Sooner Safer Happier: Antipatterns and Patterns for Business Agility

by Jonathan Smart

a successful CoP is made up of two co-chairs and a small group of core contributors (fewer than ten people). Chairs and core contributors ensure that there is a refined backlog of show-and-tells, both internal and external. There is an open invitation to everyone and anyone; those who turn up aren’t always who you expect, helping make the company smaller and increase shared learning. And it’s okay for people to be in listen-only mode. Use social media to help facilitate sharing and finding experts. A good cadence for a CoP is meeting at least once every two weeks, a regular heartbeat. This is very important. The meeting could be a Lunch-and-Learn or it could be a meetup at the end of day that goes into the evening with an optional social activity such as drinks and pizza. For global organizations, start out in one location, getting the CoP working primarily in person if possible and with the ability to join virtually. As it grows, have regional chapters to build community. In person meetings are preferable, in addition to dial-ins. Build networks and relationships. Have a roadmap of quarterly outcomes so there is an agreed North Star for each quarter aligned to longer-term organizational North Stars, ideally. Also, bearing in mind that it’s voluntary, anything done is a bonus. Each CoP should have a senior leader sponsor, for support, to act on ideas and to pass on top table challenges, concerns, or questions. Finally, have an overall Executive Committee sponsor who can he...