Johanna Rothman

MARCH 8, 2021

As I've been speaking about the Modern Management Made Easy books, people ask these questions: We're pretty good with our agile approach. These people tell me their career ladder doesn't work to enhance agility. Organizations reward people as individuals—but agility demands collaboration. It's time for performance reviews.

Agile 134

Agile Culture Efficiency Productivity 134

Johanna Rothman

APRIL 8, 2021

See Behaviors Create an Agile Culture with Johanna Rothman. We had a delightful discussion on Behaviors Create an Agile Culture with Johanna Rothman. The post Behaviors Create an Agile Culture with Gregory Miller appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. And much more.

Agile 107

Agile Culture Management Consulting 107

Johanna Rothman

DECEMBER 1, 2017

Ron Jeffries, Matt Barcomb, and several other people wrote an interesting thread about prescriptive and non-prescriptive approaches to team-based agile. If you don’t want to read the entire thread, here is a summary: People often need help with their agile approach. That’s why we have the agile values and principles.

Agile 95

Agile Culture Management Efficiency 95

Harvard Business

MAY 6, 2025

A conversation with the head of Amazon on their competitive advantage in an age of uncertainty.

Agile 154

Agile Strategy Strategy& Strategy 154

Johanna Rothman

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Several of my clients want to use some sort of maturity assessment for their agile transformations. For agile transformation, an assessment can help people see how they change—how they innovate the products and the culture. Part of what might not work is the culture. (Is Is agility even possible?)

Agile 131

Agile Culture Data Productivity 131

Harvard Business

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Scrums and kanbans can’t help you if you’ve got a legacy culture that punishes vulnerability.

Agile 186

Agile Culture Management 186

Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 18, 2021

They think that the agile tools they use, such as boards, offer a strategic advantage. However, they adopt or “install” an agile framework or process without customization. Instead, agile organizations need flexibility, not rigidity. Commodity businesses don't need agility for product development.

Agile 119

Agile Tools Productivity Development 119

LSA Global

MAY 8, 2025

How Leaders Impact Corporate Culture: The True Architects of Organizational Success Corporate culture is often discussed as if it evolves naturally, like weather patterns shifting across the seasons. If leaders operate with honesty and strategic clarity , the culture can help accelerate execution excellence.

Culture 61

Culture Leadership Ethics Agile 61

Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 27, 2020

Project lifecycles and cultures manage all those risks. And, you can decide if you want to try to change the culture. Solving Deterministic Problems Does Not Require an Agile Approach. And, you might need both, which is why many projects use some sort of iterative and incremental (but not agile) lifecycles.

Agile 124

Agile Culture Productivity Management 124

Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Those outcomes can help teams decide which agile approach(es) to start with and adapt. Let's start with who wants the teams to use an agile approach. Who Wants the Teams to Use an Agile Approach? Before I had the “agile” word, I discussed iterating over feature sets and delivering small increments. Oh, please.

Agile 142

Agile Management Comparison Productivity 142

Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 12, 2019

I spoke at Agile 2019 last week. Here are my thoughts and where I think the “agile” industry is headed. Problems I See with “Agile” Here's a summary of problems I saw last week: Too many people think “agile” will solve all their problems. Culture requires management involvement.

Agile 109

Agile Culture Conference Management 109

Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 26, 2021

They think agile approaches are tactics and agile tools are part of their strategy. That's why they want to Buy an agile approach. Not realizing a standard agile approach is an oxymoron. Teams need to experiment and change their agile approach. Address the cultural changes necessary for agility.

Agile 105

Agile Tools Culture Strategy 105

Johanna Rothman

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

More of my clients say they want business agility. Yet, we don't share a common definition of business agility. Actions matter when it comes to business agility. Since managers create and refine the culture, they can create an environment that supports business agility. Management Actions Create Business Agility.

