The John Poelstra Show

I recently installed a new dishwasher and here’s what I learned that will hopefully save you more than $150.   Here’s What I Learned Pay someone else to do it Don’t start at the end of the day Minimize the chaos and noise Get moral support from a friend An empty house makes it easier to think Eat good food and get all the tools ready before help arrives Don’t give into the pressure of other people’s needs if you aren’t capable Don’t base your time estimates on a pro if you aren’t a pro (see #1) Take a break and come back to it later instead of continuing to grind away on the problem Read the install manual several times, then start on the first page and forget about the other pages Good lighting and reading glasses make a difference Resources Mentioned “Quiet” from the TED Radio Hour Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 33: Eleven Things I Learned From Installing a New Dishwasher appeared first on John Poelstra.

John and Alene Gabriel talk about how to manage our inner critics and the benefits of having your own board of advisors.   Identifying Your Inner Critics or Gremlins What are typical things your inner critic says to you? This is that voice that talks you out of certain things and encourages you to play it safe and maintain the status quo. It may be a critical voice or mantra you repeat to yourself that stops you from taking action or committing 100%. Creating Your Own Board of Advisors If you could have a group of people from anywhere in the world (living or dead) to act as a board of trusted advisors for your life, who would they be? Consider capturing your board of advisors in the form of collage: 1) Search Google Images, stock photo sites or magazine for images that represent your members 2) Good places to search Google images Unsplash (royalty free) Librestock (royalty free) 3) Give each image a label summarizing the role it represents 4) Create a collage of the images 5) Save your collage in a format that is easily accessible Wallpaper on your computer Hang it on wall near where you work Save it to Dropbox so you can access it from a mobile devices 6) Implement a daily practice that helps you to check in with your board of advisors on a regular basis. You may also want to do a similar exercise to capture and call out your inner critics. Anthony Ongaro’s Board of Directors Also Mentioned Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 32: Enable Your Board of Advisors & Fight Your Inner Critics appeared first on John Poelstra.

Today John examines an article titled “Why project managers need to lose control” by Jason Coghlan from opensource.com. John mostly disagrees with this notion, believing that ownership across the team is more important. Resources “Why project managers need to lose control: Software-driven projects are rarely predictable—so project managers should loosen up and become more agile” by Jason Coghlan “Being a True Owner” by John Poelstra Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Original photo source All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 31: Projects Need Ownership, Not Loss of Control appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode takes an in-depth look at the book Life on Purpose by: How Living For What Matters Most Changes Everything by Victor Strecher.   Other Mentions This is Water by David Foster Wallace The Unstuckable Podcast episode that inspired me to play frisbee with my neighbor–“An Overlooked Cure for Anxiety Discovered” by Charlie Hoehn “Reflections on the Book Peak Performance” by John Poelstra Credits Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 30: Why Having a Life Purpose is Beneficial appeared first on John Poelstra.

One of my favorite moments as a project manager was being told it was impossible to draw a picture of all the people on the project. Here’s how I did it.   Music Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 29: Using People Maps to Understand Your Project appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode shares the highlights John found in the book Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success (affiliate) by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness.   Resources Mentioned Sustaining Your Peak and Avoiding Burnouts with Brad Stulberg podcast interview with Pete Mockaitis Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success (affiliate) by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness Better Meetings with John Poelstra on the How to be Awesome at Your Job podcast Setting a Deadline to Change by John Poelstra   Music Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 38: Reflections on the Book Peak Performance appeared first on John Poelstra.

  In this episode John has a conversation with Alene Gabriel, certified coach and founder of Blue Sky Coaching. John and Alene met at CTI’s Co-Active coaching training and took a few of the classes together. In this conversation they reflect on those experiences and the things they are learning as coaches. Alene also shares her experiences from CTI’s Leadership program that she is currently in the midst of. Music Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 27: Surprising Things About Coaching with Alene Gabriel appeared first on John Poelstra.

Sometimes the best next step is simply to start, even if it isn’t the perfect next step.   Music Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 26: Just Do Something appeared first on John Poelstra.

