Johanna Rothman (@jrothman.com)

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

Expert in managing product development. Writer, speaker, consultant. 20 books and counting. (Fiction, also) See https://www.jrothman.com for everything. The linktree: https://linktr.ee/johannarothman

1.5K followers 1K following581 posts

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

How Many Ideas Can We Consider to Achieve Our Desired Outcome? createadaptablelife.com/2026/10/how-... #QuestionOfTheWeek

createadaptablelife.comHow Many Ideas Can We Consider to Achieve Our Desired Outcome? - Create an Adaptable LifeAs a problem-solver, I often see one desired outcome—and the usual path to achieve that. Because it’s my usual path, I’m comfortable with it. In terms of the Change Model, I’m in Old Status Quo. (See ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

How Cancer Takes So Much Time from the People Who Have the Least johannarothman.substack.com/p/how-cancer... #Cancer

johannarothman.substack.comHow Cancer Takes So Much Time from the People Who Have the LeastForms, phone calls, and medical records—oh my!

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

johannarothman.substack.com/p/johannas-r... #Cancer

johannarothman.substack.comJohanna’s “Rules” for Living with CancerChoosing Rules for My Best Possible Life

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

A Management Minute: Train People on Skills They Need. Period. www.jrothman.com/mpd/manageme... #Management

jrothman.comA Management Minute: Train People on Skills They Need. Period. - Johanna RothmanI subscribe to HBR’s Management Tip of the Day. A recent tip was “Train Employees on Skills That Evolve with AI.” That’s a lovely sentiment. And totally wrong-headed and insufficient for any workforce...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

A Project Minute: Bad News Never Ages Well www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/10/... #ProjectManagement

jrothman.comA Project Minute: Bad News Never Ages Well - Johanna RothmanImagine this scenario: You’re a project or program manager. You suspect things are not going swimmingly well. But no one has told you any bad news. Not yet. What do you do? As a facilitative leader, s...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

How Can We Build Enough Power to Solve This Problem? createadaptablelife.com/2026/10/how-... #Power

createadaptablelife.comHow Can We Build Enough Power to Solve This Problem? - Create an Adaptable LifeThis is Johanna Rothman’s October 2026 Create an Adaptable Life newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom. There are plenty of problems I wish I could just solve. Some are professional. I can’...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

How a Little Math Plus Human Stories Can Make Your Project Data Short, Sweet, and Useful www.jrothman.com/newsletter/2... #Metrics

jrothman.comHow a Little Math Plus Human Stories Can Make Your Project Data Short, Sweet, and Useful - Johanna RothmanThis is Johanna Rothman’s October 2026 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom. Are you tired of large decks of project status data? I hate them. Too often, the data is not...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

A Management Minute: Interruptions and How to See Their Effect on Our Work www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/10/... #Interruption #Multitasking

jrothman.comA Management Minute: Interruptions and How to See Their Effect on Our Work - Johanna RothmanLast week, Ryan Latta offered a fascinating metric on LinkedIn: the number of times a leader taps a developer on the shoulder for “something real quick.” That kind of interruption makes it impossible ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

My Substack about living with cancer: johannarothman.substack.com/p/why-im-wri... #Cancer

johannarothman.substack.comWhy I’m Writing about Living with CancerBecause I’m not going gentle into any good night. Kicking and screaming all the way.

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

A Management Minute: How Delayed Decisions Create Many Kinds of Debt www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/10/... #Decisions

jrothman.comA Management Minute: How Delayed Decisions Create Many Kinds of Debt - Johanna RothmanIf you have to make a decision, how fast can you make it? There is certainly a range of decision times. Some decisions require almost immediate decisions. Others can take a while. But no decision can ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

How Can You Know the Right Tool to Use for Your Current Problem? createadaptablelife.com/2026/09/how-... #QuestionOfTheWeek #ProblemSolving

createadaptablelife.comHow Can You Know the Right Tool to Use for Your Current Problem? - Create an Adaptable LifeI love learning about tools and how to use them. Here are some of the tools I use often: Manual tools I use in the kitchen. Electronic tools for my work, such as visualizing the flow of work, systems ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

My September Pragmatic Manager newsletter: Why Using AI Means We Need More Tool—Not People—Management and Control www.jrothman.com/newsletter/2... video: youtu.be/8X8URr9GV4E #Management #Autonomy

jrothman.comWhy Using AI Means We Need More Tool—Not People—Management and Control - Johanna RothmanThis is Johanna Rothman’s September 2026 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. One of my trusted advisor clients, Gary, told me he was worried about how th...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

