Search results for ""Author Robert Webber""

“History has shown there are no invincible armies” Josef Vissarionovich Stalin November 1939. Stalin has signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler and is focussing on reclaiming the former Grand Duchy of Finland. Alex Carlton is sent undercover as a Swedish newspaper correspondent to monitor the developing situation and report back to MI2, in London. As soviet bombers drop their bombs on Helsinki, Alex arrives in Finland and soon finds himself embroiled in the political and military efforts of a small Baltic state facing the might of Russia. He is captivated by the sheer determination of the Finnish people, and the skill and mastery of their military leaders as they defend their country against overwhelming odds, inflicting devastating casualties on the Soviet aggressor. For the 105 days the war lasted, Alex faces danger and risk, and after it is all over, he discovers that life is even more complicated when the country is at peace.

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“You’re a rebel and in this business, rebels are either extremely good or extremely dead....” 1939. The storm clouds of war are gathering over Europe and the conundrum faced is whether the Soviet Union will reach a peace concord with Nazi Germany. How can Britain plan for war with Germany without knowing Stalin’s intentions? The Baltic states hold the key and in particular Russia’s old Grand Duchy, Finland. One man can make a difference and Alex Carlton is recruited by MI2 (the division of Military Intelligence that deals with Russia and Scandinavia) to go undercover in Finland to gain insight into Finnish intentions; but will Alex’s past be a help or hindrance? As he progresses through training and prepares for his mission, Alex’s life becomes complicated by love and intrigue that nearly derails his assignment… and that would upset Winston Churchill himself!

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UNLOCKING AGILE'S MISSED POTENTIAL Agile has not delivered on its promises. The business side expected faster time to market, but they still experience the long delays of bloated releases. Engineers thought they would be given time to build the product right the first time, but they are rushed under pressure to deliver new features within impossible schedules. What went wrong? The culprit is feature-based waterfall release planning perpetuated in a vain attempt to achieve business predictability. Agile didn't address the business need for multi-year financial predictability. The Agile community's answer was the naïve response, "The business needs to be more Agile." Waterfall release planning with fixed schedules undercuts a basic tenet of Agile development – the need to adjust content delivered within a timebox to account for evolving requirements and incorporation of feedback. Agile without flexible content is not Agile. This book introduces a novel solution that enables product teams to deliver higher value within shorter cycle times while meeting the predictability needs of the business. Organizations today want product teams that break down walls between product management and engineering to achieve schedule and financial objectives. Until now they haven’t had a way to implement product teams within the rigid constraints of traditional organizational structures. The Investment planning approach described in this book supports small development increments planned and developed by product teams aligned by common schedule and financial goals. It uses Cost of Delay principles to prioritize work with the highest value and shortest cycle times. Investments provide a vehicle for collaboration and innovation and fulfill the promise of highly motivated self-directed Agile development teams. This book is for engineers, product managers and project managers who want to finally do Agile the way it was envisioned. This book is also for leaders who want to build high-performance teams around the inherent motivational environment of Agile when done right. Foreword by Steve McConnell, author of More Effective Agile: A Roadmap for Software Leaders (Construx Press, 2019).

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