O R G A N I Z A T I O N D E V E
Developing the Capability to Be Agile
V P Kochikar, PhD, Infosys Technologies
M P Ravindra, PhD, Infosys Technologies
Abstract
Organizations must increasingly view their compe-
tency development challenges in terms of the need to
be agile. This paper defines the notion of agile capabil-
ity and deconstructs it into its constituent competen-
cies. These competencies are depicted in the form of an
agile capability ‘stack’ – a layered set of the competen-
cies that collectively constitute agile capability. This
deconstruction is carried out by instantiating the con-
cept within one industry, the technology industry.
However, the concept of agile capability is widely ap-
plicable. Our objective is to place the notion of agile
capability firmly in organizational competency devel-
opment discourse, and help its conscious cultivation.
Introduction
The Need to be Agile
Agility, or the ability to respond quickly and effec-
tively to environmental change, is a critical organiza-
tional imperative. This paper is wri?en against the
backdrop of well over a decade’s first-hand experience
developing the people competencies that Infosys Tech-
nologies needs to successfully design and deliver solu-
tions to customers. Some challenges faced on its
competency development ‘journey’, and responses are
enumerated. The paper examines how organizations
must increasingly view their competency development
challenges through one unified lens: the need to be
agile.
The paper has a somewhat deep and encompassing
objective: to deconstruct the capability to be agile into
its constituent qualities, and thus promote a deeper
understanding of this crucial capability. This, it is
hoped, will help an organization that has identified
the need for agility to build it consciously.
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L O P M E N T J O U R N A L
Organizations must
increasingly view their
competency development
challenges through one
unified lens: the need
to be agile.
Accordingly, the paper defines the notion of agile ca-
pability, and brings out some conceptual and practical
aspects. It then develops the concept, enumerating the
competencies of being agile, in the form of the agile ca-
pability ‘stack’. This development is carried out here
by implementing the concept within the technology
industry. However, the concept of agile capability de-
fined here is applicable to any industry.
The Infosys Competency Journey
Infosys Technologies is a global company providing
business and technology consulting services, and has
over 72,000 employees in 14 countries including India,
the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and China. For pur-
poses of exposition, Infosys’s competency develop-
ment initiatives are described along a time line split
into three “periods”. Table 1 details the first two peri-
ods. It must be stressed that the focus, themes, busi-
ness challenges, and initiatives enumerated in each
period are not exclusive to that period – the focus of
the first period was not abandoned, and the themes
and business challenges of the first period did not
cease to exist at the end of that period. Rather, they
must be seen as cumulative.
Table 1. The Infosys competency journey: a glance (the first two periods)

“Period” Defining Key characteristics / initiatives Milestones achieved

Theme / chal-
lenge

Primary Building a ro- Growth: Supporting growth Supported annual revenue growth rates
Focus on bust, scalable through high-volume course ranging from 30% - 100%.
Scalabilityi competency delivery.
engine Employee strength 200 (1991) to 10000
Early 90s - Quality: Ensuring courses are (2002).
2002 well-designed and delivered.
1500 course offerings annually.
Coverage: Providing education
along four competency dimensions Annual volume of education delivery:
: technology, process, and 200,000+ person-days (consumed).
behavioral skills.
Space dedicated for education – 200,000
square feet.

Primary Showing External assessment: Certifying Flagship 16-week Foundation Program

Focus on demonstrable courses against accepted external that inducts fresh engineers into software
Valueii links education standards. development certified, using US CSAB
between and ABET criteria.
1998-2006 competency Comprehensiveness: Extending
development education to cover the added 1300+ distinct courses available across all
and business dimensions of advanced the dimensions and delivery modes.
need technologies, industry verticals,
leadership skills Internal certification on technology, verti-
cal and project management skills based
Asynchronous course delivery: on a 5-level competency model.
Extending the modes of course
delivery beyond the classroom: Career progress tied to certification
E-learning, distance learning,
knowledge management. Increased business footprint – specialized
“academies” within solution groups.
Employee certification: Certifying
employee competency through Education at any worldwide location.
assessment against defined
framework. Employee strength has grown to 72000.

