systemic change. Host: And none of it works without genuine empowerment and a culture where it's safe to fail fast and learn. Host: Alex Ian Sutherland, thank you so much for breaking that down for us. Expert: My pleasure, Anna. Host: And a big thank you to our listeners for tuning in to A.I.S. Insights. Join us next time as we continue to explore the ideas shaping the future of business.
Organizational Agility, Time Complexities, Digital Transformation, Agile Practices, Case Study, Project Management, Scaled Agile
