Tag: Technology

‘The Focused AI Captain’: A Leader’s Guide to Successful AI Transformation

‘The Focused AI Captain’ by FocusFirst founder René Esteban. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: The Focused AI Captain

How to Navigate the Storm, Empower Your Crew, and Deliver Real Value

By René Esteban

Master the Art of Leading AI Transformations for Lasting Business Success

Only 5% of enterprise AI initiatives succeed. Are you ready to be among the elite few who truly transform their organizations?

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses face a common enemy—AI initiatives that fail to deliver real impact. Millions are spent on pilots that never scale. But the true obstacle isn’t the technology itself; it’s how organizations are structured, aligned, and led. (Amazon, 2026)

In The Focused AI Captain, René Esteban, CEO of FocusFirst, reveals why most AI transformations stall and what leaders must do differently to succeed. Grounded in real-world enterprise experience, this book provides a clear, practical roadmap to turn AI ambition into measurable business results.

What You Will Learn

Inside, you will discover how to:

  • Master the 10-20-70 Rule: Allocate resources effectively and maximize AI ROI.
  • Apply the 3D Framework: Learn to Diagnose challenges, set Direction, and Deliver results.
  • Bridge the Trust Gap: Turn employee skepticism into active AI adoption.
  • Move Beyond Pilots: Confidently scale your AI initiatives across the entire organization.

Who is this book for? This book is written for CEOs, executives, and decision-makers who refuse to let their organizations fall behind in the AI revolution. Whether you’re leading a large-scale transformation or preparing your team for the next wave of AI adoption, you’ll gain practical frameworks, leadership insights, and execution tools you can apply immediately.

Get your copy now and start leading your organization to AI-driven success.

About the Author

René Esteban brings unwavering passion to making big goals tangible and inspiring people to achieve them.

As the Founder and CEO of FocusFirst, a Keynote Speaker, and a Senior Advisor to top executives, he has made it his mission to accelerate transformations in organizations. He firmly believes that complex change succeeds best through a clear focus on a single goal, excellent communication, and the active involvement of all stakeholders.

René began his career at Merck, where in his mid-20s he led the global build-out of the e-commerce division, today a billion-dollar business. This experience taught him that successful transformations depend not only on the right strategies, but critically on early and open communication with key stakeholders. His insights led to the development of the award-winning PEAK Method, through which FocusFirst has already guided more than 250 transformations.

René is a passionate entrepreneur with several companies alongside FocusFirst. He cherishes inspiring moments of exchange over Italian wine and loves traveling the world with his family – especially to Italy.

‘CRAFT Thinking’: The Practical Playbook for Everyday AI Work

‘CRAFT Thinking’ is the new book by Philip Topham. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book Spotlight: CRAFT Thinking: A Playbook for Clear Thinking and Better Decisions with AI

By Philip Topham

Get clearer thinking and better decisions with AI without becoming a prompt engineer.

CRAFT Thinking gives you a simple, five-step method that sharpens how you think, improves the questions you ask, and helps you get consistently better results from any artificial intelligence tool. It’s practical, repeatable, and built for everyday work, not technical experts. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

The CRAFT Chain Reaction:

  • When your thinking improves, your prompts improve.
  • When your prompts improve, your decisions improve.

Whether you lead a company, manage a team, or simply want to do better work with AI, this playbook gives you the structure to turn uncertainty into clarity and AI conversations into meaningful insight.

The Bottom Line: > AI won’t make your work smarter. Clear thinking will, and CRAFT shows you how.

Get your copy today!

About the Author

Philip Topham

Strategic AI Advisor, Speaker, & Creator of the CRAFT Thinking™ Method

Philip Topham is a strategic AI advisor, speaker, and creator of the CRAFT Thinking™ method, a framework designed to bring clarity, intentionality, and better decision-making into the AI era.

