Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman
I write a lot. And I often change what I write before I publish it. That's normal for a work in progress, that WIP. This podcast is for people who want insight into what I write before I publish it.
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2026.22 When Planning Outpaces Delivery
08/14/2026
2026.22 When Planning Outpaces Delivery
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for August 14, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the Continual Planning book. How can you tell when planning outpaces delivery? Look for old items under consideration. For example, how old is the oldest item on your team's board or in your backlog? Or, how old is the oldest item on your product roadmap? How old is the oldest item in your portfolio? Many organizations have items, backlog items, roadmap items, and projects, that are years old, especially if you count what's in the defect-tracking system or a given product's roadmap. I have seen defect-tracking systems that contain *decades* worth of data. Sometimes, for retired products. That's an effect of people being afraid to throw out old ideas.
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2026.21 Management Costs of Delay
08/07/2026
2026.21 Management Costs of Delay
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for August 7, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the Continual Planning book. We can also apply the Cost of Delay to management decisions. Here's how the same costs as above work for management decisions: * Cost 1: The longer it takes managers to decide, the older their decisions become. That aging costs the organization because there is no new product introduction with its associated revenue or the ability to attract new customers. And they’re still paying everyone even though there is nothing new. Worse, there is no change that might allow more revenue or more customers. Nothing changes. * Cost 2: When managers allow their decisions to age, they often realize they have fewer options to consider when it is time to decide.
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2026.20 Opportunity Costs Are Not the Same as the Costs of Delay
07/31/2026
2026.20 Opportunity Costs Are Not the Same as the Costs of Delay
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for July 31, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the Continual Planning book. When the portfolio team selects Project A, they miss the opportunity cost for Project B. That's because one team cannot work on two projects "at the same time." That's why every choice also has an opportunity cost. But the opportunity cost does not cost real money. Opportunity Cost reflects the choices an organization makes. But the Cost of Delay does represent several literal costs. Real money that the company could use in other ways.
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2026.19 The Sigh Test
07/24/2026
2026.19 The Sigh Test
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for July 24, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the Continual Planning book. How old is the oldest item on your team's board or in your backlog? Or, how old is the oldest item on your product roadmap? Or, how old is the oldest item in your project portfolio? Many organizations have items that are years old. Maybe you don't think you have anything that old. That’s where the “Sigh Test” can help you see how old the old items are. At the meeting to choose the next set of work, wherever you are in the organization, someone raises an item you have not yet addressed--for weeks or months, maybe years. How does everyone react when the facilitator asks, "What about this item?" If you hear anyone sigh, ask yourself how old this work is. The older the item, the more people sigh. And the louder they sigh.
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2026.18. Plan Confirmation Bias
06/26/2026
2026.18. Plan Confirmation Bias
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for June 26, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the Continual Planning book. And finally, * Teams work frantically on the next initiative to save the company. Why are they frantic? These teams started late, because the previous product effort took "too long" to finish. Now, the company needs this new product so they don't go out of business. All of these problems are the result of too much, too detailed, and too extensive planning. The planning prevents the organization from considering other options. Why? Because the organization invested so much time in all that planning. And now that they have these old plans, they are reluctant to throw those plans away. There is a name for this: the "Plan Continuation Bias."
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2026.17. Starting Questions for Alternative Plans
06/19/2026
2026.17. Starting Questions for Alternative Plans
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for June 19, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the Continual Planning book. That iteration, the continual planning of discovery based on delivery, means that these products often require more and different alternatives than anyone might expect at the start. That's because we know the least about the product and the customers at the start. We especially do not know how the customers will respond when we offer them those first increments of value. Instead of long and detailed plans, consider these four questions about the product development: 1. What is the goal for this effort? That goal includes these questions: Which problems do we want to solve and for whom? 2. What are the boundaries of the work? Which contexts define those problems? 3. How few problems can we solve to learn if we are on the right track? 4. How can we use each finished increment of value to revisit the goal, the work boundaries, and the problems we want to solve?
