The Pragmatic Manager: An Email Newsletter
If you'd like some common sense, down-to-earth ideas about how to manage your projects, manage your people, or manage your individual work, you've come to the right place. The newsletter is free. The mailing list is private. I will never sell your name or email address. Use the form to the right or below to subscribe.
And, if you decide you would like to connect with me on LinkedIn as well as subscribe, I would be happy to do so, too. That way if you change jobs, I can find you if your email bounces. Thanks!
See all previous Pragmatic Manager Newsletters in reverse chronological order here.
Please sign up using the form on the right or right below this text. If you sign up with your gmail account, you may see the confirmation email on your Promotions tab. You might want to move that email to your Primary tab, so you receive all my emails on your Primary tab.
Note: if you use Safari, you probably can't see the form just above this sentence or over on the right sidebar. Please do email me and I can subscribe you. I am having trouble with my forms.
Are you looking for a job? Check out Manage Your Job Search. It's full of the same pragmatic advice you expect from me.
Previous Pragmatic Manager Newsletters by Topic
agile
- 3 Quick Project Portfolio Tips
- Agile Programs: Possible or a Pipe Dream?
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 1: Manage for Change
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 2: Emphasize Collaboration
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 3: Principles Over Practices
- Being An Agile Leader
- Build Your Agile Leadership
- Build Your Agile Tribe
- Building or Maintaining Agility in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Create Your Agile Culture: Embrace, Not Manage Change
- Creating Change That Lasts
- Define Your Agile Success
- Developing and Nurturing Respect in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Feeling Alone on Your Agile Journey?
- Go Small to Gain Momentum
- Hours of Overlap, the First Principle of Successful Distributed Teams
- How Do You Change?
- How Do You Tell Your Agile Story?
- Is Your Agile Journey Based on Problems or Process?
- Knowing When an Agile Project is Done
- Knowledge, Risks and Guarantees
- Lead Your Agile Transition Through Influence
- Managing Timezones in Geographically Distributed Agile Teams
- Own Your Leadership, Part 1
- Own Your Leadership, Part 3
- Plan, Plan, Plan
- Reframe the “How Much” Conversation to “How Little”
- Scale Agile With Small-World Networks
- Scaling Agile and Lean to Programs
- See Your Agile Collaboration Traps
- See Your Agile Estimation Traps
- See Your Agile Measurement Traps
- Standup or Handoff?
- Three Secrets for a Successful Job Search
- Three Secrets for Improvement by Subtraction
- Three Tips for Your Geographically Distributed Agile Teams
- Time for a Decision
- Understand Your Project Interdependencies
- Use the Power of Your Rumor Mill
- Using Checkins to Create Transparency
- Want a Successful Agile Transformation? Invite Managers
- What Happened to the Beautiful Plans? (They Became Experiments)
- Why Do Iterations Have to be the Same Duration in Agile?
change
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 1: Manage for Change
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 2: Emphasize Collaboration
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 3: Principles Over Practices
- Build Your Agile Tribe
- Create Your Agile Culture: Embrace, Not Manage Change
- Creating Change That Lasts
- Emergent Projects: Managing the Unpredictable
- Feeling Alone on Your Agile Journey?
- How Do You Change?
- Is Your Agile Journey Based on Problems or Process?
- Johanna's 2013 New Year's Tips
- Plan, Plan, Plan
- Prepare to Become More Influential
- Three Tips for Artisanal Change
- When Is It Time for a Change?
coaching
- Always Ask the Zeroth Question About Your Projects
- Are You Being Guilted Into Doing More?
- Are Your “Shoulds” Driving Your Decisions?
- Being An Agile Leader
- Building Rapport
- Explaining Options When You Coach
- Feeling Alone on Your Agile Journey?
- Focus on One Thing at a Time
- Johanna's 2013 New Year's Tips
- Own Your Leadership, Part 1
- Prepare to Become More Influential
- Take Advantage of Opportunities for Speed Coaching
- The Problem Statement is Not Always the Problem
- Three Tips for Becoming a Servant Leader
collaboration
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 2: Emphasize Collaboration
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 3: Principles Over Practices
- Johanna's 2014 New Year's Tips
- See Your Agile Collaboration Traps
- Three Secrets for Improvement by Subtraction
- Three Tips for Becoming a Servant Leader
- Time for a Decision
culture or cultural fit
- Create Your Agile Culture: Embrace, Not Manage Change
- How Do We Treat Each Other?