With a career spanning corporate leadership, startup ventures, and board advisory, Philip combines the rigor of an engineer with the insight of a relationship-focused strategist. He’s earned two U.S. patents, contributed to peer-reviewed research, and worked across industries from health tech to clean tech to biotech. What sets him apart is not just his technical depth, it’s his shift toward human-centered leadership.

After stepping away to be a stay-at-home dad, Philip returned with a deeper understanding of what it means to lead with care and purpose. He brings that mindset into his work today, helping leaders think with AI, not just use it, so their organizations can grow wisely, inclusively, and sustainably.

Philip serves as co-chair of the National AI Special Interest Group for the Private Directors Association, and publishes regularly at SavionAI: The Shift.

“AI should serve all of humanity—not just the elite. And it’s our shared responsibility to build companies and institutions worthy of that promise.”

Upgrading Your Personal Operating System: ‘Scaling Yourself’ Book Spotlight

‘Scaling Yourself’ is the new book by Praval Panwar. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: Scaling Yourself

Designing a Personal Operating System for Career and Life

By Praval Panwar

High performers are taught to push harder as responsibilities grow.

But effort does not scale. Architecture does.

As careers advance, the same habits that once drove success begin to create overload, burnout, and diminishing impact. Decisions slow. Energy drops. Influence dilutes.

The problem isn’t capability, it’s operating at a new level with an outdated personal operating system.

Redesigning the Flow of Success

Scaling Yourself applies principles from engineering, systems design, and leadership to the human side of performance. Instead of productivity hacks or motivation, it shows how to redesign how your work, decisions, energy, and influence flow so growth becomes sustainable. (Bookshop, 2026)

Who Is This Book For?

This book is built specifically for:

  • Ambitious professionals navigating rapid career growth.
  • Engineers and technical minds who want to apply systems thinking to life.
  • Leaders whose success has increased complexity, not freedom.

This is not a book about doing more. It is a book about designing better.

Get your copy today!

About the Author

Praval Panwar is a senior technology leader and systems thinker focused on the intersection of engineering, leadership, and long-term performance. Scaling Yourself distills his experience into a practical framework for redesigning how work, decisions, and energy flow so ambition can scale without burnout.

AI Made Simple: The Beginner’s Guide to Reclaiming Your Time

‘AI for Boomers’ is a straightforward and helpful guide to AI for beginners. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: AI for Boomers

By Andrew Robbins & Noah Kruthaupt

Think AI is Rocket Science? Think Again.

What if we told you AI is completely non-technical and the easiest tool available to improve your quality of life?

If you aren’t comfortable with technology, or you think artificial intelligence sounds like a daunting math problem, consider this your simple, stress-free roadmap. Written by the younger generation for those who want to reclaim their time, this guide teaches you how to use a powerful tool you simply type or talk to. (Amazon, 2026)

No jargon. No homework. Just a basic method to make AI your personal assistant, giving you more understanding of and control over your:

  • Home Life
  • Health
  • Wealth
  • Security
  • Independence

You haven’t missed the memo; the instructions up until now have just been completely missing or buried in confusing tech-speak. You are sharp and capable, but you’re likely tired of wasting time on monotonous tasks and complicated technology.

Real Solutions Are Simple

AI isn’t just for tech companies. Here is how it can solve everyday headaches right now:

  • Instantly Cut Through Confusion: Turn any complicated bill, medical form, or long legal letter into one simple next step.
  • Protect Your Money & Safety: Learn to spot fake voices, images, and sophisticated scams before they ever reach your wallet.
  • Master Your Wellness: Take pictures of pill bottles for a clean medication list, or turn vague symptoms into clear questions for your doctor.
  • Communicate with Confidence: Get help drafting firm but respectful emails, or translate slang from younger family members.

The Promise: Authors Andrew Robbins and Noah Kruthaupt are part of the generation that built these tools. Their promise to you is simple: If you can type or talk, you can use AI to reclaim your time, protect your money, and secure your independence.

