Book Review: Adopting Agile Across Borders

by the Scrum Inc. Team | August 26, 2021 | Blog

“Agile adoption isn’t just about organizational transformation. It’s a cultural change; and cultures tend to be disposed to change – or not – in unusual ways.”

That passage, from the forward of a recently published book, perfectly captures the added complexity of adopting Agile across multicultural teams and organizations. Solving that complexity is essential in the modern (and increasingly distributed) business world.

Glaudia Califano and David Spinks spent a significant amount of time examining if there is such a thing as a universal “Agile culture” and how people from different cultures adopt Agile to suit them. Califano and Spinks captured real-world case studies, researched different types of cultural types, behaviors, and communication styles (including spending time with Scrum Inc. Japan). They also identified patterns of high-performing multicultural teams. 

Adopting Agile Across Borders; A Guide to Navigating Cultural Complexity in Agile Teams and Organizations is the culmination of their effort and a fascinating and insightful read. It even made our 2021 Scrummer Reading List.  

You can download and read this excerpt of Adopting Agile Across Borders.

If you’re an Agilist, Product Owner, Scrum Master, Leader, or someone interested in learning how to harness diversity through real-life stories told by members of the global Agile community, this book is worth your time.