Broadened geographical foot- 3000 course offerings annually.

print: Extending availability of
education across geographies. Annual volume of education delivery:
600,000+ person-days (consumed).

Space dedicated for education touched 1

Million square feet.

The Notion of Agile Capability
Strong competencies, whether of individuals or of or-
ganizations, are central to organizational well-being.
The school of strategy thought known as competence-
based competition - pioneered by Penrose (1959) and
Wernerfelt (1984) – holds as an article of faith that or-
ganizations must view themselves not just as creators
of products but as collections of competencies, and un-
derstand how their competencies contribute to com-
petitiveness (Kochikar and Ravindra, 2004).
Considerable literature, of a scholarly as well as of a
more accessible nature, has been devoted to compe-
tency (Leonard-Barton 1992). The importance of agility
too is known (for example, Tripsas and Gave?i 2000).

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From a practical standpoint, the
notion of agility continues to be
afflicted with a certain degree
of opaqueness.
From a practical standpoint, however, the notion of
agility continues to be afflicted with a certain degree of
opaqueness. Most managers, asked to enumerate the
qualities that constitute agility, would list a few intel-
lectual and mental faculties such as receptiveness to
change, and the ability to learn continuously. How-
ever, from a competency development perspective, a
partial list is of limited use, and a need has long been
felt to comprehensively deconstruct agility into its
constituent qualities. Only then can an organization
set about the task of imbibing - and imparting - the ca-
pability to be agile.
At a deeper level, this paper also seeks to dispel the
idea that agility is purely, or even largely, an a?ribute
of mindset: for example, consider the ability to learn
continuously. While this ability certainly demands a
mental outlook of embracing change, it is also a func-
tion of many a?ributes that have li?le to do with
mindset: subject knowledge, the ability to consult the
right sources, learning techniques acquired over time,
and so forth.
Agile capability must be defined
not as an overlay or an “add on”,
but as an organic whole that
includes knowledge of the
discipline.
Thus, the capability to be agile is defined in terms of a
bundle of competenciesiii, some relating to subject
knowledge, some to the skills required to excel at tasks
demanded by the discipline, and others to mindset. It
is worth noting that in such a view, the capability to be
agile is inextricable from the specific discipline. It is
unrealistic, even utopian, to define a generic concept
of agility that encompasses the ability to transition ef-
fortlessly across disparate disciplines. The notion of
agile capability has meaning only when delimited by
the context of a specific discipline, or a few closely re-
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lated disciplines. It is partly for this reason that agile
capability is not defined as an overlay or an “add on”,
but as an organic whole that includes knowledge of
the discipline. Another motivation for such a “wholis-
tic” approach to the notion of agile capability is that,
from a developmental standpoint, it is hardly ideal to
first make a person competent in the discipline and
then add on the capability to be agile. Agility must be
“baked in”, preferably from the start.
Agile capability can thus be defined as the ability of an
individual or organization to extend or reconfigure ex-
isting competencies, or acquire new competencies, so
as to deliver continued high performance in the face of
rapid environmental change.
The next task is to enumerate those competencies that
need to be extended, reconfigured or acquired. A sub-
sequent section does precisely that. For the moment, a
pause to revisit the question of why agile capability is
a concept worthy of a?ention.
What, in Practical Terms, Does Agile Capability Mean?
The need to be responsive to change appears self-evi-
dent. However, it is pertinent to ask, does the capabil-
ity to be agile really make a difference to how an
organization thinks or behaves? Is this difference valu-
able in ways that are meaningful? Table 2 sums up the
characteristics of an organization (or organizational
unit) with agile capability. To illustrate agile capability
in action, consider the camera manufacturers Canon
and Nikon. They had leadership positions in the con-
ventional (film) cameras, and as conventional camera
technology faded away to be replaced by digital pho-
tography in the 21st century, were able to reconfigure
their competencies to be leaders in digital photogra-
phy. Intel during the 1980s made the transition from
RAM memory chips to microprocessors. IBM retooled
to emerge a formidable competitor in Information
Technology services. In retrospect it can be seen that
these companies could transition successfully because
they embodied the spirit of what we refer to as ‘agile
capability’.
Collecting the ingredients that
make up agility under the ambit
of one concept, and according it
the status of an explicit
capability will enable it to be
consciously cultivated.
VOLUME 25  NUMBER 4  WINTER 2007 P129
Thus, although the term ‘agile capability’ is being de-
fined here, the ingredients that go to make up agile ca-
pability have long been known to companies that have
thrived in the face of business and technological
change. It is our fervent belief that collecting these in-
gredients under the ambit of one concept, concretizing
that concept, and according it the status of an explicit
capability will enable it to be consciously cultivated.
Table 2. Characteristics of an organization (or unit)
with agile capability
The ‘Agile Technologist’ – An Integrated View
Consistent with our concept of agile capability as
being inalienable from a specific discipline, we de-
velop the concept further by instantiating it within the
technology industry. The technologistv functions
within a complex ecosystem of entities that collectively
work to meet the needs of the business. In this context,
the competencies that describe an agile technologist
are enumerated. Some competencies relate to knowl-
edge of technology, some to the skills required to
apply it, and others to mental faculties.