Inside the Book, You Will Instantly Learn:

  • The “Calculator for Words” Secret: Use AI as your personal calculator for words, guaranteed to clarify any messy or confusing information.
  • The 92:8 Principle for Time: Learn the simple rule for delegating 92% of your necessary-but-draining tasks to AI.
  • The HAT Method for Talking to “The Robot”: A simple, three-step method for structuring your requests that forces the AI to give you the best answers.
  • The #1 Defensive Habit: Proactively use AI to spot advanced scams, transforming your phone and inbox into a safe, reliable defense system.
  • The Curious Growth Strategy: Use AI as your cognitive coach to instantly summarize books, test your knowledge, and plan your personal growth.

“But Is This a Complicated Tech Book?”

We understand that feeling. This book assumes absolutely zero tech background and is made purely for your self-growth:

  • 🛑 You Can’t Break It: You are learning a compounding skill, the only result of a “mistake” is just getting a better answer next time.
  • 💻 No Coding Required: If you can send a text or write a note, you have all the skill needed. This guide focuses only on the three essential skills to get the biggest return.
  • ⏳ Low Time Commitment: This guide is organized for quick, practical wins, not deep technical theory.

Live Life on Your Own Terms

This book simply gives you an easy-to-use tool to thrive in the modern world. You’ve earned your independence, don’t waste it on busy work. It’s time to let a machine handle the boring, draining tasks so you can stay in the driver’s seat.

Secure your copy today and rest easier with a new tool that keeps you capable, connected, and independent.

Meet the Authors

Noah Kruthaupt

Noah is a student business owner, founder, and AI professional focused on helping people understand and apply artificial intelligence in practical, real-world ways. While studying business and entrepreneurship, Noah began working directly with organizations, educators, and everyday adults who were being asked to use AI without ever being taught how to think about it. He saw the same pattern repeatedly: powerful tools, unclear guidance, and growing confusion, especially among experienced professionals and leaders who didn’t grow up with this technology.

Andrew (Andy) Robbins

Andy is a founder and AI professional who specializes in building practical, custom artificial intelligence solutions for real-world use. With a background in technology and systems development, Andy works at the intersection of AI capability and business operations. His focus is on designing solutions that help organizations use AI responsibly, efficiently, and in ways that fit their existing workflows without unnecessary complexity or disruption.

Award-Winning AI Podcast Suspicious Minds Launches Season 2 Ahead of Tribeca 2026

The chart topping, award winning podcast returns to explore AI and the apocalypse. Photo: Agoric Media, used with permission.

Suspicious Minds Podcast Selected for 2026 Tribeca Creators Market as Season 2 Premieres

NEW YORK — Suspicious Minds, the critically acclaimed Top 100 charting podcast series, has officially been selected for the 2026 Tribeca Creators Market, taking place June 8–10 in New York City. (EG-PR, 2026)

Produced by Agoric Media in partnership with Wondermind (the mental health media company co-founded by Mandy Teefey and Selena Gomez), the exciting announcement perfectly coincides with the launch of Season Two: AI and the Apocalypse, which premiered on May 21 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and all major platforms.

Exploring AI, Anxiety, and the End of the World

Fresh off two Webby Award nominations (Best New Podcast in News, Business & Society and Podcast: Documentary), Suspicious Minds has established itself as one of the most original projects exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming human life.

While Season One examined the emergent phenomenon often referred to as “AI Psychosis,” Season Two takes a larger, more existential view: What does the age of AI mean for our collective psychology and sense of the future?

AI and the Apocalypse is a deep investigation into humanity’s oldest and most persistent fear: the end of all things. The series asks not just whether AI could end the world, but why humans have always needed to imagine that it might, and what that obsession reveals about meaning, mortality, and the strange moment we are all living through.

