After I delivered a talk about product management, Fred, a prospective writer, asked a question. He said, “It seems like there are no new ideas. How can I write something that’s already been done before?” I said, “Write your truth, your experiences. Don’t worry about what’s come before.” He said, “But someone already wrote that.” […]
My podcast this week is from the Effective Public Speaking book. Hope you enjoy it. This excerpt is a bit of a rant. Also in video. The Transcript: I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is Johanna’s 60 Seconds of Writing WIP for July 19, 2024, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some
So much of the planning I see in organizations is way overdone. Senior leaders still try to plan the project portfolio for a year. Product leaders are supposed to “commit” to year-long or longer roadmaps. And so many teams know “exactly” what they’re supposed to do for weeks, if not months at a time. We
My podcast this week is from the Effective Public Speaking book. Enjoy! (Also in video. No outtakes this week. Sorry, not sorry.) The Podcast: The Transcript: I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is Johanna’s 60 Seconds of Writing WIP for July 12, 2024, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in
During a sunset sail last week (see the image), I had a lovely conversation with a guy who said he did “accounting” type stuff. I asked him more, and it turns out he works for a three-letter acronym organization. No, I don’t know which one, even though I asked. He’s trying to organize a project
My writing WIP this week is from the Effective Public Speaking book. Enjoy! The podcast: The Transcript: I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is Johanna’s 60 Seconds of Writing WIP for July 5, 2024, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the Effective Public Speaking book.
My 60 Seconds of Writing WIP podcast this week is from the Effective Public Speaking book. (I’m thinking of changing the name of the podcast to “Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman.” Comments?) As I was recording, I realized I had written “two kinds of slides” and immediately listed three. So I added an outtake
A senior leader, Jim, emailed me to clarify how to track a project’s progress. He’s a sales guy by training and is now leading a technology-based company. He’s confused. When he asks about progress, he feels as if everyone takes one step forward and two steps back, just as in the Project Kisses of Death
My 60 Seconds this week is from the Effective Public Speaking book. I have a ton of writing on my proverbial plate, so I’m working on finishing, not starting something new. (Hmm, where have you heard that before?) The podcast: The Transcript: I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is Johanna’s 60 Seconds of Writing WIP for
In a recent conversation, I realized that very smart and experienced project managers do not always know the difference between activity-based plans and deliverable-based plans. While activities might result in an interim or internal deliverable, activities do not result in a user-focused deliverable. The team might make some progress, but not progress users can see.