Adam Gonnerman

During the 2008 financial crisis, I had the good fortune of working for a well-funded startup. Having money in the bank gave the company stability, and I was shielded from the worst of what others were experiencing. Today feels very different. In just a couple of weeks, I’ll hit the 4-month mark of unemployment. My year-long contract with Meta ended in April, and despite starting my search last December, I still haven’t landed something new. It hasn’t been for lack of effort—applications, networking, interviews—but the opportunities simply aren’t there in the numbers they once were. I’ve seen many others posting similar stories: long months of searching, recruiters ghosting, interviews that stall. It’s a reminder that this isn’t about me lacking skills—it’s about a market where there just aren’t enough roles. I bring 10+ years of experience in project and program management, Agile methodologies, and cross-functional leadership. I hold two Master’s degrees. I know how to help teams deli...

When a Scrum team plans a sprint, they should do so with their velocity in mind. Velocity, in the context of Scrum, refers to the average number of story points a team has completed in past sprints. This metric serves as a reliable gauge of the team's capacity and should guide the amount of work planned for each sprint. Assuming the team has been working together for a while using the Scrum methodology, their historical velocity provides a realistic benchmark for future sprints. Planning sprints based on velocity ensures that teams do not overcommit or undercommit. Overcommitting by adding more work than what the team's velocity supports can lead to incomplete sprints, while undercommitting may result in underutilization of the team's potential. It is essential to strike a balance, and the team's average velocity helps achieve that balance. Temptation to include additional work beyond the team's velocity often arises, particularly from product owners who may see str...

In 2008, I was working for a major telecom company, handling calls for large business and government accounts. One day, while looking at an organizational chart, I realized my only available career moves within the company were lateral. I could shift to data support or something similar, but there was no clear path upward. I needed to move on. I searched online but couldn’t find many customer service options in New Jersey, where I lived. Then one night, it dawned on me to check New York. Believe it or not, I found my first job at a startup through Craigslist. Here, I'll share some of my thoughts on startup life. First, in a startup, you wear many hats. I was hired to provide "white glove" service to our clients, but with only a handful of customers, my primary role became content preparation. I processed investment newsletters from print, email, and PDFs into a format that our web application could display. Along the way, I also took on minor technical tasks, like fixing ...

Many people approach work with a "clock in, clock out" mindset. While this might get the job done, it limits personal and professional growth. You may become highly proficient in your current role, but what you truly need is experience that prepares you for the next one. Developing curiosity about different roles can expand your skill set and open new career opportunities. Exploring other roles broadens your understanding of the organization. Observing how different teams and departments function helps you see the bigger picture, while understanding cross-functional collaboration improves teamwork and efficiency. This, in turn, enhances your own job performance. Exposure to different roles provides valuable insights that can strengthen your current work, offering fresh perspectives and problem-solving strategies. Ultimately, this creates career growth opportunities—having a diverse skill set makes you more adaptable to change, and familiarity with adjacent roles increases you...

In my late teens and early twenties, my sole career focus was ministry. When I first expressed this calling, I quickly realized that traditional congregational ministry didn’t feel like the right fit for me. Seeking guidance, I approached the pastor of my church—part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) —to ask if there were alternative paths in ministry. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to discuss it, and before we could follow up, I had moved on to college. In college, I continued preparing for ministry, but every discussion and lesson centered on congregational work. Over time, I became so immersed in that narrative that I lost sight of any other possibilities. After a brief yet relatively successful stint as a missionary in Brazil, I accepted a call to serve a small church in New Mexico, part of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ . It turned out to be a terrible experience. One elder regularly solicited critiques of my work from the congregation and then relayed them to me...

Being laid off is terrible. Having been laid off a few times myself, I know well the shock and anxiety of the experience. This post isn't about the people who are laid off, though. It's about those left to carry on. What follows is my advice to survivors of layoffs. First, take time to process what's happened. This is often said to people being laid off, but it's not much use to them, as generally they have no time to waste in this job market to look for another job.   For someone who has made it through a layoff there can be a variety of feelings. Acknowledge your emotions, whether it's relief, guilt, anxiety, or sadness. It's normal to feel a mix of things. Second, support your former colleagues. Reach out to those who were laid off, particularly via LinkedIn. Offer emotional support, job referrals, or networking help if you can. Even better, check in on them a month or two later for these things. People when laid off often have a flurry of activity in the beg...

One of the most challenging aspects of project and program management is dealing with unclear or constantly evolving requirements. Whether due to shifting business priorities, incomplete stakeholder alignment, or rapidly changing market conditions, ambiguity is an inevitable part of managing complex initiatives. Your ability to navigate this uncertainty while keeping the project moving forward is what sets you apart as an effective leader. Here’s how you can manage ambiguity and bring structure to chaos. First, clarify the big picture. When requirements are vague, step back and focus on the broader business objectives rather than getting lost in missing details. Ask stakeholders: What problem are we solving? What does success look like? What are the key constraints (timeline, budget, resources)? Aligning on these high-level priorities ensures that even if the details shift, you have a north star guiding the project. Second, break down unclear requirements into known and unknown compone...