Across eight episodes, the season dives into:

  • The deep history of apocalyptic thinking
  • The psychology of dread and doomsday prepping
  • Transhumanism and anti-natalism
  • Pro-extinctionism and the art we create to face what we most fear

The Minds Behind the Show

Host and Creator Sean King O’Grady spent two years speaking with the world’s leading philosophers, scientists, psychologists, historians, and theologians.

As with Season One, the new episodes are anchored by the thinking and contributions of Dr. Joel Gold and Ian Gold, PhD—the brilliant brothers who coined “The Truman Show Delusion” and authored the book Suspicious Minds: How Culture Shapes Madness. Together, they examine whether AI represents a genuine existential threat, and what it reveals about the human psyche that so many of us are now living inside that question.

Executive Production Team

  • Executive Producers: Mandy Teefey, Selena Gomez, Jonathon Glucksman, David Tuohy, Feras M. Shammami, Jesse Ford, and Molly Borman.
  • Producer: Jesse Ford.

Heavy-Hitting Guest Lineup

This season features an incredible roster of expert interview subjects, including:

  • Timothy Morton – Author of Hyperobjects and Hell: In Search of a Christian Ecology
  • David Benatar – Antinatalist philosopher and author of Better to Have Never Been
  • Professor Judith Wolfe – St. Andrews School of Divinity
  • Sheldon Solomon – Psychologist and founder of Terror Management Theory
  • Dr. Michael Ferguson – Harvard Neurospirituality Lab
  • Dr. Samuel Justin Sinclair – Psychologist and Writer for The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
  • Nolen Gertz – Author of Nihilism and Technology
  • Johann Hari – Author of Stolen Focus
  • Malo Bourgon – CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute
  • Emily Ray and Robert Kirsch – Authors of Be Prepared
  • Kelly Bulkely – Psychologist and renowned Dream Expert
  • James Cussen – Creator of The Living Philosophy on YouTube and Substack
  • Dorian Lynskey – Author of Everything Must Go
  • Dr. Amy Levy – Chair of the American Psychoanalytic Association President’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence

From the Creators

“Humans have been thinking about a catastrophic end to our species since we first started throwing paint on the walls of caves. Each generation believes it might be the last. But I keep wondering — in an era of compounding existential threats… if this time we might be right. What does it mean to be living through such a moment? And how do we face our own deaths while holding the prospect of the end of all human life?”

— Sean King O’Grady, Host & Creator

“Right now, millions of people are walking around with an anxiety about the future that they can’t quite name. I’ve always believed that naming what you’re feeling is the first step to doing something about it. That’s why we made Suspicious Minds: AI and the Apocalypse — to take something so new and so frightening and make it human.”

— Mandy Teefey, Executive Producer & Co-Founder of Wondermind

Award-Winning Storytelling

The series’ Tribeca Creators Market selection brings Suspicious Minds to one of the most prestigious independent media markets in the world, backed by heavy critical acclaim.

Award CompetitionCategoryResult
2026 Telly AwardsSeries – Non-ScriptedWinner (Bronze)
2026 Telly AwardsSeries – DocumentaryWinner (Bronze)
2026 Telly AwardsCampaign – Health & SafetyWinner (Bronze)
2026 Webby AwardsBest New Podcast (News, Business & Society)Nominated
2026 Webby AwardsPodcast: DocumentaryNominated

About Wondermind

Wondermind is the world’s first comprehensive and multifaceted mental fitness ecosystem. The company is on a mission to destigmatize and democratize mental health while normalizing and advancing the topic of mental fitness through candid conversations and expert-backed insights. Comprising three verticals — content, editorial, and product — Wondermind provides the tools and language necessary to make navigating your mental health a little easier.

Host and Creator Sean King O’Grady. Photo: Agoric Media, used with permission.