How Much (or How Little) Can We Do to Repair the World? createadaptablelife.com/2026/09/how-... #Progress #QuestionOfTheWeek

createadaptablelife.comHow Much (or How Little) Can We Do to Repair the World? - Create an Adaptable LifeI look forward to fall every year. First, it’s apple season, with terrific, crunchy, and tart apples. Second, it’s the High Holy Days. I use the holidays to reflect on my life over the past year. Then...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

18 Sept

My Weekly #WritingWIP: 2026.26 How Old Are Your Plans? www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/09/... video: youtu.be/i5xUIVGYiiY #Planning

jrothman.com2026.26 How Old Are Your Plans? - Johanna RothmanMy podcast this week is from the Continual Planning book. (I use a frame to embed the podcast into this post. Some RSS readers and some email clients do not show that. If you see nothing after “The Po...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

17 Sept

A Management Minute: How to Recognize a Change in Capacity to Stop Pressure www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/09/... #Management #Capacity

jrothman.comManagement Minute: How to Recognize a Change in Capacity to Stop Pressure - Johanna RothmanDo you feel pressure to do more and more? I do. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. But sometimes, that “more and more” creates pressure on the team and the people who interact with that team. When anyone ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

15 Sept

My September 2026 CAL newsletter: How Can We Enjoy the Necessary Practice to Master Valuable New Skills? createadaptablelife.com/2026/09/how-... video: youtu.be/EdDOaRYrIEU #Learning #Writing

createadaptablelife.comHow Can We Enjoy the Necessary Practice to Master Valuable New Skills? - Create an Adaptable LifeThis is Johanna Rothman’s September 2026 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. When I first learned to program computers, I was not very good. ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

11 Sept

My Weekly #WritingWIP: 2026.25 Why Aging Matters www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/09/... video: youtu.be/1riKNE8Dy5M #Planning

jrothman.com2026.25 Why Aging Matters - Johanna RothmanMy podcast this week is from the Continual Planning book. Enjoy! I did make a mistake this week. Since I was trying to stay within my minute timebox, I missed adding the most important line. Here it i...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

8 Sept

A Management Minute: Treat People Fairly, Not Necessarily Equally www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/09/... #Management

jrothman.comA Management Minute: Treat People Fairly, Not Necessarily Equally - Johanna RothmanSome of you are already preparing for the salary and performance review discussions at the end of the year. (Or the beginning of next year.) Good for you, for preparing this early. You have a chance o...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

2 Sept

Are you a published author? If so, assume these "book clubs" are scams first. (There are some real clubs, but I receive at least 3-4 of the scams each week.) Money flows to the writer. Not the other way around. (See www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/07/... for more details.)

Rob Bignell, Editor/Author@inventingreality.bsky.social

Warning to Authors: Book club marketing scam targeting you #bookmarketingscam #writingcommunity #author #writing #amwriting #writer #writerslife #indieauthor #shortstory #authors #amediting #fiction #booksky jakbazino-srhia.wordpress.com...

jakbazino-srhia.wordpress.comInside a Nigerian-Run Book Club Scam Targeting Indie AuthorsA first-person investigation into how scammers impersonate a real London book club — and how authors can fight back It started, as these things often do, with a flattering email. On March 8, I rece…

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

28 Aug

My Weekly #WritingWIP: 2026.24 Treat All Plans as Experiments and Bets www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/08/... video: youtu.be/3kmevLhQ6fU #Planning

jrothman.com2026.24 Treat All Plans as Experiments and Bets - Johanna RothmanMy podcast this week is from the Continual Planning book. Enjoy! (I use a frame to embed the podcast into this post. Some RSS readers and some email clients do not show that. If you see nothing after ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

27 Aug

How Can You Tell the Difference Between Inspiration and Competition? createadaptablelife.com/2026/08/how-... #QuestionOfTheWeek #Mastery

createadaptablelife.comHow Can You Tell the Difference Between Inspiration and Competition? - Create an Adaptable LifeAs I’ve processed the deaths of Dolly Parton and Tim Burton this week, I realized that I used the examples of their creativity and output as inspiration for my career. Not because I could ever “compet...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

26 Aug

How to Best Learn from Your Retros: Choose One Experiment at a Time www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/08/... #Learn

jrothman.comHow to Best Learn from Your Retros: Choose One Experiment at a Time - Johanna RothmanHow often does your team conduct a retrospective? If you’re like most of my clients, not often enough. When I ask why the team doesn’t retrospect at least once every couple of weeks, these teams tell ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

21 Aug

My Weekly #WritingWIP: 2026.23 HiPPOs Destroy Psychological Safety www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/08/... video: youtu.be/Yrb_97Nf2NI #Planning

jrothman.com2026.23 HiPPOs Destroy Psychological Safety - Johanna RothmanThis week’s podcast is from the Continual Planning book. Enjoy! I use a frame to embed the podcast into this post. Some RSS readers and some email clients do not show that. If you see nothing after “T...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

