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About the Book
The Little Red Book of Agile: A Cookbook for Subversive and Rebellious Agile
What if everything you thought you knew about Agile was wrong—or worse, deliberately compromised to make it palatable for the corporate world?
In The Little Red Book of Agile, discover the unvarnished truth about Agile: its radical roots, its uncompromising focus on teams, and the ways it has been watered down, minimised, and distorted to appease senior management. Drawing inspiration from the rebellious spirit of the 1969 classic The Little Red Schoolbook, this guide lays bare the essence of real Agile—the principles and practices that matter, stripped of frameworks, dogma, and corporate veneers.
To be honest, this has been covered in many places by many authors. But I wanted to take things one step further - not only speak truth to agile power but also provide practical guidelines for implementing real agile in organisational settings.
Agile isn’t a framework. It isn’t a methodology. It’s a commitment to trusting teams, embracing accountability, and working naturally together to adapt and deliver value. It’s not for the faint of heart or those unwilling to challenge entrenched power structures. This book equips you with the clarity and courage to reclaim Agile’s purpose and live it authentically—even in a world uncomfortable with the truth.
Whether you’re a team member, coach, or leader, The Little Red Book of Agile will:
• Confront the compromises made to “sell” Agile and show why they undermine its core values.
• Reveal the dichotomy between Agile’s truth and the sanitised version taught in boardrooms.
• Arm you with strategies to navigate organisational constraints while staying true to Agile’s spirit.
• Emphasise the primacy of the team and the radical delegation of accountability required for success.
This is Agile as it was meant to be: subversive, empowering, and unapologetically real. Are you ready to embrace it?
About the Author
Adam writes about project management on his blog “Adam On Projects” and in his books and other content at Leanpub.com. He is also an expert in applying ChatGPT to project environments and has written several books on ChatGPT.
Adam coaches and mentors other project managers, and consults on various projects around the world.
Adam Russell has successfully delivered software development, software package, and systems integration projects for nearly 40 years, using both Agile and traditional approaches.
Adam started as a software developer, and then moved into pre-sales technical support when the IBM PC launched. He launched his project management career after he helped to close a significant government deal. The head of projects said: “You helped sell it. Now, you can deliver it”.
Since then, Adam has worked for companies ranging from 1-person startups to global tier-1 vendors and customer organisations in roles ranging from hands-on project manager through to General Manager of Systems Integration.
In those roles, Adam has been responsible for delivering hundreds of projects, ranging in budget from $5k up to over $100m. Adam also volunteers his time and skills with non-profit organisations.