The Blueprint for Cybersecurity Leadership: ‘The First 100 Days of the New CISO’

‘The First 100 Days of the New CISO’ by JC Gaillard is a practical roadmap for real and lasting cybersecurity leadership. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: The First 100 Days of the New CISO

A Leadership Guide to Lasting Impact

By JC Gaillard

When a new Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) steps into the role, their first 100 days don’t just set the tone—they can define their entire legacy. (Amazon, 2026)

In The First 100 Days of the New CISO, seasoned cybersecurity leader and consultant JC Gaillard offers a pragmatic, experience-driven guide to succeeding in those crucial early months and beyond. Drawing on over two decades of advising major global organizations, Gaillard helps CISOs, executives, and boards understand what true leadership in cybersecurity looks like: calm, structured, and aligned with business priorities.

This is not another technical manual. Instead, it is a leadership guide grounded in governance, culture, and the realities of corporate life, serving as a definitive blueprint for the next decade of cybersecurity leadership.

Inside the Book: What You’ll Discover

The book is structured like a consulting playbook and written in clear, disciplined prose. Inside, you’ll find the perspective and tools needed to turn uncertainty into direction, including:

  • The Blueprint for Timing: How to navigate the first 6 days, 6 weeks, and 6 months with clarity and composure.
  • Stakeholder Management: How to build trust and credibility across the organization before trying to drive major change.
  • Business Alignment: Proven techniques for aligning security with business strategy and corporate governance.
  • Boardroom Success: How to communicate effectively and confidently with boards and executive committees.
  • Culture Over Tools: Why culture, rhythm, and proportion matter far more than tools or technology.
  • Lasting Transformation: Understanding what differentiates true, long-term security maturity from short-term, reactionary activity.

Who This Book Is For

Whether you are stepping into the hot seat for the first time or overseeing the person who is, this guide offers invaluable insights:

  • Newly Appointed CISOs seeking a structured, strategic start to their new role.
  • Experienced Security Leaders looking to strengthen their corporate influence and organizational impact.
  • CEOs, CIOs, and Board Members who want to understand what truly effective security leadership looks like.
  • Consultants & Governance Professionals focused on organizational resilience, trust, and transformation.

“If you want to lead with confidence, build maturity, and leave a legacy that lasts beyond your tenure, The First 100 Days of the New CISO will show you how.”

About the Author

JC Gaillard is a leading strategic advisor and a globally recognized cybersecurity thought-leader with over 25 years of experience and a track record of driving fundamental change across global organizations.

He is the Founder and CEO of Corix Partners, a UK-based boutique management consultancy firm and thought-leadership platform. Corix Partners focuses on assisting CIOs and other C-level executives in resolving complex cybersecurity strategy, organization, and governance challenges.

Demystifying AI and Algorithms: A Guide to Making Technology Work for You

‘Human Agency in a Digital World’ is the new book by Marcus Fontoura. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book Spotlight: Reclaiming Your Role in the AI Era

In an age where algorithms influence everything from our morning playlists to our career paths, it’s easy to feel like a passenger in a vehicle we don’t control. A new book by industry veteran Marcus Fontoura aims to change that narrative. (Digital Agency Book, 2026)

Human Agency in a Digital World

Understand technology and make it work for you

This may be the first true AI-era self-help book—not because we need help using technology, but because we need help using it well. Understanding how algorithms work is the first step in making sure they work for us.

This book is about reclaiming our role, not as passengers, but as pilots, in the fast-moving journey of technological change.

Written by a computer scientist who is also a father and a teacher, this is a deeply personal and accessible guide to the systems shaping our lives.

Why This Book Matters Now

Digital agents are all around us. They suggest songs, answer questions, sort emails, and, often invisibly, shape what we think. But how much power do we really have to redirect their impact?

In Human Agency in a Digital World, Fontoura explores the hidden architectures of modern life, including:

  • Social Media & Search Engines: How they capture and direct attention.
  • Cloud Computing & AI: The invisible backbone of the modern economy.
  • Quantum Technologies: A look into the next frontier of computing.

