This week’s podcast is from a new book: Nonfiction Writing Secrets: How to Write Better, Finish Faster, and Publish More Often. I had an opportunity to offer an exclusive book in a Storybundle later this spring. Because I use continual planning for my business, I realized I could offer this book. That means I have […]
Let’s assume that your team does have a definition of Ready. And that they (possibly with a product leader) have shaped the work. But the team still says they don’t know how to start—they don’t have the right people to think through the problem and finish it. If you have component teams, the team is
This week’s podcast is an early part of the Continual Planning book. I thought this was the Introduction when I wrote it. Maybe, maybe not. (Insert laughter here.) The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 13, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a
Maybe your team does have Ready criteria for their backlog. But they look at the backlog item, and they say, “Oh, this is way too big. We have no idea how to start.” That “no idea” often means the work is too large, unclear, or not based on a specific customer with a specific need.
The Writing in Public podcast returns! Life, including many travel changes, etc, interrupted my normal schedule. But I’m back and starting a new nonfiction book about continual planning. Enjoy! The Podcast: The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 6, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just
Does your team feel as if they can’t really start when they take an item off the backlog? The team says the item feels too big. Or the team realizes they need someone else from some other team to solve this problem. Worse, the team needs to decompose the item more to make sure they
This is Johanna Rothman’s February 2026 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Jim, one of my trusted advisor clients, was all gung-ho on AI last year. He told me that his AI work allowed their senior management team to define their strategy, “once and for all.” That strategy was
Several of my clients claim they have plans. But I don’t see the elements of a plan in what they do. Instead, I see wishes that the future will unfold in a particular way. I also have wishes. But the more we confuse them with plans, the less likely we will get the future we
I’m not fond of feedback for short nonfiction writing, such as blog posts, for several reasons: Too often, the people who offer feedback are not the ideal reader for that piece. These nice people might be part of a writing community, but not people who want the knowledge they will receive from that piece. That
I’m close to the end of teaching my last Free Your Inner Writer workshop. I started the workshop by challenging everything my students have learned about writing their entire lives. And these last two weeks are where they try to make it all happen. This time in the workshop is where they struggle the most.