Agile 125

Agile Management How To System 125

Harvard Business

MAY 15, 2018

Increasing volatility, uncertainty, growing complexity, and ambiguous information (VUCA) has created a business environment in which agile collaboration is more critical than ever. Intuitively, we know that the collaborative intensity of work has skyrocketed, and that collaborations are central to agility. This story is not unique.

Agile 135

Agile How To Groups Efficiency 135

Johanna Rothman

APRIL 14, 2021

One of my clients wants to use shared services “teams” as they start their agile transformation. Agile approaches break the idea of a “shared service” model of people. I don't know of any way to keep “shared services” and move to agile approaches. ” Don't use an agile approach.

Agile 132

Agile Efficiency Productivity Development 132

Effective Managers

JUNE 19, 2024

This transformation involves not only adjusting to new realities like remote work and digital transformation but also developing key traits such as agility and empathy. Leaders must now manage teams that are dispersed across various locations, requiring new strategies for communication, collaboration, and maintaining company culture.

Leadership 246

Leadership Agile Operations Data 246

Clarity Consultants

OCTOBER 19, 2023

L&D leaders have been instrumental in helping employers and employees pivot to pandemic protocols and navigate both remote and hybrid operations and corporate culture. When viewed in the context of an unstable or uncertain job market, continuous learning is essential to creating and maintaining an agile workforce and operations.

Agile 147

Agile Trends Training Training 147

Johanna Rothman

MARCH 11, 2021

Worse, most career ladders assume we can assess what a person can do, not on their contributions to an agile team. That means most career ladders don't fit agile teams or an agile culture. Instead of individual achievements, we can reward the types of agile leadership we want to see in agile teams.

Agile 119

Agile Engineering Productivity Culture 119

Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 24, 2021

In Part 1 and 2 of this series, I wrote about how an agile approach might offer strategic benefits. And because an agile approach changes your culture, I said the agile approach was part of your strategy. So let's ask this question: Can any tool—agile or otherwise—offer you a strategic advantage? (I

Agile 105

Agile Tools Productivity Analysis 105

Johanna Rothman

MARCH 9, 2021

I said that when we focus on individual achievements and deliverables, we ignore the agile system of work. Worse, when we reward individual achievements we prevent an agile culture. That's because agile teams learn together as they create the product. Agile Behaviors for Learning and Working Together.

Agile 103

Agile Productivity Culture Management 103

Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 19, 2021

So when does it make sense to customize your agile approach to gain a strategic advantage? They want an agile approach, so they started with Scrum. We don't think we need to be “religious” about our agile approach as long as we get the benefit. Then, they Built their agile approach based on their needs.

Agile 105

Agile Tools Productivity Development 105

Harvard Business

MAY 22, 2018

I know it is critical for the leadership to embrace agile, but the sad reality is that I’m not sure our leadership team will start before it’s too late. Rather than debating the advantages of agile teams, why not start demonstrating them? Perhaps my journey to agile will help you figure out how to begin your own.

Agile 134

Agile Energy Retail Case Interview 134

Johanna Rothman

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

Instead, I see assumptions that reveal a divide-and-conquer, and possibly a command-and-control culture, not an agile culture. Divide and Conquer is Anti-Agility I see the product owner and dev team as a divide-and-conquer approach to work. Agility requires a collaborative cross-functional team.

Interviews 116

Interviews Culture Agile Efficiency 116

Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Isn't every iterative and incremental approach an agile approach? We often hear agile approaches are a mindset. An agile approach requires a change in culture at the team level, at the portfolio level, and in management. Agile approaches change what we discuss, how we work together, and what we reward.

Agile 106

Agile Training Training Culture 106

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Managing extended R&D projects comes with its unique challenges, with even the popular agile method struggling in such contexts. Second, setting expectations, especially in R&D, calls for transparent communication regarding delivery timelines, and fostering a culture centered on learning and adaptability.

Management 243

Management Agile Software Culture 243

Johanna Rothman

APRIL 14, 2020

Anytime I've seen a successful innovation culture, I've seen these principles. Let me address a little about business agility and innovation. Business agility allows us to create a culture where we plan to change. Too many people think business agility is about the ability to do more of the same, faster.