  This episode explores the topic of loneliness, some ideas for “finding your people,” and how John found one group of “his people.” Mentioned: Books, Podcasts, Etc. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing by Bronnie Ware Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy by Donald Miller A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller Life Skills That Matter with Stephen Warley Unstuckable with Stephen Warley and Chris Wilson Podcast Movement (Conference) Books are Amazon affiliate links Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons   The post 25: How to Find Your People appeared first on John Poelstra.

    This episode riffs on my thoughts from reading the book Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior’s Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory (affiliate link) by Brad Snyder and Tom Sileo. I’m particularly struck by his idea of focusing our energy on the things we can change, not wasting energy on the things we can’t, and the importance of living in the present. Books & Resources Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin Fire in My Eyes: An American Warrior’s Journey from Being Blinded on the Battlefield to Gold Medal Victory by Brad Snyder and Tom Sileo Being a True Owner by John Poelstra Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 24: Focusing on What You Can Control appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode explores the different ways I manage my todo list items and along with techniques I’ve learned to avoid feeling overwhelmed by them and get more done. Background The topic of managing task lists and todo items comes up often with coaching clients. I find that many people (including me) sometimes experience their task tracking system as depressing and discouraging instead of helping them. One of the most important things to remember about any task management systems is that they are rarely permanent. My system continues to change and evolve, even after almost 25 years in the work place. Big Ideas 1) A winning task tracking system is: Flexible enough to change as you do Good enough not to let critical things drop or silently fail Easy to maintain (however you define that) Not overwhelming Capable of filtering–shows what need and hides the rest Something you can put your full confidence in 2) My advice Do what works for you Don’t listen to the gurus if their methodologies don’t work for you Systems rotate and have limited shelf-life What worked yesterday might not work today Don’t beat yourself up when it fails Be flexible Know when to push through and when to take a break or try something else Sometimes it’s time throw all the Post-its away and start over Even the people who talk about how they execute their systems like a walk on the beach at sunset have challenges They are human Some people are robots and execute their task system w/ amazing proficiency–most likely you are not like them and neither am I. Don’t compare yourself to others 3) My approach Daily, short-term tasks go on paper or Post-Its (analog) Long-term tasks and projects get stored in Trello (digital and easily searchable) A Two Tiered System: A Daily List and Deep Storage 1) Daily Always Visible My rotating tools 4×4 Post-it Notes and a Sharpie Blank sheet of copy paper on clipboard with tasks in circles Medium size spiral notebook Open to one side only Everything for that day must fit on the page (can’t spill onto another page) 2) Deep Storage goes in Trello Go here for the big picture/full overview Holds everything that needs to be done or considered in the future Filtering aids in avoiding overwhelm “Honey dos” are added silently by my wife Doesn’t stress me out Doesn’t interrupt me Doesn’t get forgotten High-level/quick scan periodically (every week or two on Saturday mornings) Pick out important stuff that needs to be prioritize or started soon This periodic check-in has saved us from missing/dropping some important tasks Deep review every couple of months Scan every card in the board and put in roughly prioritized order Because my wife doesn’t totally love Trello (and I hear there are few wives that do), I often scan it for the “next important things we need to focus on” and put them on Post-its. On a given weekend we might make post-its of the most important 5 or 6 things that need to happen on Saturday and agree to tackle them We usually get half of them done which means we should hire a better scrum master than me Tactical Suggestions for Daily Success 1) Set up your day for success It all begins the night before Deciding first thing in the day never seems to work as well (the clarity just isn’t there) Select the top 3 things that must happen tomorrow (no more) and write them down If you are working on a side-hustle or personal projects before you start the day, decide what those couple of things will be too If you find that you’re getting distracted or derailed on a consistent basis, create a “No List” for the day Email before a particular time Browsing the news or bargain sites Facebook or Twitter Make individual tasks to be accomplished small enough that they can be completed in 4 hours or less You want to feel a sense of progress If more than 4 hours it’s probably too complicated Get to know when the times during the day that you have your best energy and cognition I find these times are generally in the same neighborhood each weekday Weekends seem to have a different vibe to them 2) Make it easy to add to new todo items for short-term and long-term tasks Keep a blank pad or special piece of paper to capture random ideas that pop into your head when you are in deep focus Work out a way to merge these things back into your daily list or deep storage Keep the post-its and Sharpie present Create an email alias to easily send new cards to Trello It can be dangerous to go into email because it opens Pandora’s inbox Compose an offline email so as not to send and receive more new email–the card will get created eventually and this is usually fine 3) An Always visible (daily) task lists seem to work better Keep Post-Its, paper or notebook always in a place I can see them Easier to remain focused on what I’m supposed to be doing and need to accomplish Paper and analog methods work much better than electronic tools for me No distrac

