Start the Game for the Enterprise

Why Start at the Enterprise Level?

Many organizations adopt agile methods and lean practices at the team level. Teams run Sprints, hold Retrospectives, and improve locally. Yet the enterprise as a whole does not evolve. Decisions still flow top-down. Strategic priorities remain unclear. Teams optimize their own work while the organization drifts.

This is sub-optimization. Without enterprise-level alignment, tactical improvements stay local. They don’t compound into strategic advantage. Teams pull in different directions. Investments scatter across too many initiatives. The result: effort without impact — Wirkung without direction.

AME3 addresses this by starting at the enterprise level. Before any Arena begins its work, the enterprise establishes lightweight governance: clear leadership functions, shared Rules, and a Strategy that guides evolution. This is not a heavy bureaucracy. It is the minimum structure needed to ensure that every Arena’s work contributes to the enterprise’s strategic direction.

The approach is empirical. Rather than planning a complete transformation upfront, AME3 creates a feedback loop at the enterprise level — the Tournament — where leaders inspect progress and adapt strategy based on evidence. Evolution replaces revolution.

The Steps

1.1 Define Leadership Functions on the Enterprise Level

Establish the enterprise-level leadership functions. The Enterprise Owner takes accountability for the success of the Enterprise Product. Accountable Representatives provide oversight and ensure alignment with the enterprise’s broader obligations. The Enterprise System Lead ensures effective structures and processes across all Arenas.

These are not new management layers. They are clearly defined accountability functions that replace ambiguous decision-making with transparent leadership.

1.2 Adopt the AME3 Rules on the Enterprise Level

Adopt the Rules as the shared operating agreement for the enterprise. The Rules establish a common language and foundational practices. They define how Arenas relate to the enterprise, how strategic decisions are made, and what autonomy Arenas have.

The Rules are deliberately minimal. They provide just enough structure to enable coherent evolution without constraining how individual Arenas organize their work.

1.3 Identify Potential for Innovation

Analyze the current state of all products, services, and organizational structures. Where is the enterprise today? What is evolving well? What is stagnating? Where do market opportunities or competitive pressures demand attention?

This assessment creates the raw material for strategic prioritization. It reveals where new Arenas could create the most value and where existing work needs strategic realignment.

1.4 Create an Enterprise Backlog

Build the Enterprise Backlog — the ordered list of strategic Goals for the entire enterprise. The Enterprise Owner orders this backlog based on strategic priorities. Owners collectively define and refine Goals.

The Enterprise Backlog makes strategy visible and actionable. Every Goal represents a concrete strategic objective, not a vague aspiration. This transparency enables informed trade-offs and prevents the silent accumulation of conflicting priorities.

1.5 Start the First Tournament

Launch the first Tournament — the enterprise-level cycle of strategic inspection and adaptation. During a Tournament, Accountable Representatives assess the Enterprise Product while the Enterprise Owner decides on strategic changes to Ambitions and the Enterprise Backlog.

The Tournament establishes the empirical heartbeat of the enterprise. It is where strategy meets reality and adjusts accordingly.

1.6 Define the First Arena and Its Product

Select the first Arena by formulating an Ambition. The Ambition defines the purpose, expected successes, and constraints for an Arena Product. It justifies why this Arena should exist and provides the strategic frame for its Owner.

Choose carefully. The first Arena sets the pattern for all that follow. Pick a product or service area where AME3 can demonstrate clear value.

1.7 Initiate the First Arena

With the enterprise-level structures in place and the first Ambition defined, initiate the first Arena. Appoint an Owner and transition into the arena-level setup described in Start the Game in an Arena.

The rest of the organization continues operating as before. Employees move to Arenas as they are needed — there is no big-bang reorganization. The enterprise evolves one Arena at a time, guided by strategic Goals and governed by the Tournament cycle.