Drawing from decades of experience building the backbone of the internet, Fontoura demystifies these core concepts, allowing readers to develop digital fluency without needing a computer science degree.

Beyond Optimization

Ultimately, this is a book about people. It explores how we can use efficiency not just for speed or cost-cutting, but to unlock creativity, opportunity, and well-being. With examples ranging from broken playlists to complex protein folding, Fontoura asks a profound question:

What do we want technology to do for us, and what will we do with it in return?

About the Author

Marcus Fontoura is a titan of the tech industry, currently serving his second tenure as Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, where he is the CTO for Azure Core.

His distinguished career includes:

  • Stone (2022-2025): Served as CTO, leading engineering and building efficient financial platforms. He remains an advisor to the company.
  • Microsoft (2013-2022): Served as Chief Architect for Azure Compute and led the Azure efficiency team.
  • Research & Development: Previous leadership roles at Google, Yahoo, and IBM Research.

With a career spent at the intersection of complex systems and human needs, Fontoura is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between “how it works” and “why it matters.”

Innovation Intelligence: The New Strategy to Outpace Disruption

‘The Innovation Intelligence Advantage’ by Kris Poria and Jeff Penrose. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: The Innovation Intelligence Advantage

How Leaders Close the Innovation Gap and Outpace Disruption

By Kris Poria and Jeff Penrose

Synopsis

In a world where technology evolves faster than organizations can adapt, most leaders face a widening gap between what they know they must achieve and what their systems can actually deliver. Traditional R&D, consulting, and procurement models were never built for today’s exponential pace of change and the cost of inaction has become catastrophic. (Amazon, 2026)

The Innovation Intelligence Advantage reveals a breakthrough solution: an entirely new organizational capability that helps enterprises, governments, and defense agencies stay ahead of disruption – Innovation Intelligence.

Drawing on real-world experience building the EarlyBirds Operational Innovation System, authors Kris Poria and Jeff Penrose show how organizations can:

  • Eliminate innovation blind spots.
  • Sense global shifts before competitors or adversaries.
  • Build resilient, sovereign supply chains.
  • De-risk multi-year programs with live intelligence.
  • Rapidly adopt emerging technologies.
  • Transform strategy into a dynamic, evidence-based capability.
  • Empower a future-ready workforce.
  • Unlock continuous innovation as an operational discipline.

With clear frameworks and practical insights, this book introduces the four mechanisms that redefine how organizations operate. Together, they form a living intelligence system that accelerates decision-making, strengthens resilience, and creates permanent strategic advantage.

The future belongs to those who can see change coming and act. Innovation Intelligence shows you how.

Whether you lead a Fortune 500 company, a government agency, a defense organization, or a large-scale transformation program, this book offers a proven path to outpace disruption and thrive in a volatile world.

About the Authors

Kris Poria – Kris is the Co-founder and CEO of EarlyBirds, leading a global Open Innovation and Intelligence Ecosystem. His mission is to help enterprises, governments, and defense organizations discover emerging technologies, anticipate disruption, and maintain a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving world.

Jeff Penrose – Jeff is the Co-founder and COO of EarlyBirds. An ICT specialist with deep international experience across the private and public sectors, Jeff has held senior executive and technical roles focused on solving complex problems. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Executive Leadership and is a staunch advocate for continuous learning.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing AI at Work (2026 Edition)

‘AI At Work’ is the new book on AI for nontechnical professionals by Kate Marshall. Photo: Amazon

New Book Spotlight: AI At Work by Kate Marshall

Stop wondering where to start with AI and start using it.

We all know AI is changing the professional landscape, but without a clear entry point, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind. AI at Work: A Step-By-Step Foundational Guide For Implementing AI eliminates the overwhelm by providing a proven, structured process to integrate generative AI into your daily routine. (Amazon, 2026)

This isn’t a collection of random tips or high-level theory; it is a practical roadmap designed to move you from initial setup to full workflow automation.

