Stop Chasing Agile

Name: Stop Chasing Agile
SKU: 978-1-60427-217-8
Availability: BackOrder

Retail Price: $37.95

$32.95

From Process Worship to Real Project Performance in a Constantly Changing World
Jeremy Berriault
ISBN: 978-1-60427-217-8
e-ISBN: 978-1-60427-872-9
September 2026

Available on backorder

SKU: 978-1-60427-217-8 Categories: Business, IT and Software Books, Project and Program Management Books

Description

In a world obsessed with Agile project management frameworks and certifications, Stop Chasing Agile cuts through the noise to reveal a simple truth: agility isn’t something you install; it’s how you behave. If your organization is stuck in endless ceremonies, dashboards, and transformation fatigue without real results, this book shows you why. With a sharp, honest voice, it challenges the industry’s biggest myths and exposes how process has become a substitute for progress. More importantly, it offers a clear path back to what actually works.

Grounded in real-world experience and decades of research on leadership, systems, and human behavior, this book shifts the focus from process to people, where real change happens. You’ll learn how to improve decision making, create clarity in chaos, and build teams that adapt without burning out. This isn’t another how-to Agile guide or framework manual. It’s a practical lens for seeing what’s getting in your way and fixing it. If you’re ready to stop performing agility and start delivering real results, Stop Chasing Agile will change how you lead, think, and work.

Key Features

Cuts through framework performance by exposing common anti-patterns like ceremony overload, dashboard obsession, and framework worship, and shows how to move beyond them
Provides a behavior-first approach to real change, focusing on how people make decisions, handle pressure, and work together rather than which process they follow
Designed for real-world constraints, addressing politics, legacy systems, compliance, and organizational resistance, not idealized scenarios
Improves decision quality and speed, helping teams reduce priority chaos, eliminate rework, and focus on what actually delivers value
Balances performance with sustainability, showing how to achieve better outcomes without burnout by prioritizing clarity, safety, and realistic pace

About the author(s)

Jeremy Berriault is a human-first performance advisor and founder of Berriault & Associates Consulting Group, where he helps leaders recognize when performance comes at a human cost—and rebuild teams that can adapt, perform, and sustain success. His work is grounded in a behavior-first philosophy: real agility isn’t a title or framework, but how people show up and work together under pressure. Drawing on decades of experience, he has developed practical tools and operating rhythms that cut through competing priorities, sharpen decision-making, and embed change that actually lasts. Jeremy has supported leaders across industries—from software and finance to hospitality and fitness—earning recognition for helping teams build clarity, trust, and healthier execution.

A seasoned advisor, speaker, and coach, Jeremy is known for translating complex organizational challenges into clear, actionable insights. His approach blends research-backed assessments with hands-on workshops and coaching, ensuring that transformation efforts are both practical and durable. Over a career spanning more than thirty years, he has held roles from quality assurance leadership to enterprise delivery and executive positions, guiding cross-functional teams toward meaningful business outcomes. He holds an MBA and graduate management credentials from Athabasca University, along with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology from York University. Outside of his professional work, he trains in jiu-jitsu—a discipline that reflects his belief in honest pressure, immediate feedback, and continuous improvement.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
How to Read This Book (Depending on Your Role)
About the Author

Chapter 1: The Agile Graveyard
Agility Isn’t New
Agility as an Ecosystem
So, Why Are We in a Graveyard?
The Baggage We’ve Created
The Coaching Problem (and Comfort Problem)

Chapter 2: The Framework Fiasco
The Damage of Process Obsession Over Outcomes
When the Framework Becomes a Performance
Scrum by the Book… and Still Failing
Certification Culture: Fuel for the Fire
The Real Question

Chapter 3: Influencers, Gurus, and Snake Oil
How Bad Influencers Poison the Well
When Organizations Fall for the Show
Thought Leadership vs. Thought Marketing
The Ethics of Influencers
Leaders: How Not to Get Fooled
If You’re a Coach, Read This

Chapter 4: Buzzwords and Word Games
A Guided Tour of the Worst Jargon
Why This Matters
How Language Gets Weaponized
How Jargon Confuses and Divides
How to Call It Out and Cut Through It All
Underneath the Words, It’s All Behavior

Chapter 5: Behavior First: The Heart of Real Change
Behavior
What Behavior-First Agility Actually Means
Change Management Is Behavior Change
How Do You Create a Behavior-First Culture?

Chapter 6: Team Well-being Over Everything
Psychological Safety and Trust > Sprints and Story Points
The AI Trap and the Hidden Cost of Efficiency
Burnout, Stress, and Agile Done Wrong
Well-being Is the System
Stretch, Don’t Snap: Workload and Calm Leadership
Norms Around Availability: Remote, Hybrid, and Reality
How Leaders Respond to Stress (Everyone’s Watching)

Chapter 7: Leadership Lessons (the Hard Way)
What Is a Leader?
What Authentic Leadership Looks Like When Things Go Sideways?
Courage, Humility, and Learning from Failure
Pulling It Together: How to Lead (Without the Hero Cape)

Chapter 8: Jiu-Jitsu, Puzzles, and the Art of Adaptation
No Plan Survives First Contact
Pressure vs. Panic
Tapping: Failure as Feedback
Different Partners, Different Games
Puzzles: A Model for Problem Solving in a VUCA World
Pattern Recognition, Patience, and Partial Progress
Collaborative Puzzles = Cross-Functional Teams
Adaptability and Creative Problem Solving Beat Rigid Plans
Ego vs. Adaptation
Five Lessons from the Mat and the Puzzle Table

Chapter 9: Real-World Wins (and Fails)
Case Study 1: The Software Company That “Paused Agile”
Case Study 2: The Jiu Jitsu Club That Went Agile, For Real
Where I Failed the Software Company
The Jiu-Jitsu Club Surprise
Ego vs. Adaptation: The Pattern That Keeps Repeating

Chapter 10: Continuous Improvement (Not Continuous Chaos)
Real Improvement: Improvement = Saved Time (and Reduced Friction)
Pointless Change: Motion Without Meaning
How to Build Sustainable Systems (Without Getting Stuck)
Practical Ways to Keep Improving Without Burning Out

Chapter 11: The Cost of Chasing Trends
Shiny Objects vs. Real Agility
Why Leaders Chase Trends
How Trend Chasing Kills Culture
The Real Cost in Time and Money
The Cost in Team Morale and Capability
Trend Chasing Inside Agile Itself
Red Flags: Are You Chasing Trends?
How to Focus on What Actually Matters
Guardrails for Evaluating New Trends

Chapter 12: The Future of Agility (If We Build Something That Lasts)
What This Future Is
Here’s the Future Worth Building
What Makes That Future Possible
What This Looks Like Day to Day
Here’s Your Part in Building It
Final Thoughts: Build Something Worth Leaving Behind

Conclusion

Appendices

Appendix A — The Decoder Ring
Appendix B — Red Flags: Are We Improving or Performing?
Appendix C — Behavior First Core Behaviors (The Ones That Actually Change Outcomes)
Appendix D — Continuous Improvement That Doesn’t Break People (A Field Guide)
Appendix E — Metrics That Don’t Lie (and the Ones That Do)
Appendix F — Conversation Scripts (Leaders/Coaches/Teams)

Bibliography

Index