20 Aug

What Are You Willing to Do to Create the Culture You Want? createadaptablelife.com/2026/08/what... #QuestionOfTheWeek #Culture

createadaptablelife.comWhat Are You Willing to Do to Create the Culture You Want? - Create an Adaptable LifeI’ve been using Edgar Schein’s definition of corporate culture for years. (Ever since Esther explained it to me.) Schein rolled around artifacts and several other ideas, but Esther clarified them for ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

20 Aug

My August 2026 Pragmatic Manager newsletter: Three Ways to Use Guardrails to Make Progress and Adapt to Frequent Change www.jrothman.com/newsletter/2... video: youtu.be/Xf9cQKLjubU #Planning #Change

jrothman.comThree Ways to Use Guardrails to Make Progress and Adapt to Frequent Change - Johanna RothmanThis is Johanna Rothman’s August 2026 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. Do you feel as if you’re in the middle of too-frequent change? I do. Even thoug...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

14 Aug

My Weekly #WritingWIP: 2026.22 When Planning Outpaces Delivery www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/08/... video: youtu.be/EcJDif3i1D4 #Planning

jrothman.com2026.22 When Planning Outpaces Delivery - Johanna RothmanMy podcast this week is from the Continual Planning book. Enjoy! Note: If you read this in an RSS reader, you might not see the frame below with the actual podcast. If so, please click through to this...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

13 Aug

Help needed for external camera on Mac Tahoe 26.5.2: It zooms in too far. I have tried "all" the solutions, and so far, nothing works. My built-in camera works correctly. Not my external. Looking for a solution. Thanks.

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

13 Aug

My August 2026 CAL newsletter: What Would You Keep, Change, or Remove to Make Your Best Possible Life? createadaptablelife.com/2026/08/what... video: youtu.be/ZEyQumge-Sc #Adaptable #Choices

createadaptablelife.comWhat Would You Keep, Change, or Remove to Make Your Best Possible Life? - Create an Adaptable LifeThis is Johanna Rothman’s August 2026 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. I hear a lot about work/life balance. I don’t buy that. While we sp...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

11 Aug

How Flow Exposes the Reality and Costs of Progress, Part 2 www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/08/... #Management #Flow

jrothman.comHow Flow Exposes the Reality and Costs of Progress, Part 2 - Johanna RothmanHow does your team show progress? Do they use activity-based (cost accounting) measures? Or, do they demo running, tested features? And possibly use a product backlog burnup chart to see each feature ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

7 Aug

My Weekly #WritingWIP:2026.21 Management Costs of Delay www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/08/... video: youtu.be/n44s9fbrbiQ #Planning

jrothman.com2026.21 Management Costs of Delay - Johanna RothmanMy podcast this week is from the Continual Planning book. If you are curious about the origins of this, read Why Minimize Management Decision Time. Enjoy! Note: If you read this in an RSS reader, you ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

6 Aug

How Do You Use Your Self-Talk to Finish Something You Want to Accomplish? createadaptablelife.com/2026/08/how-... #QuestionOfTheWeek #Finish

createadaptablelife.comHow Do You Use Your Self-Talk to Finish Something You Want to Accomplish? - Create an Adaptable LifeAs I’ve challenged myself physically, I noticed I’m talking out loud, coaching myself. My most frequent word is “Okay.” Okay is short for: “Okay, you finished that piece. Now, it’s time for the next s...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

5 Aug

How Cost Accounting Hides the Truth from Management, Part 1 www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/08/... #Management #Flow

jrothman.comHow Cost Accounting Hides the Truth from Management, Part 1 - Johanna RothmanAll organizations use cost accounting to report on their revenue, including profit and loss. We are so accustomed to using cost accounting that we don’t realize how it hides the truth about our progre...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

31 July

My Weekly #WritingWIP: 2026.20 Opportunity Costs Are Not the Same as the Costs of Delay www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/07/... video: youtu.be/OSk1aGeNhzg #Planning

jrothman.com2026.20 Opportunity Costs Are Not the Same as the Costs of Delay - Johanna RothmanThis week’s podcast is from the Continual Planning book. I embed the podcast as a frame in these posts. If you cannot see the podcast, please click through to the post itself. (Or, get the RSS feed an...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

29 July

How Do We Trust Our Judgment When AI Offers Us Different Answers? createadaptablelife.com/2026/07/how-... #QuestionOfTheWeek #AI

createadaptablelife.comHow Do We Trust Our Judgment When AI Offers Us Different Answers? - Create an Adaptable LifeMany of my colleagues use AI for parts of their jobs. (I do, too, to see what I’ve already written.) Using AI requires both trust and judgment. Trust that the LLM has given you the correct answer(s). ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

