I read a non-agile book recently by Todd Skinner, Beyond the Summit. I highly recommend the book for anyone trying to acheive greater results in business. It is also a quick read with many small lessons to apply immediately.

Thanks to Doug Gregory, an architect at the Spitfire Group, for providing the inspiration to pick up this book. Todd Skinner is a world-renowned rock climber who has found success in being the first to climb some of the most difficult rock faces in the world. I can't do justice to his efforts here, but read the book and you will see for yourself.

The reason it perked my interest is his obvious application of the agile methods. He doesn't know it, but he has applied many of the successful agile practices leading to his success. Because of the new territory he has had to face, he was required to plan for what he could not envison, Todd provides the 4A Formula for successfully overcoming obsticles. In one of them, he states...

"Attempt a solution - because it is new terrain, nobody knows the answers, so you must make your best guess based on your experience and streaming data. The call to action demands that you try something. The greatest danger on the mountain is to not make a choice, because then you cannot move at all. You also can't wait too long to make the decision, hoping for more information to come to you. Better to risk the fall in pursuit of the answer than to waste time and resources hesitating too long."