McKinsey describes “traditional” and “agile” organizations as follows:

The dominant “traditional” organization (designed primarily for stability in a factory-like environment) is a static, siloed, structural hierarchy — goals and decision rights flow down the hierarchy, with the most potent governance bodies at the top. It operates through linear planning and control to capture value for shareholders. The skeletal structure is strong, but often rigid and slow-moving.

In contrast, an agile organization (designed for both stability and dynamism) is a network of teams within a people-centered culture that operates in rapid learning and fast decision cycles that are enabled by technology. That is guided by a compelling shared purpose to co-create value for all stakeholders. Such an agile operating model can quickly and efficiently reconfigure strategy, structure, processes, people, and technology toward value-creating and value-protection opportunities. An agile organization thus adds velocity and adaptability to stability, creating a critical competitive advantage in volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous conditions. Disruptive trends introduce organizational challenges brought by the “digital revolution”. These trends dramatically change how organizations and employees work. Indeed agile organizations are both stable and dynamic at the same time. They design stable backbone elements that evolve slowly and support dynamic capabilities that can adapt quickly to new challenges and opportunities. Agile organizations mobilize quickly, are nimble, empowered to act, and make it easy to move. In short, they respond like a living organism. When pressure is applied, the agile organization reacts by being more than just robust; performance improves as more pressure is exerted — the agile organization thus is anti-fragile.