War and Peace and IT

3	Agility and Leanness

If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not add to his store of money, but subtract from his desires.

—Epicurus, Fragments

You can’t play Thersites and Agamemnon at one and the same time. If you want to be Thersites, you must be humpbacked and bald; if Agamemnon, you must be tall and handsome and love your subjects.

—Epictetus, Discourses

The digital age demands that we get new ideas to market quickly to ward off disruption by competitors. It requires that we cope with uncertainty and complexity by staying nimble, by learning how to observe and react, and by reducing the cost and risk of making changes to our products, processes, and even our business model. It encourages us to innovate and grow, to deepen our relationship ...