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2026.16 Continual Planning Book Description, First Draft
06/12/2026
2026.16 Continual Planning Book Description, First Draft
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for June 12, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is my first draft of the back of the book description for the continual planning book. At every level of every organization, people spend enormous amounts of time planning. But what kind of return do they get for all that planning? Too often, the answer is nothing useful. The same old ideas circulate around the backlog, the roadmap, and the strategy. Instead of looking forward to work, everyone feels the weight of all those old ideas--and the delays of waiting for the delivery of that work. The old ideas were great when you had them. However, most of the old ideas have outlived their usefulness. Aging ideas often lack value because time marches on. Nothing is the same anymore. Instead of living with the sunk cost fallacy of those old ideas, you can shorten all the feedback loops so you can adapt and thrive—and capture the customers you want to serve.
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2026.15. Long Plans Offer Less Value
06/05/2026
2026.15. Long Plans Offer Less Value
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for June 5, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the continual planning book. Long Plans Offer Less Value You might think that the longer and more extensive the plan, the more value it has. After all, people thought about the plans. They probably did some research with customers. And if someone socialized the plans across the organization, lots of people might agree with all that planning. Unfortunately, the longer and more extensive the plans, the less value those plans have. You might not believe me. But it's a function of the age of all that thinking. Are the original ideas still valid after all this time? How can you tell if they are?
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2026.14. How Alternative Plans Offer Value
05/22/2026
2026.14. How Alternative Plans Offer Value
The transcript: Many organizations can answer the problems they want to solve and for whom. They often understand the context and boundaries for those problems. But all that certainty tends to translate into long, well-established plans instead of alternatives of smaller, more frequent experiments . Why? Because our organizations reward both certainty and planning activities. And many organizations still like to say, "Plan the work and work the plan." Instead, we can use the next two questions about how few problems to solve and how to use that feedback to iterate back on the problems to create more alternative plans. Today's world is far from certain in almost any dimension. And we have many more possibilities than "to plan the work and work the plan." That thinking creates too much certainty for everyone. Instead, we can consider experiments to manage the uncertainty.
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2026.13. How Much Value Do Your Plans Offer?
05/15/2026
2026.13. How Much Value Do Your Plans Offer?
The transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for May 15, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the continual planning book. How Much Value Do Your Plans Offer? The team starts. Because once they know the ideal customer, the first problem to solve, and they have a project charter, the team knows enough. They will need a variety of feedback: from the customers, from the other interested product people across the organization, and definitely from senior leadership. That's because every time the team finishes a feature, the product people can change the roadmap and the senior leadership can change the corporate strategy. That's the kind of indispensable planning Eisenhower spoke about when he said this: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”
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2026.12 Continual Planning Preface
05/01/2026
2026.12 Continual Planning Preface
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for May 1, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the continual planning book. One thing we know: Change is the only constant in life. (Well, there's more about death and taxes, but let's just take life for now.) Why do we allow our organizations to ask us to plan as if we could predict the future? It's time to stop focusing on predictability and guarantees. Instead, it's time to embrace change, starting with planning. If we plan for much less work and plan more often, we are more likely to achieve the outcomes we want. We all know this from our personal lives.
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2026.11 Write to Fool Your Imposter Syndrome
04/17/2026
2026.11 Write to Fool Your Imposter Syndrome
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for April 17, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of the upcoming Writing Secrets book. Writers have this problem because they often write alone. In contrast, collaborative teams rarely have this problem because people can rely on each other when their self-esteem suffers. That lack of self-esteem can drive Imposter Syndrome, which can prevent a writer from writing. Too often, writers let their fear win. You don't have to succumb to that fear—you can fool that fear with writing. Writing and publishing will build your self-esteem. Yes, the more you write and publish, the less you allow your Imposter Syndrome to win.
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2026.10 From the Preface
04/10/2026
2026.10 From the Preface
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for April 10, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of the Preface from the upcoming Writing Secrets book. Then, there was the editing. Some of these writers “polished” their words to death. Instead of fixing their ideas, they “fixed” their words. As a result, their writing bored me, never mind the site’s readers. Then, a funny thing happened. The more feedback I offered them, the more I could see how to use that feedback in my own writing. As a result, the more coaching I did, the better my writing became.
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2026.09 I Write Prototypes, not Drafts
04/03/2026
2026.09 I Write Prototypes, not Drafts
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for April 3, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the upcoming Writing Secrets book. Here’s why I prefer to think of prototypes instead of drafts. Prototypes might surprise me, as I cycle through writing, thinking, and learning. On the other hand, if I think I already know everything, I don’t want to write that piece. Already knowing everything makes the writing boring for me—and often, for my readers. Outlining feels the same way—I already know how this piece ends. Instead, I want the excitement to learn as I go. That's why I don't write drafts, per se. I write prototypes.