- Providing Effective Correcting and Reinforcing Feedback
- What Does Your Organization Reward?
- What Happened to the Beautiful Plans? (They Became Experiments)
- Your Culture: What is Okay for You to Discuss?
- Great People Create Great Products
- How Do We Treat Each Other?
- Your Culture: What is Okay for You to Discuss?
done
- Look for Results, not Time
- Making Waterfall (a Serial Lifecycle) Work For You, Part 3
- Use Overtime as a Last Resort
- Who Decides What Done Means for a Program?
estimation
- Creating Trustworthy Estimates
- How to Avoid Three Big Estimation Traps
- Knowledge, Risks and Guarantees
- Three Parts of Estimation
- When You Need to Commit
facilitation
fault feedback ratio
- Define Your Agile Success
- Discovering and Maintaining Your Project's Heartbeat, Part 2
- Look for Results, not Time
geographically distributed teams
- Building or Maintaining Agility in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Building Trust in Any Team
- Developing and Nurturing Respect in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Distributed? Yes. Alone? No.
- Hours of Overlap, the First Principle of Successful Distributed Teams
- Lead Your Team's Transparency and Pervasive Communication
- Managing Timezones in Geographically Distributed Agile Teams
- Micromanagement is Not Transparency!
- Standup or Handoff?
- Start Your Geographically Distributed Projects Right
- Three Tips for Your Geographically Distributed Agile Teams
- Timeboxes Help Multisite Teams
- Using Checkins to Create Transparency
Hiring Geeks That Fit
- Great People Create Great Products
- How Do We Treat Each Other?
- How Effective Are You?
- Small Steps, Frequent Deliverables Work
- The Case Against Stable Teams, Part 2
- The Case For Stable Teams, Part 1
- What Does Your Organization Reward?
- Your Culture: What is Okay for You to Discuss?
hiring
- Great People Create Great Products
- How Do We Treat Each Other?
- More People Does Not Equal Better Projects
- What Does Your Organization Reward?
- Your Culture: What is Okay for You to Discuss?
inch-pebble
- A New Year's Tip: Start Small
- Discovering and Maintaining Your Project's Heartbeat, Part 1
- Look for Results, not Time
influence
- Being An Agile Leader
- Build Your Agile Leadership
- Feeling Alone on Your Agile Journey?
- How Do You Tell Your Agile Story?
- Lead Your Agile Transition Through Influence
- Managing People: Using Influence
- Own Your Leadership, Part 1
- Prepare to Become More Influential
- Want a Successful Agile Transformation? Invite Managers
interviewing
iteration
- Developing and Nurturing Respect in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Three Secrets for a Successful Job Search
job search
leadership or servant leadership
- Agile Transformation Secrets, Part 1: Manage for Change
- Creating an Environment of Leadership
- Discovering Your Leadership
- Do You Have an Abundance or Scarcity Mindset?
- Do You Have Too Much to Do?
- Do You Want More Productivity?
- How Do You Tell Your Agile Story?
- Johanna's 2014 New Year's Tips
- Lead Your Agile Transition Through Influence
- Own Your Leadership, Part 2
- Plan, Plan, Plan
- Productive vs. Busy
- Solving Problems With the Rule of Three
- Take Advantage of Opportunities for Speed Coaching
- Three Myths and Three Tips
- Three Tips for Becoming a Servant Leader
- Using One-on-Ones to Build Trust
- Being An Agile Leader
- Build Your Agile Leadership
- Build Your Agile Tribe
- Create Your Agile Culture: Embrace, Not Manage Change
- Creating an Environment of Leadership
- Define Your Agile Success
- Do You Want More Productivity?
- Feeling Alone on Your Agile Journey?
- How Do You Tell Your Agile Story?
- Lead Your Team's Transparency and Pervasive Communication
- Manage “When” With a Parking Lot
- Own Your Leadership, Part 1
- Own Your Leadership, Part 2
- Own Your Leadership, Part 3
- Productive vs. Busy
- The Case Against Stable Teams, Part 2
- Three Tips for Becoming a Servant Leader
- Want a Successful Agile Transformation? Invite Managers
- What Happened to the Beautiful Plans? (They Became Experiments)
Manage Your Project Portfolio
- Always Ask the Zeroth Question About Your Projects
- Are You Being Guilted Into Doing More?
