Agile: It’s more than a buzzword, more than a set of tools or practices. At its core, agile is the ability to create and respond to change. But when we talk about scaling agile, are we really talking about scaling frameworks like SAFe, LeSS, or Scrum at Scale? Or are we talking about scaling the very mindset that drives agile forward?

In large enterprises, embracing agile often looks like renaming old habits and applying new labels. But what does it truly mean for a company to adopt agile ways of working? Can an organization, steeped in decades of optimizing for efficiency and control, suddenly shift to prioritizing collaboration, experimentation, and continuous learning? When every delay impacts the bottom line, can enterprise leaders really create room for failure, iteration, and growth?

People often say, “Agile is a journey, not a destination.” But what does that mean for a business? If agile is a journey, do we know where we’re headed? If we never arrive, is it still worth the effort? Are we ready to unlearn what we know, to trust in cross-functional teams over rigid processes, and to allow space for innovation?

The question remains: Can agile scale in organizations built on avoiding change? Does scaling agile mean simply applying agile principles from one small, nimble team to the entire company? Or does it require a deeper, fundamental transformation of how the business operates, how decisions are made, and how work gets done?

Does the enterprise really want to be agile, or does it only seek the benefits of agility without the messiness that comes with it? Can you truly scale something that thrives on unpredictability, flexibility, and human creativity?

Maybe the real question isn’t “Can agile scale?” but rather “Should agile scale?”

As organizations embark on their transformation journey, does it matter if they don’t know the destination? Or is the willingness to adapt and evolve the most important part of the journey itself?