28 July

How to Use AI for Writing Without Stealing from Others, Yourself, or Cheating Your Readers www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/07/... #AI #Writing

jrothman.comHow to Use AI for Writing Without Stealing from Others, Yourself, or Cheating Your Readers - Johanna RothmanI’ve been writing professionally since 1997. While you might not agree with my stances on anything I write, you can tell I wrote it. Even in my early writing, my author voice shines through. And I lov...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

28 July

I also used throughput accounting to manage projects and programs starting in the 1980s. No one *ever* asked me if I was "in budget." Because they could see progress. Now, if I can get my brain to start this series 😂.

Pawel Brodzinski@pawelbrodzinski.bsky.social

"Why don't managers use throughput/lean accounting to manage, and cost accounting to report?" -- @jrothman.com Just realized, I was doing precisely that in the late 2000s. It made intuitive sense. Even if it required translating two worlds back and forth continuously.

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

24 July

My Weekly #WritingWIP: 2026.19 The Sigh Test www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/07/... video: youtu.be/Y1HdyRWSzhE #Planning

jrothman.com2026.19 The Sigh Test - Johanna RothmanThis week’s podcast is from the Continual Planning book. Enjoy! (I embed the podcast in a frame just below the Podcast heading. If you do not see the frame, please click through to hear it. Or, check ...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

23 July

Drowning in Work? Three Tips to Help You Choose Your Single Focus www.jrothman.com/newsletter/2... video: youtu.be/Ed2cSS2Wa4c #Choices #SayNo

jrothman.comDrowning in Work? Three Tips to Help You Choose Your Single Focus - Johanna RothmanThis is Johanna Rothman’s July 2026 Pragmatic Manager Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. (Looking for the video? I post the video within a few days of publication on...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

21 July

My July 2026 Create an Adaptable Life newsletter: How Do We Choose Between a Straight Reset and Starting Anew? createadaptablelife.com/2026/07/how-... video: youtu.be/c1mlp_57kLs #Planning

createadaptablelife.comHow Do We Choose Between a Straight Reset and Starting Anew? - Create an Adaptable LifeThis is Johanna Rothman’s July 2026 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. (Looking for the video? Go to the bottom of the newsletter for the vi...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

8 July

How Do We Differentiate Between Being Disabled and Our Insufficient Abilities? createadaptablelife.com/2026/07/how-... #QuestionOfTheWeek #handicap

createadaptablelife.comHow Do We Differentiate Between Being Disabled and Our Insufficient Abilities? - Create an Adaptable LifeDavid Dame, in a LinkedIn post, said, “We are all going to be disabled one day. Some of us just beat you to it.” While he is correct, that is not the full story. I said, quoting his post, “I do not th...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

7 July

Public Speaking Myth 10: Speakers Must Pay to Speak to an Audience www.jrothman.com/mpd/2026/07/... #PublicSpeaking #Fees

jrothman.comPublic Speaking Myth 10: Speakers Must Pay to Speak to an Audience - Johanna RothmanIf you recently published a book, as I did, you might have this same experience. The scammers are out in full force. Here's what keeps happening to me. I receive an email with a Gmail address, from a ...

Johanna Rothman reposted

Martin Fowler

@martinfowler.com

6 July

Fragments: Second future of software development retreat, ethics of working with AI, censorship via DMCA, reacting to the high cost of tokens, a radical document in 1776 martinfowler.com/fragments/20...

martinfowler.comFragments: July 6fragments 06 Jul 2026

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

29 June

My June Pragmatic Manager newsletter: Leadership Tip 27: How to Support Other People’s Growth for Better Outcomes www.jrothman.com/newsletter/2... video: youtu.be/4iAJtw4CvlM #Leadership

jrothman.comLeadership Tip 27: How to Support Other People’s Growth for Better Outcomes - Johanna RothmanThis is Johanna Rothman’s June 2026 Pragmatic Manager Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. Most of us have worked with managers who guided our careers. But managers ar...

Johanna Rothman

@jrothman.com

29 June

This is why I write: 👇. I suspect this is also why @ewebber.bsky.social curates her weekly posts. If we don't write, we don't learn what we know. Part of writing is letting other people know what we learned. To all of my readers: Thank you.

Susanne Abdelrahman (she/her)@theproductmindedqa.com

@jrothman.com thank you thank you thank you for these! 🙏 (and @ewebber.bsky.social for sharing in the last Posts From Awesome Folks 🙌 hellotacit.beehiiv.com/p/posts-from...)