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2026.08 Practice is the Point
03/27/2026
2026.08 Practice is the Point
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 27, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the upcoming Writing Secrets book. Successful writers—fiction or nonfiction—often continue to struggle with their craft. I certainly do! The more I write and publish, the more I learn what works for me. The biggest thing I learned this week is that practice helps me see how to make my writing sound cleaner and crisper. But that learning is not free. The more we choose to learn, the more we need to practice. This feels exactly like programming felt to me when I was in college, and later, as I learned new programming languages. Practice is the point because it helps us learn.
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2026.07 Writing Secrets Introduction
03/20/2026
2026.07 Writing Secrets Introduction
This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 20, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the new Writing Secrets book. Here are my principles for effective nonfiction writing: Prepare to write, so you never have to face the blank page problem. I recommend you build a selection of fieldstones or an idea bank to know what to write about. Cycle as often as you need to, to clarify the ideas in the piece. In contrast, wait to edit words until the very end. Practice writing as often as possible. That includes publishing. Writing and leaving work as a draft does not help you practice your writing. Change modes when your writing feels stuck. If you follow these principles, will every piece of your writing be “perfect” or “stellar?” No. Because no one piece of writing can be perfect for everyone.
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2026.06 Introduction Part 1
03/13/2026
2026.06 Introduction Part 1
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 minute of some writing in progress. This is from the continual planning book. Many managers want organizational or enterprise agility. And they think they can get predictability along with agility. Managers can get predictability. Or they can get agility. They cannot get both, not at the same time. And that's because predictability requires very long feedback loops. Agility requires short feedback loops so everyone can change their plans and their work. If you want more planning and predictability, this is not the book for you. However, if you want more agility and more delivery--even if you cannot implement everything I recommend--this is the book for you.
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2026.05 Planning Miracle Happens Here
03/06/2026
2026.05 Planning Miracle Happens Here
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for March 6, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is from the continual planning book. Here’s the problem with unshaped, large work in backlogs or roadmaps. We know where we are (Point A), and where we want to go (Point B). But there’s a large gap between those two places. We need a miracle to get from Point A to Point B. However, there is never a planning miracle. Ever. Just as there was never any project management miracle, there is no product planning miracle. I would love project or product miracles. But hope is never a strategy. Instead, we need enough planning to see what the work is so we can get to Point B.
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2026 04 More of the Carnival Short Story
01/30/2026
2026 04 More of the Carnival Short Story
The transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 30, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is more of that carnival short story. At five in the evening, the Carnival had just opened. As the throng of people streamed in, Sofia felt the jostling and warmth and the loudness of being so close to others. Was the entire population of New Bedford here? It certainly sounded like that. She heard English, a little French, a lot of Portuguese. But the special language was that New Bedford-specific mixture of Portuguese and English in the same sentence.
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2026.03 Part of a Carnival Short Story
01/16/2026
2026.03 Part of a Carnival Short Story
The transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 16, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a carnival short story. With her invisible earpiece in her left ear, her dark curls pulled into a long tail down the back of her dark blue jacket, and her steel-toed black boots, Sofia strode into the Carnival, ready for almost anything. Her team had orders to spread out to each of the games. She was headed to the Ferris Wheel. When she had been a teenager, that was the first place all of her friends had wanted to go. Besides, the sun would not set for another three-plus hours. It was a good place to scout out the next place to be.
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2026.02 Part of a Summer Romance Short Story
01/09/2026
2026.02 Part of a Summer Romance Short Story
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 9, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a summer romance short story. She was here, alone. Her teenagers were learning how to adult. She wouldn’t pull them away from that, not when she didn’t really need them. Maybe she wasn’t so much of an adult herself, not if she wanted some company to do the last few bits of wrapping up her Nana’s life. As she looked out to the ocean, she heard a low voice say, “Diana? Diana Tremblay?” She turned and looked at him. A few inches taller than she was, with dark curly hair that had started to gray at the sides. Laugh lines that extended past his dark sunglasses. And a smile she would know anywhere. “Chase! Chase Bowman! Wow. It’s a small world. I didn’t realize you would be here today.” He smiled and said, “In my defense, I didn’t know you would be here either. Besides, what are the chances we would bump into each other where the hermit crabs are, and not the snack bar?”