- Are Your “Shoulds” Driving Your Decisions?
- Do You Have Too Much to Do?
- Focus on One Thing at a Time
- Manage “When” With a Parking Lot
management
- Appreciations, Personalized Thank You's
- Choosing Facilitation
- Creating an Environment of Leadership
- Do You Have an Abundance or Scarcity Mindset?
- Do You Have Too Much to Do?
- Do You Want More Productivity?
- Great People Create Great Products
- How Effective Are You?
- Johanna's 2014 New Year's Tips
- Lead Your Team's Transparency and Pervasive Communication
- Look for Results, not Time
- Plan Now For Your Next Time Out of the Office
- Productive vs. Busy
- The Manager's Role in Creating Effective Teams, Part 3
- Three Myths and Three Tips
- Three Tips for Becoming a Servant Leader
- Using One-on-Ones to Build Trust
- Want a Successful Agile Transformation? Invite Managers
- What Happened to the Beautiful Plans? (They Became Experiments)
- When You're Having a Bad-Manager Day
- Who's In Charge of Quality?
metrics
- “What Does It Cost You To Fix A Defect?”
- Look for Results, not Time
- See Your Agile Collaboration Traps
- See Your Agile Measurement Traps
- Three Secrets for Improvement by Subtraction
multitasking
- Always Ask the Zeroth Question About Your Projects
- Are You Being Guilted Into Doing More?
- Are Your “Shoulds” Driving Your Decisions?
- Focus on One Thing at a Time
- Johanna's New Year's Tips
- The Perils of Parallel Projects
- Use Overtime as a Last Resort
- Why Multitasking Doesn't Work
New Years tip
- A New Year's Tip: Start Small
- A Small New Year's Tip: Timebox, Not Scopebox
- Focus on One Thing at a Time
- Johanna's 2013 New Year's Tips
- Johanna's 2014 New Year's Tips
- Johanna's New Year's Tips
- New Year's Tips for 2017
one-on-one
problem solving
- “It Depends”
- Build Your Agile Tribe
- Creating an Environment of Leadership
- Define Your Agile Success
- Discovering Your Leadership
- Do You Have Too Much to Do?
- Is Your Agile Journey Based on Problems or Process?
- Lead Your Agile Transition Through Influence
- Solving Problems
- Solving Problems With the Rule of Three
- Take Advantage of Opportunities for Speed Coaching
- The Problem Statement is Not Always the Problem
- Three Tips for Becoming a Servant Leader
product owner
- Developing and Nurturing Respect in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Own Your Leadership, Part 3
- Plan, Plan, Plan
- Reframe the “How Much” Conversation to “How Little”
program management
- Agile Programs: Possible or a Pipe Dream?
- Create an Environment of Delivery
- Creating an Environment of Leadership
- Go Small to Gain Momentum
- How to Avoid Three Big Estimation Traps
- Organizing Programs
- Program Management
- Scale Agile With Small-World Networks
- Scaling Agile and Lean to Programs
- Time for a Decision
- Timeboxes Help Multisite Teams
- When You Need to Commit
- Who Decides What Done Means for a Program?
project charter
project management tips
- Decreasing Project Completion Time, Part 1
- Decreasing Project Completion Time, Part 2
- Emergent Projects: Managing the Unpredictable
- How to Avoid Three Big Estimation Traps
- Is the Urgent Consuming You?
- Iterations and Increments: For Any Project
- New Year's Tips for 2017
- Three Secrets to Creating Your Focus Time
- When Is It Time for a Change?
project management
- “It's Just the First Slip”
- “What Does It Cost You To Fix A Defect?”
- Avoid Death Marches
- Building or Maintaining Agility in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Create an Environment of Delivery
- Create Successful Schedules: Three Tips to Rolling Wave Planning
- Creating an Environment of Leadership
- Creating Trustworthy Estimates
- Define Your Agile Success
- Discovering and Maintaining Your Project's Heartbeat, Part 1
- Discovering and Maintaining Your Project's Heartbeat, Part 2
- Distributed? Yes. Alone? No.
- Do You Have Too Much to Do?
- Do You Want More Productivity?