  This in-depth episode examines and explains the steps for creating and publishing your own podcast. Five key ingredients to creating a successful podcast 1) Recorded content 2) Produced show 3) Media hosting 4) RSS Feed to automatically tell the world that you have new stuff 5) Syndication on major services like Apple Podcasts (previously known as iTunes), Google Play, etc. In our conversation we go deeper into each one of these ingredients and explain how they all relate to each other. Below are additional resources and links to things mentioned in our discussion (and some added after the fact). 1. Recorded Content “Good enough” equipment is all you need to get started You want the sound to be clear and warm in a quiet location Raw content can take many forms monologue discussion presentation Solo episodes (just you) can be recorded with: Audacity Quicktime Other audio programs You can conduct interviews with Zencastr (Recommended as the easiest place to start) Runs in a web browser Use Google Chrome for best results Has the advantage of not requiring the installation of additional software, assuming Google Chrome is already installed Zoom Be sure to set preference to create separate audio files for each person and high quality audio A good alternative to Zencastr Skype and Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype (Mac only–I used it for years) Double-ender Pulsecaster (Linux only) Save original recording in a high quality, lossless format wav (Windows or Mac) aiff (Mac) Each guest should use earbuds Not laptop speakers which can cause feedback or echo Keep in mind that you can spend thousands of dollars on the best equipment and production (if you want to) and most people are going to listen on $30 earbuds In addition, for the cleanest, best sound from whatever platform you use, you want each person to be recorded on a unique track so that their audio is isolated from the people speaking. USB Microphones Mentioned These two Audio Technica microphones are essentially the same thing except that the ATR2100 has a lifetime warranty Audio Technica ATR2100 Audio Technica AT2005 Another option Paul recommends is the Blue Yeti (though John doesn’t care for it) The Podcaster’s High Quality Microphone Shootout (not mentioned in the podcast) A great guide to higher quality microphones Demonstrates the differences and how each person’s voice is different Don’t get too lost here if it stops you from getting started 2. Produced Show This is an area John specializes in and helps people Create finished shows on a regular basis Optimizes production workflow using a custom Trello workflow This step involves editing and assembling all of the pieces of audio recordings and music for good sound and flow Adding music can add life to your podcast Finding music can be a huge time sink Make sure you have a valid license to use the music in your podcast See the section below on royalty free music Recommend creating a final mono MP3 file (not stereo to save on file size) at minimum of 60 kbps Some people swear that intro and outro music sounds better in stereo and that file size doesn’t matter these days. 3. Media Hosting for the Produced MP3 Go with a recommended media hosting company Don’t host medial files at your regular web host unless they allow and support it If your show gets popular and receives a lot of downloads you don’t want to have to move it or worse have your site and content go offline Keep it simple and start with good media hosting from the beginning Recommended media hosting providers Blubrry Libsyn Monthly storage cost ranges from $5 to $15 a month for most podcasts need You can also use Squarespace (link to podcast configuration guide) 4. Automatically Tell People About New Episodes Automatic notification of new podcasts is usually done with an RSS feed Powerpress is a great plugin for WordPress that creates a podcast RSS feed for you Powerpress also provides content sharing buttons like the ones you’ll see on my site Alternatively Libsyn will also host and create an RSS feed for you Opinions vary on where and who should host your RSS feed John has always hosted his own RSS feed and has never had a problem Make sure Powerpress is configured to include more than 10 episodes in your feed. Otherwise Apple Podcasts and other aggregators will only show 10 episodes even if you have lots more 5. Make it Easy For People to Find and Get your Content Apple Podcasts is THE place to be Google Play is up and coming Spotify is up and coming Stitcher has historically been a good alternative Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, etc. simply need your podcast RSS feed to automatically make your content available to listeners Using one of these three locations is the EASIEST way for people to consume your content This is far better than trying to get someone to manually add your feed to their player This article by Ray Ortega explains how to submit your podcast and the top

