This is Johanna Rothman’s April 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. The world is in chaos. In the past, I’ve tried some small probes to find a transforming idea and then see if that idea will work. Those probes are one way of gathering more […]
How Can We Change Our Bias for Action to Gathering More Information? Read More »
Do you feel as if the world is so complex that you need to somehow make it simpler—just to decide what to do next? If so, you are not alone. However, making things simpler is often not enough. Instead, we need to bring more critical thinking skills to bear on the various problems. We have
How Can We Embrace Complexity Thinking Instead of Wishing for Simple Solutions? Read More »
I’ve been learning a ton lately, all about how people work, writing, and publishing. Yes, I know a lot about how people work already, but people seem to want to use AI and other tools in ways that I think are unwise. Since these people think AI is helping them, I need to understand why
How Do You Manage To Want to Keep Learning? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s March 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. Dave (not his real name) asked me this question: “How do you know when you have to quit? Or retire? Is it when you’re no longer on the top of your game?” (Being at
How Do You Know When You’re No Longer On Top of Your Game? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s February 2025 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. A reader asked when I choose to manage risks with contingency planning. I had to think about the question because I’m often aware of various risks. In my life and projects, I often make
When Do You Choose to Move From Risk Awareness to Contingency Planning? Read More »
I’m writing this on Christmas day in 2024, which coincides with the first night of Hanukkah. Kwanzaa is tomorrow. The solstice was a few days ago. I feel as if the calendar gave us all a big present: “We’re all on this little rock together.” I hope that all your gift acquisition and receiving experiences
What Present(s) Do Both Your Heart and Mind Desire? Read More »
This is Johanna Rothman’s December 2024 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. I’m doing my version of planning for next year. I set not more than three big, overarching goals. Then, I develop tactics I can use—but I do not have to use—to accomplish that goal.
Which Essential Questions Will Help You Start Next Year Right? Read More »
We’ve all had terrible disappointments in our lives, personal, professional, and societal. Somehow, most of us find ways to live with the personal disappointments. I’m not going to discuss those because I’m not a therapist. Professionally, I’ve experienced several project-based disappointments. We either didn’t deliver what the customer wanted or we didn’t deliver it when
How to Acknowledge Our Disappointment and Decide How to Restart Read More »
(Warning: this post discusses the upcoming US Presidential election.) Our identities mean we identify with many possible different tribes. By tribe, I mean a particular affinity group. I have professional tribes, such as software people, managers, and consultants. Personally, I have my family tribe and my position in that tribe. I also have social tribes,
How Much of a Hold Do Your Various Tribes Have on You? Read More »
How often do you notice inconsistencies? We are human, so we are all inconsistent at times. But the more often I see these inconsistencies, the more they confuse me or make little sense to me. In fact, they confuse me so much, that this is my fourth attempt to write this post. Sigh. I suspect
What Confuses You or Makes Little or No Sense to You? Read More »