- Emergent Projects: Managing the Unpredictable
- Great People Create Great Products
- Hope is Not a Strategy
- How Effective Are You?
- How to Avoid Three Big Estimation Traps
- Is the Urgent Consuming You?
- Iterations and Increments: For Any Project
- Knowing When an Agile Project is Done
- Knowledge, Risks and Guarantees
- Look for Results, not Time
- Making Waterfall (a Serial Lifecycle) Work For You, Part 1
- Making Waterfall (a Serial Lifecycle) Work For You, Part 2
- Making Waterfall (a Serial Lifecycle) Work For You, Part 3
- Managing Timezones in Geographically Distributed Agile Teams
- Plan, Plan, Plan
- Productive vs. Busy
- Recognizing the Bring-me-a-Rock Schedule Game
- Refocusing: 90% Done is Not Almost Done
- Refocusing: Emerging from the Split Focus Schedule Game
- Release Criteria, or “Is it Ready to Ship?”
- See Your Agile Estimation Traps
- See Your Agile Measurement Traps
- Small Steps, Frequent Deliverables Work
- Standup or Handoff?
- Start Your Geographically Distributed Projects Right
- Steering vs. Repeatable
- The Case Against Stable Teams, Part 2
- The Case For Stable Teams, Part 1
- The Perils of Parallel Projects
- The Value of Planning
- Three Myths and Three Tips
- Three Parts of Estimation
- Three Secrets for a Successful Job Search
- Use Overtime as a Last Resort
- Using Checkins to Create Transparency
- When Is It Time for a Change?
- When You Need to Commit
- Who's In Charge of Quality?
- Why a Project Charter Works
- Why Do Iterations Have to be the Same Duration in Agile?
project portfolio management
- Always Ask the Zeroth Question About Your Projects
- Are You Being Guilted Into Doing More?
- Are Your “Shoulds” Driving Your Decisions?
- Do You Have an Abundance or Scarcity Mindset?
- Do You Have Too Much to Do?
- Focus on One Thing at a Time
- How Effective Are You?
- How Many Emergency Projects Do You Have?
- Johanna's New Year's Tips
- Kill Canceled Projects
- Manage “When” With a Parking Lot
- New Year's Tips for 2017
- Park Projects You Can't Staff, For Now
- Productive vs. Busy
- Starting Strategic Planning
- Three Myths and Three Tips
- Three Secrets for Improvement by Subtraction
- Three Secrets to Creating Your Focus Time
- When Your Projects Are a Program
- Why Multitasking Doesn't Work
- You Can't Do All the Work. Now What?
quality
recruiting
reflection
release criteria
- Create an Environment of Delivery
- Knowing When an Agile Project is Done
- Release Criteria, or “Is it Ready to Ship?”
- See Your Agile Delivery Traps
- Use Overtime as a Last Resort
- Why a Project Charter Works
respect
risk management
- “It's Just the First Slip”
- Being An Agile Leader
- Create Your Agile Culture: Embrace, Not Manage Change
- Iterations and Increments: For Any Project
- Organizing Programs
- Time for a Decision
risk
- Being An Agile Leader
- Building or Maintaining Agility in Geographically Distributed Teams
- Iterations and Increments: For Any Project
- Time for a Decision
schedule game or schedule games
- Hope is Not a Strategy
- Refocusing: 90% Done is Not Almost Done
- Refocusing: Emerging from the Split Focus Schedule Game
strategic planning
teams
- Do You Want More Productivity?
- Hours of Overlap, the First Principle of Successful Distributed Teams
- Own Your Leadership, Part 2
- Own Your Leadership, Part 3
- Productive vs. Busy
- Providing Effective Correcting and Reinforcing Feedback
- See Your Agile Collaboration Traps
- The Case Against Stable Teams, Part 2
- The Case For Stable Teams, Part 1
- The Manager's Role in Creating Effective Teams, Part 3
- Three Myths and Three Tips
- Three Tips for Becoming a Servant Leader
timebox
- A Small New Year's Tip: Timebox, Not Scopebox
- Making Waterfall (a Serial Lifecycle) Work For You, Part 1
- Making Waterfall (a Serial Lifecycle) Work For You, Part 3
- Three Secrets for a Successful Job Search
- Timeboxes Help Multisite Teams