Agile 108

Agile Efficiency Culture Resources 108

Johanna Rothman

MARCH 23, 2021

I had a terrific time with Chris Williams on his Badass Agile podcast. How managers need to collaborate to achieve agility. The post Enlightening Conversation on the Badass Agile Podcast appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant. We discussed the Modern Management Made Easy books. We had a terrific discussion.

Agile 116

Agile Management Consulting Company 116

Johanna Rothman

APRIL 9, 2024

I was on the Agile Uprising podcast this past Sunday, discussing my most recent book. Some of what we discussed: That managers want agility but do not care about any agile methods or frameworks. While we might think “agile” is another project organization method—or lifecycle—it's not. See (and hear!):

Agile 98

Agile Culture Productivity Consulting 98

Johanna Rothman

MARCH 21, 2024

I started this series by discussing why managers didn't perceive the value of agile coaches and Scrum Masters in Part 1, resulting in layoffs.) That's why I then asked people to review their product-oriented domain expertise and agile-focused domain expertise in Part 3. Especially, Agile is Not a Silver Bullet.

Agile 111

Agile Management Metrics Culture 111

Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 20, 2020

I discussed the origins of the agile approaches in Part 5. In this post, I'll discuss how you can create an agile approach that fits your context. Why should you create your own agile approach? Because your context is unique to you, your team, project, product, and culture. Remember, an agile approach starts with a team.

Agile 89

Agile Culture Productivity Development 89

Johanna Rothman

AUGUST 14, 2019

In Part 1 , I wrote about how “Agile” is not a silver bullet and is not right for every team and every product. This post is about how management fits into agile approaches. Too often, managers think “agile” is for others, specifically teams of people. Team-based “agile” is not enough.

Agile 95

Agile Management Efficiency Culture 95

Johanna Rothman

DECEMBER 18, 2018

I've met a number of agile coaches recently. However, many of these coaches work in organizations just starting a cultural transformation. Even though the client asked for agile coaching, that might not be what the client needs. Even though the client asked for agile coaching, that might not be what the client needs.

Agile 95

Agile Metrics Management Data 95

Johanna Rothman

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

I had a great time on the Agile Coffee podcast, 75. We spoke about a variety of issues that managers, teams, and people encounter, such as: Culture and how that plays out at all levels. We discussed several ideas from the Modern Management Made Easy books: How performance reviews make an agile culture difficult, if not impossible.

Agile 94

Agile Management Culture System 94

Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Are you trying to make an agile framework or approach work? Maybe you've received a mandate to “go agile.” Or, maybe you're trying to fit an agile framework into your current processes—and you've got a mess. I've seen plenty of problems when people try to adopt “agile” wholesale.

Agile 119

Agile Software Construction Analysis 119

Johanna Rothman

MAY 18, 2021

I had the pleasure of being on the Agile Uprising Podcast: Modern Management Made Easy with Johanna Rothman. How trust, empathy, and creating a safe environment are what allows us to use agile approaches. The post Fun Discussion with the Agile Uprising appeared first on Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant.

Agile 105

Agile Exercises Management Consulting 105

Johanna Rothman

APRIL 1, 2024

(That link just goes to the first post) My most recent book: Project Lifecycles: How to Reduce Risks, Release Successful Products, and Increase Agility. In addition, here's the unedited transcript: Agile _ Adapt – Expert Talk – Johanna Rothman – April 2024 in docx format. Luke and I always have fun discussions.

Agile 111

Agile Video Interviews Productivity 111

Johanna Rothman

OCTOBER 20, 2020

The original signatories of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development wanted to solve these specific problems: How can we: Bring more adaptability to software development? If you read these books, you could understand project-based agility. However, many people wanted “the recipe” for agility.

Agile 85

Agile Software Productivity Culture 85