Characteristic / Typical Organization A. Technology Adeptness

Feature Organization / /Unit with
Unit Agile Capability This cluster of competencies refers to an understand-
ing of the principles governing the discipline (in this
Alertness to Minimal to Mod- High case, technology), and the ability to apply those princi-
technology and erate ples well .
business change
1. Strong conceptual and theoretical foundations:
Responsiveness Reactive Proactive Learning new competencies entails the
to technology instantiation of a general concept /theoretical
and business construct into a new domain, and hence a firm
change grounding in the foundations of the relevant
discipline is essential. To illustrate, consider a
Competence Current task Current task
person who fabricates electronic circuits for
Focus competence – competence –
Television receivers. Only by means of a firm grasp
High High
of the principles that govern the behavior of
television receiver circuits, that such a person is
Future task com- Future task com-
likely to be able to fabricate receiver circuits to
petence – Low to petence – High
perform a similar but unfamiliar function – say the
non-existent
reception of High Definition TV signals.
Vulnerability to Moderate to Lowiv
disruptive High 2. In-depth, applied knowledge of 2-3 specific
change technologies: It is unlikely that one can acquire
the ability to apply a new technology without
Retain customers
having applied at least one specific technology.
and acquire new
Further, a given product often involves multiple
ones
technologies. Another factor is an increased
Competitive po- Largely a fol- Consistently confidence in one’s ability to grasp new
sition in the in- lower, and re- capitalizes on knowledge.
dustry and how mains so. changes in the
it evolves over competitive sce- 3. Quality and process understanding: A thorough
time nario and over understanding of the principles of quality, and the
time, ascends to processes by which products are designed and
a leadership po- delivered are important. In a context of rapid
sition in the in- change, these assume enhanced importance as it is
dustry. As a easy to compromise quality by omi?ing or
leader, is able to arbitrarily simplifying complex processes to
fend off chal- deliver faster. While compromises may sometimes
lenges to its be acceptable, knowing what compromises can be
leadership. made, and when, is critical to avoid coming up
with half-baked or unusable products.

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4. Socialization and Problem Solving: This includes
he competencies of understanding, formulating New knowledge frequently occurs
and solving common problems that arise in the at the boundaries of disparate
discipline, and of communicating and influencing
disciplines. Any business problem
various quarters, both internal and external to the
organization.
that is sufficiently complex has
facets rooted in diverse
B. Integrative Thinking disciplines.

This cluster includes the following.