Are you as clear about what you want as you think? This episode explores some ways to get clearer. Resources Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge by Geoffrey M Bellman The Five Whys Accidental Genius (a book about free writing and it’s benefits) Being a True Owner John’s Coaching Program Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 21: What Do You Want? appeared first on John Poelstra.

Today we have something a little different. In this episode I share one of my hacks for creating peace and quiet when I need to concentrate. I created my own ambient soundtracks of the Umpqua River from the Horseshoe Bend campground in southern Oregon (about 45 minutes from Crater Lake).   Tracks You Can Download Each of these tracks are approximately 25 minutes long which make for good Pomodoros. Each one is a little different. I use them to block out other sounds when I’m trying to concentrate. Pick one you like and give it a try. Also useful for inducing peaceful sleep. Right click on a link to save the file or play it below. Headphones are recommended for the best experience.   http://media.blubrry.com/johnpoelstra/content.blubrry.com/johnpoelstra/John-Poelstra-Umpqua-River-01-Birds-on-the-River.mp3 Birds on the River http://media.blubrry.com/johnpoelstra/content.blubrry.com/johnpoelstra/John-Poelstra-Umpqua-River-02-Bubbling-Rapids.mp3 Bubbling Rapids http://media.blubrry.com/johnpoelstra/content.blubrry.com/johnpoelstra/John-Poelstra-Umpqua-River-03-Mini-Rapids.mp3 Mini Rapids Cherokee Shuffle Recording Here is the bluegrass recording I made at the Goldendale, Washington bluegrass festival in May 2016, with my Zoom H6. Tommi Poelstra plays the banjo. Other Links Mentioned Focus@Will Deep Focus playlist on Spotify Music Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod Songs is licensed under Creative Commons The post 20: How to Block Distracting Sounds So You Can Concentrate appeared first on John Poelstra.

Paul Frields joins the podcast to talk about working remotely and what it takes to succeed. John and Paul also discuss some of the misconceptions about remote work and how to overcome them.   Articles and other episodes mentioned: The 10 Biggest Misconceptions About Remote Work Remote is Dead. Long Live Distributed How to get unstuck via What Could Be Fun Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Cold Funk by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 19: How to Succeed as a Remote Worker appeared first on John Poelstra.

In this wide-ranging conversation, John and guest Paul Frields, talk about working at Red Hat, how they got started with collaborative meeting minutes and Paul’s love of playing the bass.     Here’s Paul with one of his bands…     The post 18: Talking Red Hat, Meetings and Music with Paul Frields appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode explores some techniques for facilitating meetings with stronger personalities or those that dominate the discussion too much. Dominant people tend to Hog the discussion Be the first to speak speak Often want to make sure they are heard at the expense of others It’s the faciliator’s job to Be a referee Keep input balanced Make sure all voices and perspectives are heard Keep things moving so that the meeting doesn’t get bogged down or go in circles I confront dominators by Being courageous and assertive Acknowledging the dominant person and then opening the floor to others Blaming the agenda Reminding the group that it’s important that all perspectives are heard and shared Interrupting the dominator (if needed) to redirect the discussion Other ways to handle people who regularly dominate the discussion Talk to the person outside of the meeting and express your concerns Be clear that you value their input and you will continue to moderate future conversations It’s not personal, it’s just to make sure that we’re getting equal input and participation from the rest of the group Ask them if they have ideas on how to make the meeting discussion more productive for everyone that will still honor their need to share Ask them not to attend Drop them from the meeting invite (this one could obviously have collateral damage and may not be advised) Consequences of not confronting dominators You’ll lose your roll as a strong facilitator People may shutdown and check out Participants may start multi-tasking and become disengaged People you really need input from will stop coming to the meeting Your meeting will narrow in perspetive and views Less creative solutions may come from your meeting discussions Things will probably get worse   Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 17: How to Handle Dominant People at Meetings appeared first on John Poelstra.

