Author name: Johanna

I help you identify and solve the problems that prevent you from releasing systems, hiring the right people, deciding which project to work on next. I take a pragmatic approach: what will work best for you, now? Some people call me a focuser. Some call me an accelerator. When I work with people, first we define our goal together. Typically, it's to get a better product out the door faster. I work with my clients to help managers figure out how to do the managing better, and how the technical contributors can contribute better, not to create a by-the-book system. I work with you, your staff, and your current product development practices. Together, we learn what works well for you and what doesn't. I believe in changing only what needs to be changed at the current time, to maximize your success. We work together to develop a blueprint for the future, and to build in capacity to recognize and implement change.

newsletter

Leadership Tip 23: How to Speak Truth to Power

This is Johanna Rothman’s October 2025 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. I happened to see a recent review of Practical Ways to Manage Yourself that made me giggle. (I don’t normally read book reviews because once I put the book out into the world, that book is […]

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2025.38 Spy Excerpt

This week’s podcast is an excerpt from a romantic suspense spy story. Enjoy! The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 24, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of an espionage, spy, short story.

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2025.37 Romantic Suspense Opening

This week’s podcast is from the opening of a romantic suspense short story. Enjoy! (Update on Monday: I forgot to publish this because I was so focused on finishing the story!) The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 17, 2025, where I read an excerpt

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2025.36 Portal Fantasy Short Story Opening

This week, my podcast is the opening of a short story, a portal fantasy. Enjoy! The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 10, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is the opening of a (hopefully)

MPD, podcast

2025.35 Solarpunk Short Story Opening

My podcast this week is from a fiction story. After I wrote this part, I realized I started in the wrong place. So you get the benefit of reading something I will definitely change later today. Yes, I write fiction exactly the same way I write nonfiction. I start where I think the piece starts.

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