We experience change daily in everything we see around us, as we live in a world full of complexities. So, how do we navigate a complex environment?

I still remember when I first arrived in Vienna. I wanted to validate my train ticket after purchasing it but couldn't find a machine. I asked a gentleman on the platform for help. I will never forget his smile as he said, "Did you buy the ticket? So it’s ok, make it simple. That’s all."

I smiled back and thanked him. But those words kept echoing in my mind: “make it simple.”

Simplify and prioritize. In two words: “lean thinking.” This approach, in everyday life as well as in work contexts, can help us clarify and order our priorities according to personal preferences.

Lean thinking is the foundation of the Agile mindset, a methodology that became widespread in 2001 thanks to the Agile Manifesto, promoted by Kent Beck, Robert C. Martin and Martin Fowler, among others.

Speaking of Agile, we can also refer to more specific work frameworks, one of the most popular being “Scrum”.

Scrum is used for managing the development of complex products. It has a simple and flexible structure, allowing teams to adapt quickly to changes and continuously improve the development process.

Some of the basic concepts of the Scrum framework are related to its “pillars” and “events.”

The pillars serve as a guiding structure for the entire Scrum framework, while the events structure the team's work and promote collaboration and transparency.

Transparency, inspection and adaptation are the three pillars: a clear understanding of the project's key aspects, the ability to detect issues early (while still manageable), the capability to respond quickly to changes and new information. All this is aimed at keeping the project on the right track.

Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review and Sprint Retrospective are the events with defined time-boxes, adjusted according to the length of the relevant Sprint (except for the Daily Scrum, which has a fixed duration of 15 minutes).

Each event has a specific goal, but together they aim to develop flexibility, adaptability, continuous improvement, collaboration and communication: one unified pulse focused on value and quality.

In a world of constant change and evolution, change is the only constant. To face ever-new challenges, we need equally new and effective strategies.

So, simplify and prioritize. Make it simple.