Stan, a prospective client, had trouble making time for our discovery call. (That’s the call where the client and I discuss the boundaries of a consulting engagement.) After he canceled three scheduled calls, I suspected we would not work together. But then he asked me for an evening conversation, after his day’s “craziness.” (His words,
Very few writers—nonfiction or fiction—sell a lot of books. That means they don’t make money from their books alone. What’s a writer to do? Take a look at the 2023 Write Stuff bundle. The bundle will help you see where you might improve your craft and your business. Most of the books apply to all
Is your organization in search of business agility? If so, here’s one pragmatic tip: Reduce WIP (Work in Progress) everywhere. Start with the portfolio of everything you have to do. Ask the Zeroth Question, “Should we do this work at all?” Then, consider these questions, from One Quick Way to Start to Manage Your Project
Up until now, when thinking about risks, I defaulted to the risks in the project pyramid. That’s because each project offers different value over the product’s lifetime. (See Product Roles, Part 4: Product Orientation and the Role of Projects for images of why we want ever-increasing product value, but why we might space the projects
Many nonfiction writers start books with outlines. I’m not big on outlines because they shortcut the writer’s thinking. (Nonfiction writers think and learn as they write.) However, some writers go off on tangents without outlines. Or, some writers (raises hand) are prone to put everything she ever learned about this topic into one book. Either
I am thrilled to announce a book birthday: Successful Independent Consulting: Relationships That Focus on Mutual Benefit. People often ask me how long it takes me to write a book. Every book takes the time it takes. But this one took much longer than I expected. Here’s the story of the consulting book. In the
Brandon, a senior leader, asked, “What is all this hype about agile frameworks and models and practices? Do I really need all that stuff?” I shook my head and grinned. “Nope. Instead, practice this: make change easy, so you can learn from it. That allows you to change again and faster. Especially for management.” “That’s
Sid, a senior leader, wants the benefits of an agile transformation. While he doesn’t care about agility per se, he wants the organization to be more effective. His goals: Open new markets for their products. Gain new customers in those markets. Retain more current customers. He suspects that if the teams release faster, the organization can achieve those
When I published Writing Secret 9: Keep Your Writing Clean As You Write, the feedback surprised me. Many of my fellow nonfiction writers write a lot before they get internal feedback. That might be right for them. It’s not right for me. I finally understood why I write differently. I think of each iteration as
Sherry, a middle manager in a relatively small organization, said, “We can’t plan for an entire quarter at a time. Our managers need to change what they want more often than that. But I’d like to plan for a quarter at a time and I really don’t want to ask people to multitask. What do