Sometimes the best way to get your day out of a ditch is to find something fun. Any amount of fun might be good enough. That’s what I explore in this episode.     The music track is Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund and licensed under Creative Commons. The post 16: What Could be Fun? appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode explores the topic of personal ownership through the eyes of two books: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work by John G. Miller   Other resources mentioned on the episode A Few of John’s Favorite Things (013) Tim Ferriss: The Scariest Navy SEAL Imaginable… And What He Taught Me (Interview with Jocko Willink) Tim Ferriss: Jocko Willink on Discipline, Leadership, and Overcoming Doubt Roger Whitney: The Retirement Answer Man Chris Brogan: Owner Media Here’s an article titled “How to ask why at work without upsetting anyone” that I found after recording this episode. It includes a very brief and effective examination of why the “why question” is so horrible. It ties nicely into QBQ’s examination of the same thing. Jocko Willink Explains Ownership Music Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod Hallon by Christian Bjoerklund All songs licensed under Creative Commons   The post 15: Being a True Owner appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode explores the topic of listening through the Co-Active coaching model and an article from Harvard Business Review. Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives by Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House, Phillip Sandahl, and Laura Whitworth (affiliate link) What Great Listeners Actually Do by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman Here’s a downloadable PDF from CTI explaining the three levels of listening Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 14: What is Good Listening? appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode is a collection of some of my favorite things. It was inspired by some similar things I shared in a recent podcast interview on How to be Awesome at your Job. Links and recommended books My mission statement and it’s theme of Ownership Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin QBQ! the Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work by John G. Miller The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM) by Hal Elrod Get up early, drink water and exercise first thing Task tracking with 4×4 Post-its and a Sharpie, Trello, or hand drawn mindmaps Working in 25 minute time blocks–free Pomodoro app Favorite challenges Decline a meeting invitation that doesn’t need you Refuse to attend a meeting if there is no agenda Collaborative meeting notes capture As the meeting facilitator be bold and ask people to own actions that belong to them Speak to what you are observing that isn’t working at a meeting Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 13: Some of My Favorite Things appeared first on John Poelstra.

Listener Feedback and Questions This episode responds to listener questions and feedback from two previous episodes around how to collaboratively create meeting minutes and how a central mailing list repository for meeting minutes works. How to Invite the Right People to Your Meetings (007) Avoiding the Dreaded Meeting Roll Call (008)     Discussion About Etherpad Etherpad is a collaborative text editor anyone with a web browser and and hosted instance can use. Wikipedia history of Etherpad Etherpad home page Public instances of Etherpad useful for seeing what it’s like. In the episode I incorrectly suggested that Etherpad might not be maintained any more. A quick look at the github page for etherpad-lite site does show some activity. A reading of the Wikipedia page also explains the different versions and history. Other Collaborative Document Tools Gobby Google Docs Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 12: Collaborative Meeting Minutes–Listener Questions and Feedback appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode covers some of my thoughts on a recent return from vacation and how to keep the vacation glow going for as long as possible. Nothing is more disappointing to me than watching it evaporate 30 minutes into the first day back.     As you are preparing to leave Leave a clear trail of what you need to work on when you return. I like using Trello cards for this. Set your email auto-responder to start a few hours before the end of the day before you will be gone and to end a few hours into the first day after you return As you leave town (assuming you don’t need to be reached or won’t have service) set your phone to airplane mode and turn it off Don’t check your email until the day you go back to work (not the night or day before)–all the problems will still be there. “Getting a jump on things the night before” is an illusion Create a gap day by blocking out your calendar the entire day of your return–automatically decline all calendar invites if your calendar does that (Google Calendar does) When you return On the first day back, ease into things and be intentional about what you’re going to work on instead of diving head first into deleting email (avoid the illusion that it’s going to make you feel satisfied) Pack your bag and pick your clothes the night before your first day of work Read a few pages from an interesting book to center your mind Journal about what you want your day to look like and how you want to feel at the end Meditate Put clear boundaries around what you will and won’t do on that day Look at that list of things you created before you left and prioritize the attention they deserve Dealing with a pile of email Turn off the email fire hose (and sense of defeat) by setting your email client to offline after you’ve downloaded all the new messages. The world won’t end. Sort your email in different ways to identify easy to delete messages: Sort by sender… delete, delete, delete Sort by subject/thread, delete, delete, delete Reverse sort by date so that the oldest email is first (sometimes these take care of themselves) Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 11: Keeping the Vacation Glow Alive Longer appeared first on John Poelstra.

