J.D. Meier's Blog
Agile Results, Digital Business Transformation, and Program Management
Video–Ed Jezierski on Getting Results the Agile Way
It’s always great to see how technology can help make the world a better place. You might remember...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/19/2011
Elevator Pitches for Projects
As a Program Manager, one of the things I’ve had to do a lot is, “pitch projects.” ...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/18/2011
Getting Results the Agile Way on Stepcase Lifehack
Chris Smith wrote a great overview of my productivity system on Stepcase Lifehack.org. The...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/17/2011
Friday Links 07-15-2011
From the Archives Customer-Connected Engineering – Involving customers throughout your software...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/15/2011
If You Can Differentiate, You Have a Competitive Monopoly
In the article, The Strategy Accelerator, Alfred Griffioen shares his thoughts on competitive...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
Brand is the Ultimate Differentiator
One town that all roads seem to lead to, is that … brand is the ultimate differentiator. It’s a...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
The Changing Landscape of Competitive Advantage
In the article, The Strategy Accelerator, Alfred Griffioen shares some specific examples of how...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
The Four Gears of Competitive Advantage
In the article, The Strategy Accelerator, Alfred Griffioen shares four gears for differentiation and...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
Models for Competitive Advantage
In the article, The Strategy Accelerator, Alfred Griffioen identifies three models that have been...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
Focus on One of Three Value Disciplines for Competitive Success
In their Value Disciplines Model, Treacy and Wiersema suggest that a business should focus on one of...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
Unbundle Your Business for Business Agility
Since joining the Enterprise Strategy Team at Microsoft, I’ve had to shift gears and focus more on...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
Organizing, Reading, and Writing Information Faster
“Information is not knowledge.” – Albert Einstein What if you could streamline your way through vast...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/14/2011
Motivation Techniques and Motivation Theories
"To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities." – Bruce Lee Motivation is a key to...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/13/2011
Wingman Pattern: Filters and Priorities
One of my mentors showed me a simple success pattern for achieving more at work, while gaining more...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/11/2011
Weekly Reminders for Changing Your Habits and Adopting New Practices
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” -- Jim Ryun One of...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/09/2011
Friday Links 07-08-2010
From the Archives 40 Hour Work Week at Microsoft - If you want to be more effective, limit the time...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/08/2011
Interpersonal Skills Books
As part of the Great Books to Read Collection, I put together a collection of the best books on...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/06/2011
Best Books to Read on Personal Development
What are the best books to read on personal development, business, leadership, management, etc.? How...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/05/2011
Structuring Your Personal Backlog to Make Things Happen
Structuring your personal backlog of work you have to do, helps you in multiple ways: It helps you...
Author: JD Meier Date: 07/04/2011
Why Teams Fail
One of the questions I get asked is, “Why do teams fail?” While there are lots of reasons, here are...
Author: JD Meier Date: 06/28/2011
Quick Tips on Work Breakdown Structures
I’m a fan of Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) for project success. For me, they’ve been the...
Author: JD Meier Date: 06/21/2011
What is Agile Results?
As I’ve been teaching Getting Results the Agile Way to more people and teams, I’ve had to simplify...
Author: JD Meier Date: 06/17/2011
Email Therapy
One of the scenarios I get asked to coach teams on is, “Email Therapy.” Basically, this translates...
Author: JD Meier Date: 06/16/2011
Focus is the Key to Success at Microsoft
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -- Mark Twain Focus...
Author: JD Meier Date: 06/12/2011
How To–Design Your Week with Skill
I wrote a how to on How To Design Your Week. It’s all about mastering time management. Let me...
Author: JD Meier Date: 06/03/2011
How To–Achieve Peaceful Calm
I wrote a simple step-by-step How To on How To – Achieve a Peaceful Calm. It’s a simple way to...
Author: JD Meier Date: 06/02/2011
Performance Review Template
It’s that time of year when folks are busy with reviews. Here is a time-tested template for...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/30/2011
Portfolios, Programs, and Projects
Note: This article is updated at Portfolios, Programs, and Projects. Execution excellence as a...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/23/2011
Leadership Checklist
I created a Leadership Checklist to distill and share practices for effective leadership. I created...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/23/2011
Visualizing Roadmaps for Execution Excellence
Note: This article is updated at Visualize Your Workstreams with a Roadmap. One of the first things...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/17/2011
How To Set Goals and Achieve Them
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/15/2011
Underutilized
When it comes to people, underutilized does not mean squeeze out more hours, it means unleash more...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/15/2011
Time Management Checklist
I created a Time Management Checklist on Getting Results.com. I’ created time management checklists...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/15/2011
How To Use Getting Results the Agile Way with Evernote
One of the most common questions I get with Getting Results the Agile Way is, “What tools do I use...
Author: JD Meier Date: 05/14/2011
Windows Azure Whitepapers Roundup
While hunting and gathering cloud-related white papers, I found a nice collection of our Windows...
Author: JD Meier Date: 04/11/2011
What Am I Doing on the Microsoft Enterprise Strategy Team
Some folks have asked me how is my new role on the Microsoft Enterprise Strategy team different from...
Author: JD Meier Date: 04/10/2011
Cloud Scenarios Hub on TechNet
If you haven’t seen it, TechNet has a Cloud Scenarios Hub. I like the focus on scenarios – it’s a...
Author: JD Meier Date: 04/09/2011
How Microsoft IT Does Cloud Computing
While researching some cloud topics, I came across a nice resource on TechNet called How Microsoft...
Author: JD Meier Date: 04/09/2011
MSDN Library Home Adds Quick Links
Jeff Braaten let me know that the MSDN Library Home is now featuring Quick Links … and it’s poetry...
Author: JD Meier Date: 03/07/2011
Adam Grocholski on Timeboxing
Adam Grocholski has a great post on timeboxing. In his post, he shares his secrets of how he’s...
Author: JD Meier Date: 03/03/2011
Benefits Realization Over ROI
Picking projects purely based on ROI is a narrow lens. Sandra A. Swanson writes about using a...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/19/2011
Change is Good
"All projects experience changing requirements. Traditional projects view this as...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/19/2011
Reference Models, Reference Architectures, and Reference Implementations
"All models are wrong, but some are useful." -- George Box I often see confusion over...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/16/2011
Six Steps for Enterprise Architecture as Strategy
Note: This article is updated at 6 Steps to Build a Strong Foundation for Execution. One of my new...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/09/2011
My Arm’s Broke, Fix Me - Three Levels of Guidance in patterns & practices
Early in my patterns & practices days, each time I built a new team, we had a hard time figuring...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/08/2011
Anu on Getting Results the Agile Way
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence,...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/08/2011
Product Success Frame for High Customer Impact
What proven practices have you seen are vital behaviors that significantly contribute to customer...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/05/2011
Scenario Scoreboards for Testing Your Product Success
Here is an example of a simple, but surprisingly effective way to test your product success. Around...
Author: JD Meier Date: 02/05/2011