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2026.01 Part of a Science Fiction Mystery Story
01/02/2026
2026.01 Part of a Science Fiction Mystery Story
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for January 2, 2026, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a science fiction mystery story. The Space Bar wasn’t really a bar. It was this immense alcohol cloud in the middle of Milky Way. And now that the Explorer had come out of FTL, it was easy to see the various ethanol colors—mostly pinks, purples, and little pops of pale blues. Since she wasn’t a chemist, she had no idea why the Space Bar had all these colors, but she could see out of a monitor just fine, thank you very much. The air filtration system kicked into a higher hum. She felt cooler somehow, even though her uniform was supposed to keep her body temperature comfortable. Maybe it was the lack of coffee. She really hoped the HVAC system here was not on the fritz, also. That’s when she noticed the air smelled a little like metal crossed with rum. Sweet rum. Not stale, burnt coffee. Something sweet and alcoholic. Like those umbrella drinks some people liked to drink at the pubs.
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2025.43 Part of a Science Fiction Mystery Story
12/19/2025
2025.43 Part of a Science Fiction Mystery Story
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for December 19, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a science fiction mystery story. Sipping her hot water because the coffee replicators were on the fritz—again—Louisa Armstrong blinked as she saw the odor alarm go off for Cargo Bay Six. Cargo Bays Four, Five, and Six were just one hundred meters square. Large enough for many kinds of cargo. Small enough--mostly--to contain any problems. But Louisa’s alarm panel, mounted up on the wall to her left did not match what she saw on the six monitors—one for each cargo bay—directly in front of her. Just to her right was the pocket door that allowed people—really, just Louisa—into or out of her office. She carefully put her self-sealing white insulated mug down on the desk from underneath the wall under the monitors. She leaned forward as she said, “Magnify Visuals for Cargo Bay Six.” Nothing happened. The monitor did not change. She shook her head, just a bit, and blinked. She wriggled a little in her black office chair that was no longer ergonomic. Maybe she had said something wrong. She tried again. “Computer, magnify visuals for Cargo Bay Six.” Still no change.
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2025.42 Summer Spy Story Excerpt
12/05/2025
2025.42 Summer Spy Story Excerpt
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for December 5, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a spy story set in the summer. Phoebe Dawson watched the Boston Harbor waves sparkle from her perch on the twenty-second floor of the Exclusive Hotel in downtown Boston. The July moon hung high, its light permeating even this function room on the top of the hotel. Turning her back on the windows, she saw all the Boston movers and shakers here. These oh, so, exclusive guests. They were here, so she was here. She was looking for a spy with secrets to sell. The air conditioning made the perfume and aftershave compete with the delicious odors of the passed hors d’oevres. Phoebe would much rather smell the food than the overly sweet perfumes, or the overly musky aftershave. Her nose twitched, as she tried not to sneeze. She grabbed a napkin from a passing server, shaking her head at his offer of stuffed mushrooms. She managed to stifle a small sneeze in the napkin. She crumpled it in her right hand, looking for a place to put it.
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2025.41 Project Surprises and Actions
11/28/2025
2025.41 Project Surprises and Actions
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for November 28, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of what I hope will be one of my columns on projectmanagement.com. While I do not write anything like a requirements document, I do write a reader journey for every nonfiction book I write. That reader journey discusses the problems the reader has at this point in the book and what the reader will learn in this chapter. In that way, it’s just like user story mapping. That’s because I want readers to interact with my books by practicing the activities at the end of each chapter. My 2024 draft was not specific enough for my ideal readers. When I focused on my ideal readers, I was able to focus the book on those readers’ needs. Projects exist to create products. That means every project team needs to understand their user(s) and what those humans need from that product. That will focus your product development and prevent late surprises. Action 1: Understand what all of your ideal users need from your product to focus your project team. Consider fulfilling just one user’s needs at one time.