📘 Overview: AI Literacy Made Practical

Written specifically for non-technical professionals, this guide walks you through a system for bringing generative AI into your daily workflow. The best part? No technical background is needed. Each section is designed to be implemented in under 30 minutes, featuring:

  • Copy-paste-ready prompts
  • Actionable checklists
  • Step-by-step instructions
  • QR codes linking to updated digital resources and FAQs

🚀 What You Will Learn

This book covers the full spectrum of modern AI implementation, including how to:

  • Choose Your Tool: Compare ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and Grok to find the best fit for your specific needs.
  • Master Prompting: Set up custom instructions and engineering techniques to get useful results on your first try.
  • Automate the Mundane: Triage emails, generate meeting notes, and handle repetitive tasks to save hours every week.
  • Build Reusable Workflows: Create SOPs, templates, and AI workflows for documents and presentations.
  • No-Code Automation: Use Zapier, Make, and Power Automate to build business systems without writing a single line of code.
  • Stay Secure: Navigate data classification, enterprise plans, and “Shadow AI” to ensure you’re using these tools safely.

👤 Is This Book For You?

AI at Work meets you where you are, whether you are an individual contributor, a manager, or an executive. This book is for you if:

  • You are drowning in repetitive work and ready to reclaim your time.
  • You want productivity tools that fit into your actual routine, not another app collecting dust.
  • You are done with the hype and want a beginner-friendly, structured system.
  • You want real outcomes: time saved, better workflows, and professional growth.

Note: The 2026 Edition is updated quarterly via QR codes to ensure you stay current with the rapid evolution of tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

About the Author

Kate Marshall helps professionals implement AI safely and effectively, drawing on over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity training, project management, and courseware development.

She is the founder of TheGrai, a consultancy focused on AI adoption, training, and governance. Kate works with executives, HR leaders, and small teams who know AI matters but don’t have time for endless experimentation.

‘Risk-First Software Development’: A New Framework for Modern Teams

‘Risk-First Software Development’ by Rob Moffat. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book Spotlight: Risk-First Software Development: Volume 1: The Menagerie

By Rob Moffat

The software development world is crowded with different practices, metrics, methodologies, tools, and techniques. For example, metrics such as “number of open tickets,” “code coverage,” or “release cadence” give us a numerical feel for how things are going, while methodologies like Scrum, Waterfall, and Lean offer different approaches to organizing our work. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

But what unites them all?

About Risk-First

The Risk-First perspective is that all of these practices and methodologies have one thing at their heart: managing risk. Risk isn’t just something that appears in a quarterly report; it actually drives every action we take in a project:

  • User Experience: A story about improving the user login screen reduces the risk of users failing to sign up.
  • Quality Assurance: When we write unit tests, we’re tackling the risk of bugs reaching production and defending against the risk of future changes breaking existing functionality.
  • Monitoring: Improving health indicators addresses the risk of an application failing without anyone noticing.
  • Feature Development: Implementing a new function mitigates the risk of users becoming dissatisfied and moving to a competitor.

Risk-First makes the case that better understanding the nature of these risks is critical to building software in the complex, interconnected domains we work in today.

About The Menagerie

This book is the first volume of the Risk-First series. It introduces the foundational case for viewing every activity on a software project as an attempt to manage risk. The second edition is now available.

The Menagerie introduces the wide variety of risks you’re likely to encounter, naming and classifying them to improve our collective understanding. The book aims to:

  1. Develop a Pattern Language for understanding software risk.
  2. Provide a practical framework for discussing how project activities change the balance of risks we are exposed to.

About the Author

Rob Moffat is a software developer with deep experience in the finance industry, having led regulatory, risk, and transformation IT projects at top-tier investment banks in London. A strong advocate for open source, he currently serves as the Chief Architect for FINOS, the Fintech Open Source Foundation (part of the Linux Foundation).