2. Ability to synthesize knowledge from a wide
1. Ability to see the business and user perspective:
Specific competencies include an understanding of
the broader business context of the organization, a
familiarity with business models in various
industries, an awareness of market realities of
specific technology platforms and vendors, an
understanding of the link between technology
solutions and customer need, and an appreciation
of Intellectual Property (IP) issues.
range of disciplines: New knowledge frequently
occurs at the boundaries of disparate disciplines.
Any business problem that is sufficiently complex
has facets rooted in diverse disciplines. A
well-rounded person is also more likely to have
greater confidence in facing the unknown, and to
exude greater credibility. Specific competencies are
an awareness of disciplines including Economics,
Sociology, Decision analysis, and Organizational
behavior.

Figure 1. graphically depicts the competencies of being agile, in the form of an Agile Capability “Stack”.

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3. Big-picture understanding of the role of
Technology in business and society: An
appreciation of how society influences technology
and vice-versa helps provide the context and basis
for all the technologist’s beliefs, motivations and
actions.
C. Technology Change Mastery
1. Technology Alertness: This set includes the ability
to sense changes, both imminent and medium-
term, in the technology landscape. It also includes
an awareness of techniques to stay abreast of
developments, such as research methodology, a
knowledge of reference sources and search
techniques (including internet search), an ability to
develop new sources of knowledge such as peer
and professional networks, and an ability to use
research and advisory services.
2. Adaptiveness - Continuous learning, receptiveness
to change, pre-empting change.
4. Innovativeness - Creativity, ability to break
barriers (disciplinary, organizational).
Using the Notion of Agile Capability at Infosys
As the Infosys competency journey stands poised at
the threshold of the rapid change that the future is cer-
tain to bring, the key operative descriptor that charac-
terizes every aspect of competency development, and
suffuses it with a sense of urgency, is agility. We now
present the third period – with its focus, not surpris-
ingly, on agility.
Conclusion
Perhaps inevitably, the organizational unit tasked with
the mission of enabling employees must play a pio-
neering leadership role in acquiring the agile capabil-
ity needed to meet the constantly changing needs of its
internal customers.

3. Ability to influence change. – Change facilitation, As can be seen, although our enumeration of the com-
thought leadership, knowledge leadershipvi . petencies that constitute agility has largely been spe-
cific to the technology industry, the concept of agile
capability, as well as much of the agile capability stack

Table 3: The competency journey: a glance (the third period)

“Period” Defining Theme / Key characteristics / Milestones

business challenge initiatives
Primary Rapid and effective re- Se?ing up internal dis-
Focus on sponse to business change course on the complex
Agilityvii skill set required to thrive
in the coming business
and technology environ-
ment.
envisaged
Raw competencies defined, (agile ca-
pability stack), currently being re-
fined. Detailed competency blueprint
under definition.

An integrated approach Collaborative academic partnerships.

2006-
to competency.
Diverse mechanisms –
synchronous, asynchro-
nous, internal, external,
self-discovery.
Leverage external expert-
ise be?er
Every Infoscion (as employees are
called) regarded as a proven consult-
ant, offering performance enhance-
ment for clients.
Personal development plans span-
ning entire competency spectrum.
Thought leadership via strong repre-
sentation in external fora, standards-
se?ing bodies.

