John Poelstra

Bringing order to chaos and clarity to confusion

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More Timer Power

I heard a great interview with Jim Woods over on the Rap With Nic podcast several weeks ago. In addition to some great productivity ideas I was reminded of the power of the timer. I use them from time to,… Continue Reading →

It Must be Someone’s Fault

Blame is just as prevalent in relationships as it on product teams and projects. I had a good laugh with my wife while watching this video. I’m always amazed how much insight Brene Brown draws from a simple concept or… Continue Reading →

44 Best Bodyweight Exercises

I’m a huge fan of bodyweight exercises. I can do some of these, but nearly as many as I would like. I’m always amazed at the variety and simplicity of these exercises. Well, they might be hard to execute, but… Continue Reading →

What’s the Different Between a Program or Project?

A common quesiton I’m often asked is “What’s the difference between a program and a project?” or “What’s the difference between a program manager and a project manager?” And although nobody has ever asked the question here on this blog… Continue Reading →

Meetings Aren’t For Collecting Status

One of the compliments I received a few weeks ago was an appreciation for my efficient meetings. I was never sure if anyone noticed or cared. In this spirit, when I kicked off my first program meeting with the Red… Continue Reading →

Say Thank You and Make it Personal

I recently changed positions at Red Hat, more on that in my February goals post. After sending a short email to the teams I’d been working with announcing this change, I received a few personal emails back. I was really… Continue Reading →

February 2015 Goals

January 2015 was supposed to be all about restarting. It felt more of like a month of “re-failing.” I suppose the good news is that I was more active towards completing my goals than I was in December, but I… Continue Reading →

Tell Me How Much You Value My Feedback by Responding

The online marketing space is interesting to say the least. Today I’m particularly thinking of people with podcasts and to a lesser extent blogs. In a time when authenticity and trust are key to building relationships I’m surprised at the… Continue Reading →

Have You Experienced This Corrosive Disease That Ruins Teams?

One insidious way to undermine an entire group or product team is to allow or participate in gossip about other people–conversations focused around other people who “don’t do anything” or aren’t “busy enough.” It’s even more damaging when a leader… Continue Reading →

What I Learned from 30 Days of Blog Posting

Here’s a post I started in December 2014, but never published–among other things that didn’t get done in December. 🙂 Here are a few things I learned from my 30 day blogging challenge and what it took to make it… Continue Reading →

Scale Back the Noise to Find the Good Stuff

My 2015 reboot includes trimming back on email, Twitter and podcast content. I think this might be a good process to do at the end and beginning of each year because it frees up mental space and makes it easier… Continue Reading →

My Best Podcast Listening Tips

I didn’t really get the value of podcasts until I started exercising more and changing my associations with tedious work (one of those Tony Robbins techniques that make a lot of sense).  Working out can be pretty boring.  It feels… Continue Reading →

Fifteen Hundred Feet in the Air

I wonder if these guys ever get used to being so high off the ground? Pretty cool use of a drone.

Starting Off 2015 | January Goals

It’s embarrassing not to have posted anything in December 2014 after being so consistent in November 2014. December taught me that it isn’t always possible to make it happen. Sometimes enough impediments pile up that no matter how strong your… Continue Reading →

Morning Questions

In the post about my Evening Routine I shared the questions I ask myself as I wrap up the day and do some quick journaling. Along the way the evening questions inspired the idea of questions for my Morning Routine… Continue Reading →

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