During times of change, frustration can easily build up within teams and organizations. Even though friends of change aim to contribute to improvement a little bit every day, sometimes it simply helps to let off some steam. Complaining doesn’t have to be negative — as long as it leads to action.

The culture of an organization is often hidden in unwritten rules, habits and quiet expectations. Only when we make these implicit behaviors explicit can we understand and address the real culture. How to do this? Read more about the working format: This is how we do it.

Why this journey?

In recent years, many organizations have started working with agile methods. Teams work in sprints, use rituals and tools, and are supported by agile coaches. This has brought a lot – but true enterprise agility often remains out of reach.
Agility means more than just agile practices. It’s about direction, ownership, value, and leadership – together forming the foundation for sustainable change capacity.
At Amigos, we see that this is exactly where many organizations struggle. That’s why, over the past weeks, we’ve shared a series of posts on the key themes organizations encounter on the journey from an Agile way of working to true agility. In this blog, we bring those insights together.

The Agile Champion Connect session has been moved to Thursday, November 6 in Utrecht. Same place, same energy, just a new date. Expect inspiring speakers, interactive workshops, and of course a relaxed networking drink. Participation is free of charge, with a maximum of 50 spots available.

Looking for inspiration, workshops, and a networking drink with the Agile community? Agile Connect Utrecht – September 18. Free participation, limited spots available!

This blog from the blog series Expedition Agility discusses the practical working method "Cross the line". This is a playful and interactive way to explore what we really believe about our own role in change. By literally taking a step across a line, participants make their beliefs visible and negotiable.

In September, we’re kicking off a new Agile Champion Program. Want to join, or know someone who might be interested? Let them know! 💬

Expeditions don’t just result in stories — they offer powerful experiences and new discoveries. These stories inspire, taking you along for the ride so you don’t just hear about the adventure — you feel it. They can be a powerful catalyst for action and the spark that ignites new expeditions.

We’d love to take you along on the journey of our book, “Expedition Agility”.

Agile Connect – June 26 (15:00–17:00 CET)
Join our interactive online event where we share real-world Agile experiences, challenges, and ideas. Open to anyone looking to learn, contribute, or get inspired. Sign up and join the conversation!

This blog from the Expedition Agility series explores the practical exercise: Take a moment to be amazed today. After a day of curiosity, you’ll often come away with surprising insights. By investigating strange habits and illogical workflows with your colleagues, you’ll realize that much of what is considered "normal" is anything but.

It's almost that time again. Our next Agile Connect Event will take place on Thursday 3 April from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. This online event offers the opportunity to participate in a lively discussion and exchange of ideas about Agile in practice.

Last week, a great article about Expedition Agility was published in the Managementboek.nl Online Magazine. In this interview, we as Amigos – Els Verkaik, Jeroen Venneman, and Edwin Clerkx – share the journey that led to our book and the philosophy behind our work. We’d love to share some key insights with you.

This blog from the Expedition Agility series explores the practical exercise Focus on Value. It highlights that value is not just about what you’ve done but, more importantly, about the impact you create. Teams move beyond simply checking off tasks and focus on delivering meaningful results.

In May, we’re kicking off a new Agile Champion Program. Want to join, or know someone who might be interested? Let them know! 💬

As a complement to our book, Expedition Agility, we launched a podcast series, "De Overhoring", in January 2024 in collaboration with publisher OMJS. In this series, Job Christians (founder and director of OMJS) and authors Els Verkaik, Jeroen Venneman, and Edwin Clerkx take you through the insights and practical stories from the book Expedition Agility.
The podcast explores the six islands from the book that are essential for agility—both for you as an individual and for your team and organization (the podcasts are in Dutch only):

Our next Agile Connect Event is happening on Thursday, January 30th, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. This online event offers an exciting opportunity to engage in lively discussions and share ideas about Agile in practice.

This blog from the Expedition Agility series explores the practical exercise: The Carpet of Connection. When teams find the courage to look beneath the carpet, something extraordinary happens. Barriers that once seemed invisible take shape and become topics of discussion. More importantly, the team reflects on the deeper causes: why were these obstacles hidden for so long?

Changing the culture in an organization is a challenging process, especially when it involves embedding an agile mindset. The book Expedition Agility offers concrete tools for sustainably shifting mindset, attitude, and behavior. In this blog, I’ll share an inspiring approach based on a successful real-life experience that can help you and your team make progress toward an agile culture.

Accelerating and resting may seem to oppose each other, but in reality, they reinforce one another. Rest is necessary to accelerate sustainably, and after acceleration, structured rest is again essential. Read this blog if you want to know how to apply this in an organizational setting.

At a time when burnout and work pressure are the order of the day, I see more and more people who lose pleasure in their work or even succumb to the pressure. This makes me realize how important it is to make the workplace a source of inspiration and satisfaction again. Because work should give us energy, challenge us and help us grow. But how do we achieve that?

Last week was truly a week of celebration with our book launch and our annual Agile Connect event. Plus, our friends Jeroen and Els celebrated their birthdays.

Last week we had a great milestone: Our book Expeditie wendbaarheid is at the printer and can be pre-sold! Yoehoe, the flag can go up! It took a while to work hard to meet the agreed deadline, but now we have something we are really proud of. We can't wait to get our hands on it! If you are curious, we expect to have the book in Dutch and English on the shelves of bol.com in early September.

We would like to invite you to an inspiring afternoon on 12 September 2024 from 13:00 to 17:00 together with fellow Agile Champions from Rabobank, Avans, Liberty Global, Drive and other organisations. This meeting will take place physically.