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are generally applicable to companies in any industry
that seek to sustain high performance in the changing
competitive arenas of the future.
References
Brazell, J., T.M. Devinney and D.F. Midgley (2000)
“Customer value and strategic competence: a
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Sanchez and A. Heene, Helsinki, June.
Hamel, G. and Prahlad, CK (1992) Le?er to the Editor,
Harvard Bus. Review, May-June., p 164.
Leonard-Barton, D. (1992). “Core capabilities and core
rigidities: A paradox in managing new
product development”. Strategic Management
Journal, Vol. 13, Summer, pp. 111-125.
Kochikar, V P (2000) “The Knowledge Management
Maturity Model - A Staged Framework for
Leveraging Knowledge”. KMWorld 2000
Conference, Santa Clara, CA, Sep.
Kochikar, V P and Ravindra, M P (2004) “The
Enterprise ValueStack Model vis-à-vis Hamel
& Prahalad’s Core Competency Approach: An
Analysis” Internal Tech. Report, Infosys
Technologies.
Penrose, E. T. (1959). The Theory of the Growth of the
Firm, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Tripsas and Gave?i (2000) “Capabilities, cognition,
and inertia: evidence from digital imaging”.
Strategic Management Journal, Vol 21, Issue
10-11 , Pages 1147 - 1161
Wernerfelt, B. (1984). “A Resource-based View of the
Firm”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 5,
No. 2, pp. 171-180.
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Authors’ Reflection
Dr. M P Ravindra is Senior Vice President and Head –
Education & Research (E&R). He reports to the Mem-
ber of the Board in charge of HRD and E&R. Dr V P
Kochikar is Associate Vice President – Education &
Research and reports to the Head – E&R.
The year was 2006. As we looked back on the Infosys
competency journey (depicted in Table 1), we could
see that the first two periodsviii of this journey, where
the primary drivers were scalability and business
value, had been weathered well. A robust, scalable
competency engine – one of the corporate world’s
largest – had been built. The functioning of this engine
had been a?uned to meet the needs of the business.
However, looking ahead, it could be seen with equal
clarity that formidable business challenges loomed.
The accelerating pace of technological and business
model change and the growing talent crunch meant
that every member of the Infosys family would need
to develop a new ability – the ability to respond rap-
idly and effectively to change. And so, agility was
identified as the crucial element that was to be added
to the capability profile of each employee. It was thus
that the initiatives set forth in this article were born.
Initially, we assumed that since agility was hardly an
alien term in the competency literature, the term must
be well defined and understood, and mechanisms to
impart it well established. However, the reality turned
out to be somewhat different, and we thus felt that we
must document our experiences, and the learnings ab-
stracted therefrom, for the potential benefit of others
who may be in a similar position of having to impart
the capability to be agile.
In conceptualizing and carrying out this initiative,
being managers with significant experience in the or-
ganization proved an asset. We knew the expectations
that the clients and the business had on the compe-
tency front. We had had long experience with impart-
ing competency to employees, and understood their
mindset and aspirations well. Importantly, we had the
social capital so vital to gaining credibility with the
unit heads and other senior managers. While an exter-
nal consultant may well have brought in a fresh per-
spective or greater conceptual wherewithal, we felt
that this ‘inside understanding’ was critical, and could
not have been duplicated by an external consultant.
VOLUME 25  NUMBER 4  WINTER 2007 P133
Authors’ Bios

Dr. V P Kochikar works for Infosys Technologies

(NASDAQ: INFY), a leading provider of IT consulting
and solution services, as Associate Vice President and
Principal Consultant. His focus is in the areas of strate-
gic foresight, and building agile capability in the or-
ganization. Email: kochikvp@infosys.com.

Dr. M P Ravindra has extensive experience in technol-

ogy, in the industrial, academic and government sec-
tors. He is currently Senior Vice President at Infosys
Technologies (NASDAQ: INFY).

Endnotes
i
Secondary Focus on Value and Agility.

ii
Secondary Focus on Scalability and Agility.
iii
It is worth noting that the terms capability and
competency are used interchangeably in the literature
(Hamel and Prahlad 1992, Brazell,, Devinney and Midgley
2000).

iv
The best firms here practice “auto-disruption”.

v
Technologist, most generally, refers to a person
playing a specialist role in any field of technology. Our use,
while being consistent with that sense, refers to a person in
computer software technology.

vi
For more on knowledge leadership, see Kochikar (2000).

vii
Secondary Focus on Scalability and Value.

viii
We would be amiss if we failed to emphasize at this
point the fact that these ‘periods’ are purely an artifact of
this paper, and intended for purposes of elucidation only; al-
though the authors have, between them, played strong roles
at every single stage of the competency journey enumerated
in all three periods – and these roles have included the lead-
ership of the key competency development function - the
term ‘period’ itself finds no echo in the competency dis-
course of the organization. Of course, only the abstraction of
the ‘period’ is artificial – the remainder of the competency
journey described, including the defining themes, chal-
lenges, initiatives and milestones represent reality and
would be recognizable to anybody in the company.

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