You can’t know if you’re ready to release unless you know what done means. …. When you use release criteria to know when a project is done, you have taken potentially hidden decisions and made them public and clear. Make your release criteria objective and measurable, so everyone on the project knows what they’re working towards. Use the criteria as you progress through the project and up to the final release. Then you can say ‘Release it!’ with pride. — Johanna Rothman The quote above is from a fantastic white paper on the subject of release criteria. It’s an easy, accessible read and I recommend it if you’re looking to tighten up the way you make decisions for software product releases and projects in general. This episode explores the benefits for setting and agreeing to criteria before making decisions. The mindmap below outlines the points in this episode. Benefits and Uses of Release Criteria A good example of establishing release criteria is the process I kicked off in the Fedora Project back in 2009. Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 10: What’s Your Criteria? appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode talks about coaching and uses the recent Netflix documentary “I am Not Your Guru” as the the jumping off point. The documentary examines Anthony Robbins’ “Date with Destiny” event and his approach to helping people change.       Topics and links covered in this episode: I am not Your Guru on Netflix The importance of restarting and Michael Hyatt’s podcast The difference between coaching vs. therapy The coach is not an an “expert” or a “guru” Rapid change is possible Sign-up for a free strategy session with John to see if coaching is a good next step for you Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 9: Coaching Instant Transformation appeared first on John Poelstra.

In this episode I share a super easy way to take attendance at meetings–don’t! Instead have attendees take do their own check-in by adding themselves to the minutes (in a shared document).     My meeting agendas are a shared document (which everyone at the meeting has access to) which morph into the minutes in real time as the meeting progresses. At the beginning of the meeting I remind everyone to register their presence and that’s it. This has the added bonus of avoiding the dreaded, gut wrenching “who just joined?” question that interrupts the beginning of most meetings and usually gets asked 20 times before the meeting starts. Reaching Critical Mass Once the meeting starts (and I don’t start unless I have enough people to cover some of the topics), I’m less concerned with who joins. And since I try to keep my invite lists tight it’s easy to know whether the people I really need to start are present or not. Starting on time–within a minute or two of the scheduled time–is critical. It can take a while for the culture of a meeting to change to starting on time, but I’ve found that over time people know the meeting is going to start on time and if they want to know everything that happened they’ll be on time. How This Process Works I use a shared document for the agenda that morphs into the meeting minutes or notes At the start of a meeting I tell people to indicate their presence next to their name If someone has told me before the meeting that they can’t come I put “regrets” or “PTO” or the reason they can’t attend after their name For someone that doesn’t show up or doesn’t respond to the calendar invite I put nothing after their name When the minutes go out that ambiguity is there for the reader to interpret Someone that is invited or insisted on being invited and yet there’s never any indicator after their name raises questions over time Be Clear on Names and Representation I like to put names in alphabetical order by first name and group them by role or functional team Adding the role each person plays makes it easy to spot teams that are sending too many people Always use a person’s full name Removes ambiguity as to who “John” is, even if there is one John Helps new team members really know who people are My minutes go to a central meeting minutes list where context immediately gets lost Handling People that Come Late You don’t have to say “oh, that’s okay, we were just getting started” if they just interrupted the meeting and it isn’t true Thank the the person for coming and stop there Re-enforce the value of being on time by refusing to go backwards in the agenda to re-hash a topic for the person who was late. Yes, there are obvious exceptions to this, but this is my general approach Suggest that late comers read the minutes or get with someone who was there after the meeting to get caught up I realize people have conflicts, get stuck in traffic, etc. Over time you’ll usually see a pattern of who genuinely had a problem that couldn’t be avoided and the person who lives in their own timezone. I get that we are all wired differently, but I don’t think it is fair for one person to force 15 other people into their timezone. Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 8: Avoiding the Dreaded Meeting Roll Call appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode examines the process I use and suggest to decide who to invite to specific meetings. People to Invite In general, the best people to invite are those who can: Make decisions Give valuable input and insights Move things forward People Not to Invite Inviting the wrong people often drags the meeting down, makes it difficult to facilitate, and make decisions. I do not invite people to my meetings or ask them not to attend if they: Are curious to hear what is going on Can’t explain why they need to attend Can’t explain what value they will bring or ADD to the meeting Just want “keep tabs on what’s going on” If someone simply wants to be “informed” I don’t think that is a sufficient reason to attend unless the meeting minutes aren’t very good. Great meeting minutes should address all these needs. Are your minutes great? General Guidelines Set a limit of two people from a given team or function Send minutes to anyone that wants to receive them Make the minutes so good that people can substitute them for attending the meeting Keep track of each attendee and the function they represent with a “people map.” Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 7: How to Invite the Right People to Your Meetings appeared first on John Poelstra.

