In a recent episode of Ascendle Unscripted, host Michael Cinquino had a lively chat with Ascendle founder and CEO Dave Todaro, along with Joel Parmar, a digital transformation leader with over a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical and health tech industries. They tackled a big question: How can large, traditionally structured, and highly regulated enterprises adopt an Agile mindset?
The Mindset Shift
Joel Parmar highlighted that Agile is more about philosophy than process. It’s not just a set of tools—it’s a mindset focused on adaptability, experimentation, and delivering continuous value. Joel, who has worked in environments where control, compliance, and risk avoidance are crucial, knows how challenging—but rewarding—it can be to introduce Agile thinking.
“Adaptability is no longer a competitive advantage,” he said. “It’s a survival skill.”
Dave Todaro pointed out that many companies aspire to be as nimble as startups, but their legacy structures often hold them back. Adopting an Agile mindset doesn’t mean abandoning planning or compliance—it means rethinking what’s essential and flexible about those elements.
Agile as a Bridge Between Planning and Innovation
Throughout the discussion, a key theme emerged: Agile doesn’t mean chaos or the elimination of planning. Instead, it offers a framework to test assumptions, pivot quickly, and respond to change while maintaining necessary structure.
Dave shared a memorable metaphor: “Let’s not cast things in stone. Let’s cast them in sand.” This highlights how Agile promotes flexibility within boundaries, especially important in regulated industries.
Joel added that aligning Agile sprint outcomes with traditional quarterly reviews can bridge communication gaps between delivery teams and executive leadership. Instead of saying, “We finished a sprint,” teams can say, “Here’s what we validated and the value we delivered.” This makes Agile relevant to business strategy.
When Mindset Becomes Skillset
Michael posed an intriguing question: “When does mindset become skillset?” Joel believes the key lies in leadership behavior. Many executives are wired for control, not experimentation. Agile flips this model by encouraging progress over perfection and learning over rigid plans. Joel argued that transformation fails not because of poor technology, but due to cultural resistance.
Asking “Why”—Over and Over
Dave encouraged organizations to keep asking why. Why are we doing this project? Why this document? Why this tool? This relentless questioning leads to clarity around outcomes instead of just outputs. Joel added that asking “why” isn’t just a one-time question—it’s iterative, and the answer often changes as teams engage with users and reframe priorities.
Agile in Emerging Technologies
As the conversation shifted to AI and cloud implementation, both Dave and Joel agreed that Agile is essential. These technologies evolve too rapidly for rigid, waterfall-style rollouts. Joel noted that your first AI model or cloud setup likely won’t be perfect, and Agile provides the feedback loop needed to iterate quickly.
However, Dave cautioned against swinging too far into chaos. Agile doesn’t eliminate the need for governance or prioritization. It’s about balancing experimentation with structured communication and alignment.
Final Thoughts: Start Small, Think Big
To wrap up the episode, Dave offered practical advice: adopt Agile with open-mindedness, patience, and strong leadership support. Agile transformations aren’t fast or easy—but they’re worth it. Joel echoed that leaders must be willing to trade control for clarity, perfection for progress, and fixed plans for real outcomes.
“Agility isn’t about speed,” Joel concluded. “It’s about the speed of learning.”
The takeaway from this episode was clear: Agile isn’t something you buy or bolt on. It’s a deep cultural shift that, when embraced, can empower teams, accelerate innovation, and future-proof organizations of any size.
