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.

Agile Job Search, HTP

Manage Your Job Search Slides Posted

I gave my first public talk about Manage Your Job Search last week. I posted the slides and audio on slideshare.net. I cannot seem to unsync the audio from the slides. I have tried, but slideshare.net seems to think I speak at a standard pace with each slide. Hah! No, I do not. So, the

agile, MPD

Multitasking? Think Again

I have an article up on TechTarget, called Alternative project management styles are faster than multitasking. I had originally called the article “Multitasking makes you stupid-you have alternatives.” 🙂 There’s my Queen of the Career-limiting conversation thing going again. Would you have read the article with the original title? Eh, maybe not. In any case,

Hiring Geeks That Fit, HTP

Hiring is a Team Sport

Shane Hastie, my sometime coauthor, and sometime co-teacher, interviewed me for InfoQ about Hiring Geeks That Fit. We had a great time, and the interview shows it. I hope you enjoy the interview. One of the things I say in the interview is, “Hiring should be a team sport, too.” I’m speaking at Agile Boston

Agile Job Search, HTP

Possible Career Finder Tool for Job Seekers

I discovered this career finder tool. See What Career Should I Choose? There is a lovely chart. Here is how I walked myself through the chart. I plugged in Computer and Mathematical occupations and Management, figuring I would find me 🙂 I turned annotations to On. Then I moved the mouse around to see what

Books, MPD

Hiring Geeks That Fit Interview Posted on InfoQ

What’s the single biggest point of leverage you have in changing your team? It’s not the process. After the manager, it’s the people on your team. (Your manager is the single biggest point of leverage because of the political leverage the manager has.) This is why it is so important to become great at hiring

HTP

Spreading Blogger Love from SHRM 2013

I had a chance to hang at the Blogger Lounge at SHRM this week, courtesy of Dice.com. I’m used to participating in conferences. I speak at many conferences, keynoting at many of them. This conference was a different experience for me. I got to be in the Blogger’s Lounge, talking to bloggers, writing (attempting to,

hiring strategy, HTP

What Google Has Learned About How to Hire People

Have you read this New York Times article, In Head-Hunting, Big Data May Not Be Such a Big Deal? It’s an interview with Laszlo Bock, senior vice president of people operations at Google. There are several points that are critical for you to read: We looked at tens of thousands of interviews, and everyone who

management, MPD

Chess Pieces or Domain Expertise? Your Choice

Many years ago, I started a job as a contract manager, and it became clear I had a big problem. I had developers who knew one area of the code well. I had testers who knew not much of any area of the code well, even though they had worked for the organization for many

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