In this episode of the podcast my friend Charlie and I talk about the frustration of status meetings. Do you like status meetings? The post 6: Status Meeting Morass appeared first on John Poelstra.

A wise person I work with made this profound statement today. You can release on time and still fail There’s a notion out there that project managers only care about making the schedule. While it’s easy to get fixated on it, the more I work on product releases the less I find myself caring about “the schedule.” This doesn’t mean it’s not important to meet the dates we’ve committed to. If a release is off track, I’m more interested in constructing a realistic schedule everyone has confidence meeting versus whipping everyone into a frenzy to meet a date simply because it’s published on a schedule. Sometimes I find that the project team loses sight of who the schedule is for. When things are going well on one of my product teams, an anonymous colleague likes to say “This should make John Poelstra happy!” or “Look we’re meeting Poelstra’s schedule.” And yet, while this person enjoys pulling my chain it really misses the point to call the schedule mine. The schedule isn’t mine simply because I’m the project manager. No, the schedule belongs to the entire release team. It’s the release team’s schedule, not the project manager’s. If you have to re-evaluate or make adjustments to the schedule, make sure it makes sense to the entire team. Have you factored in all of the important aspects of the release? Quality at sufficient levels Features complete enough to meet goals of the release Documentation complete enough to meet objectives Marketing is able to promote its What do you think of my ideas here? If you object, I’d love to hear from you. Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 5: Failing by Shipping on Time appeared first on John Poelstra.

Not too long ago I was in a situation with a very limited amount of time and energy and had to make sure I used every minute and ounce of energy on the right things. Prioritization with Post-it notes and a Sharpie was the solution! Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 4: Ruthless Prioritization appeared first on John Poelstra.

This episode is a conversation with my friend Charlie about how meetings drain our energy and what we can do to minimize it.   Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 3: Avoiding Energy Drain from Meetings appeared first on John Poelstra.

Here are my thoughts and experiences on how to deal with worries (without solutions) introduced at software project meetings.     Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 2: Dealing with Worry at Software Project Meetings appeared first on John Poelstra.

This kicks off the first episode of the John Poelstra Show. I talk about my goals and motivations for doing this new podcast and what I hope comes of it. Links mentioned in this episode: Fizzle.co Jocko Podcast Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin Credits Pulse Rock by Kevin MacLeod Sax, Rock, and Roll by Kevin MacLeod All songs licensed under Creative Commons The post 1: Introducing The John Poelstra Show appeared first on John Poelstra.