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2025.40 Romantic Suspense Story Excerpt
11/14/2025
2025.40 Romantic Suspense Story Excerpt
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for November 14, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. I’m back from my travels, so I have time to both write and record! This is part of a romantic suspense story. Without looking as if she was rushing, Liz Daniels turned right, apparently to walk down the corridor to the Ladies’ Room in the Burlington Mall, just northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. She stopped just after she turned the corner and pulled off her black spring jacket. She turned it inside out. Now, the light blue side was showing. She pulled out a Red Sox white ball cap from her right jacket pocket and crammed it down over her short dark curls. Then, she pulled out her dark sunglasses and perched them on the top of her nose. As disguises went, it wasn’t much. But it should be enough to forestall the people following her. They wouldn’t see her dark blue jeans or her black sneakers. They would only see her light blue jacket and white ball cap.
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2025.39 Fantasy Short Story Excerpt
10/31/2025
2025.39 Fantasy Short Story Excerpt
The transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 31, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of a fantasy short story. “What’s your offer?” Lisa asked. Then she coughed. “Tell me your offer. Celeste did a little fist-pump. Yes, her friend Lisa’s world and social mores had affected even how she, a celestial being, reacted. “You can ride on a comet.” “I can what?” Lisa asked. She shook her head. Maybe her hearing had left her. Celeste could not be offering what Lisa heard. “Ride on a comet,” Celeste said, again. This time a little more loudly. Lisa thought she heard the soft hoot of an owl, flying nearby. Well, maybe there was nothing wrong with her hearing. “Hold it,” Lisa said. “That new comet that came out of nowhere this past summer? The one that surprised everyone because it’s interstellar?” Celeste laughed, a lovely tinkling sound that reminded Lisa of skis skimming over snow. “That’s the one,” Celeste said. Lisa shook her head. “You thought of me last summer? I wasn’t even really sick back then.”
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2025.38 Spy Excerpt
10/24/2025
2025.38 Spy Excerpt
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 24 , 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is part of an espionage short story. Susan Cabot, dripping in diamonds from her ears, neck, and wrists—and at least eighty—winked at Phoebe as Susan danced a waltz on the arm of a much younger man. Phoebe grinned, tapped the side of her nose once, and winked back. She had enlisted Susan’s help to snag an invitation to tonight’s party. And it was worth it—especially if she could catch her spy. Then, the music changed. Instead of a waltz, Phoebe heard the violin’s signature sounds of a low, slow tango. Ah, it was Por una Cabeza, the tango from many movies, including the Scent of a Woman. She always loved that movie. She truly regretted she was working and unable to enjoy the music. That’s when she felt a warm hand on her right shoulder, and an equally warm hand at her waist.
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2025.37 Romantic Suspense Opening
10/17/2025
2025.37 Romantic Suspense Opening
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 17, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is the opening of a romantic suspense short story. At midnight, Jackson Turner wondered what the heck he was doing, walking to the bar around the corner from Pallas on First Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was a beautiful, warm May evening. The half-moon offered enough illumination that he could see the clean, white, concrete sidewalk. Jackson had been wondering—not for the first time—how Charlie Watkins managed to scoop these jobs from him. And wondering, again, not for the first time, why he just didn’t ask her out and put them both out of their misery? He and Charlie had danced around starting a relationship for almost a decade, back when they were juniors in college and competing for internships. Back when she was called Charlotte, not Charlie. He couldn’t count the times he was almost ready to ask her out. He had won most of those internships, but somehow, she excelled at the business they were both in—cyber and physical security. He just did not understand it. He was going to ask her out tomorrow, come hell or high water.
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2025.36 Portal Fantasy Short Story Opening
10/10/2025
2025.36 Portal Fantasy Short Story Opening
The Transcript: This is 60 Seconds of Writing in Public with Johanna Rothman for October 10, 2025, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress. This is the opening of a (hopefully) portal fantasy short story. Alexis Bond smiled ruefully as she clomp-stepped down the wide asphalt path of the Franklin Park Zoo. Her orthopedic boot made much more noise than she expected. Oh well. Maybe no one would notice her. She suspected not, with the spectacular light show. On either side of the asphalt walkway, Alexis could see the normal green grass, but now, in the dark, the LED lanterns that looked like bright neon-green leaves “grew” at fantastical heights of five to seven feet high. She passed what looked like a double-family—four adults, each with a white coffee cup, a child in a dark-colored stroller, and a couple of elementary school-age girls in white shirts and pink shorts, running around and screeching with delight. Even Alexis could see they were already sweating. Not surprising given this unseasonably warm weather, this first Friday night in October.
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