So how much can you learn in 99 seconds?

 

Well, a lot it seems. Yesterday was PM Day at Microsoft, the yearly event where hundreds of program managers converge to learn tricks and tips from the best. My favorite was Charlie Peterson’s 99-Second Program Management Talks, in which we heard 25 speakers each take 99 seconds to speak on the program management topic of their choice. Time was strictly kept by an APPLAUSE sign when a huge countdown clock reached zero, and nobody was given an extra second.

Talks were both serious and funny, simple and complex, high level and low. Some presenters were very good and some not so good, but I appreciated every single PM willing to share their 99 seconds of wisdom with me and learned something from each of them. The biggest thing I learned is that we all talk too much and a lot can be said in 99 seconds. So why do we keep having those one hour meetings?