Thank you very much. Today, I want to engage you in a business agility case study. Imagine a company with more employees than Walmart, more fulfillment centers than Amazon, a higher market cap than Apple, and more customers than McDonald’s. This company operates in all 50 states, serves approximately 74 million daily customers, has about 3.6 million managers, 9,000 executives, and 13,500 independent business units.
Now, consider the challenges this company faces: outdated technology, inefficient product delivery methods based on an old factory model, and a lack of worker training that hasn’t kept pace with real-world needs. Moreover, these 13,500 independent business units operate under their own disconnected structures and bureaucracies. If you were in charge, what would it take to change a company like this?
As business agility experts, you know it would take every tool in your toolbox to address these challenges. But before we dive in, I should be more precise—I’m not talking about a company. I’m talking about the K-12 public education system in America. It is massive, entrenched, and painfully antiquated. We have a big problem to solve, but we can solve it.
The Problem: A Failing Education System
Does this look like the face of a satisfied customer?
Students are the primary customers of the public education system. But here’s the sad reality—it doesn’t work optimally for anyone. Not for students. Not for parents. Not for hardworking educators. Not for taxpayers. And certainly not for business leaders like you who rely on the education system as a talent pipeline.
Why I’m Here
My name is Jason Gould, and I’m with a nonprofit called America Succeeds. We are a national coalition of business leaders dedicated to modernizing the education system and creating meaningful workforce pathways for all students.
I was here last year for the first time, not knowing much about business agility. But I quickly realized that agility was not just a buzzword—it was a business practice that could revolutionize education. The insight I gained led me to speak at the Agile Business Consortium in the UK, at a conference fittingly titled Building Generation Agile.
Welcome to the Age of Agility
We live in an era where innovation has outpaced our expectations. Who here owns a Roomba? We saw that coming, right? The Jetsons predicted it. How about an Apple Watch? Another prediction turned reality.
Yet, despite all this advancement, our education system remains stuck in the past. Rows of students. Sterile environments. A teacher at the front. In some cases, we’ve even replaced teachers with robots, but we’re still using chalk! From the Flintstones to the Jetsons, we’ve struggled to reimagine education.
The Age of Agility Report
We wrote a report called The Age of Agility: Education Pathways for the Future of Work. This report highlights both the moral and economic imperatives of modernizing education.
If we expect students and workers to be agile, responsive, critical thinkers, and problem solvers, then our education system must reflect those same principles.
The Future is Changing, but Education is Not
We had to show the world how fast things are changing and how education is falling behind. We highlighted key advancements:
- Supercomputing and big data analytics
- Factory automation and mass production
- AI-powered logistics eliminating human labor
- Robotic surgery replacing traditional medical procedures
- Autonomous vehicles transforming transportation
Despite all this progress, the human element remains crucial. It’s not just about technology—it’s about the people who create, maintain, and innovate with it.
Education and Workforce Readiness
The stark reality is that learning equals earning. The more education you have, the less susceptible you are to being replaced by automation. But we can’t rely on outdated, one-size-fits-all education models. We need to move from this:
Traditional, factory-model education → Engaged, personalized learning experiences
The Formula for Agility in Education
We developed a formula for agility in education: The 3 R’s + The 4 C’s.
- The 3 R’s: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic (technical skill set)
- The 4 C’s: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity
This is how we create agile learners who are prepared for an unpredictable job market.
The Age of Agility Tour
To spread this message, we took the Age of Agility Report on the road. We hosted 10 summits across the country, bringing together business, education, and policy leaders for critical discussions on education reform.
Our findings:
- 79% of attendees graded our education system a C or D
- 82% agreed that a major overhaul is needed
Three Key Components of an Agile Education System
- Agile Learners: Students with the right technical skills and an agility mindset.
- Agile Educators: Teachers who continuously upskill, just like any other profession.
- Agile Systems: Education models that prioritize competency, personalization, and real-world learning.
The Role of Business in Education
The business community must take an active role in education reform. You are the end users of the education system. This is your talent pipeline.
Businesses have two choices:
- Build talent internally
- Partner with external learning providers
For example, Walmart partnered with Guild Education to offer employees education for $1 a day. Toyota, when struggling to find skilled workers in Kentucky, didn’t just recruit differently—they helped retool the entire K-12 education system in that region.
Final Call to Action
Dare to take an active role in building Generation Agile. Businesses can’t talk about the future of work without addressing the future of education. You can’t embed agility into your business without embedding it into education.
So how do we thrive in an unpredictable market? The answer is agility.
Join Us in the Movement
We need your help to overcome the skills gap in America. If anyone can tackle this massive change management issue, it’s you—the agile leaders and thinkers in this room.
Thank you very much.