GLSEC keynote

1. Thriving in a Competitive
Marketplace
Johanna Rothman
New: Manage Your Project Portfolio: Increase Your Capacity and Finish More Projects
@johannarothman
www.jrothman.com
jr@jrothman.com
781-641-4046
© 2011 Johanna Rothman

2. What Does it Mean to Thrive?
Flourish
Grow vigorously
Realize a goal despite
circumstance
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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3. What Does it Take to Thrive?
People
Product
Purpose or Vision
Money
Quality
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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4. In the Past
Shareholders
Customers Employees
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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5. If You Want to Thrive
Shareholders
Community
Customers Employees
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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6. © 2011 Johanna Rothman
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7. A Spiky World
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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8. Ideas & Values Shape Our Products
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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9. Ideas and Values...
Do you believe the world is flat or spiky?
Do you believe the organization stands alone or is a
corporate citizen?
Do you believe the organization works for its
shareholders or its employees or its community?
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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10. There is No One Right Answer
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11. Some Local Stories...
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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12. Herman Miller
A better world
This is at the heart of Herman Miller and the real
reason why many of us come to work every day.
We contribute to a better world by pursuing
sustainability and environmental wisdom. ...
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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13. Steelcase
We design for social, economic and environmental
sustainability.
Sustainability is our lens for innovation.
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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14. Bissell
BISSELL's commitment to sustainability is an extension of
our rich history of innovation and continuous
improvement.
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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15. One of Our Sponsors
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16. Other Sponsors Share Community
Values
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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17. Sometimes, It’s Government
Intervention
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18. Civil Rights Act of 1964
Changed the want ads in 1971
Changed employment applications in 1975
Fascinating consequences for the world of work
Look around you...
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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19. Every Single Time We Work for the
Good of the Greater Community,We
All Benefit
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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20. What Can You Do?
“But, JR, I’m just a ___ . What can I do?”
Personal courage
Work as if the world is spiky and flat
Organization is a corporate citizen
Organization shares responsibility with the community
Unless you are a senior manager, take small steps and be
happy with them. I want you to keep your job.
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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21. Some Constraints Assist Innovation;
Over-Constraining the Problem Does
Not
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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22. False Constraints that Damage the
Ability to Thrive
Multitasking
“Do More with Less”
All symptoms of
management debt, of not
managing the project
portfolio
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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23. Which Constraints Assist Innovation?
Those that assist the flow of ideas
Those that create more quality in the product
Technical and management leadership
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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24. Because Those Constraints Appeal to
Our Mastery, Purpose & Autonomy
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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25. A Competitive Marketplace
Demands new ideas
Demands quality
Allows for serendipity
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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26. Remember Moore’s Chasm
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27. Some Ideas
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28. Manage Your Project Portfolio
Eliminate multitasking
Decide which project is #1, #2, #3 for now
Iterate on that decision periodically
Don’t be afraid to change your mind as projects deliver
Because it doesn’t matter how many projects you start. It
matters how many projects you finish
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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29. Create a Diverse Team
Cross-functional diverse
team of diverse background
Diversity in
Domain expertise
Personality
If no one knows they can’t
do it, they will
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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30. Use Agile or Lean Where You Can
Ideas are key to thriving
Fail fast
Use timeboxes to experiment
Consider kanban to move features through
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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31. Bring in New Ideas
Talk to people outside your small group
Cross-pollinate
Get your creative juices flowing and see where the
serendipity leads you...
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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32. Consider Your Community
Who is your customer?
Consider your community as part of your customer
base
Consider shared value as one of your corporate values
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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33. Don’t Allow Time for Technical Debt
With real competition, you need to test products or
prototypes not junk
Do you know what done means?
Acceptance criteria on features
Release criteria for releases
Developers and testers work together
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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34. Collaborate as Teams
Market competition means no time for silos or zero-sum
games at any level. Internal collaboration is key.
Work on the highest ranked project first
Work on the highest ranked feature first
Swarm around features
Developers and testers and writers and BAs and
whomever are partners
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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35. Build in Frequent Feedback
Feedback for your work
Retrospectives for the team
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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36. Thriving Amid Competition is Tough
You will have to think...
People are key
Lots of ideas and serendipity help
Use every single person you have
Build on your successes
Learn from your mistakes
Involve a larger community
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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37. Read More...
Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat
Dan Pink’s Drive
Richard Florida’s Rise of the Creative Class, Flight of the
Creative Class
Porter and Kramer, Creating Shared Value in HBR, January
2011.
© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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38. There’s More...
on jrothman.com (articles, newsletters, blogs)
@johannarothman
Want me to stay in touch with you? Sign up for my email
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© 2011 Johanna Rothman
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