http://artpetty.com Leadership, Management and Professional Development Tue, 22 May 2012 11:58:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 copyright by Art Petty, 2011 art.petty@artpetty.com (Art Petty) art.petty@artpetty.com (Art Petty) 1440 http://artpetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Lcpodcast144x144.png http://artpetty.com 144 144 http://artpetty.com/feed/podcast Leadership Caffeine Podcast Host Art Petty interviews leaders, leadership authors, management thinkers and other professionals about creating high performance teams and organizations and developing effective leaders at all levels, during this weekly program. The goal is to share practical, powerful ideas to help listeners improve their performance and the performance of their teams and organizations. Caffene, Ldrshp, Profesional, Dev, Ledership, Ldrshp, Caffeine, Proff'l, Dev Art Petty Art Petty art.petty@artpetty.com no no http://artpetty.com/2012/02/22/leaders-tattoo-this-causal-relationship-on-your-forearms/ http://artpetty.com/2012/02/22/leaders-tattoo-this-causal-relationship-on-your-forearms/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:47:59 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=7210 I’ve been mildly surprised that the book, Beyond Performance-How Great Organizations Build Competitive Advantage by Scott Keller and Colin Price, hasn’t commanded more attention in mainstream business circles. Perhaps we’ve grown numb to the almost endless number of books purporting to show us the way to sustained success. However, don’t let the existence of 25,000 or so books published on managing change during the past two decades, blind you to some of the important and data-backed conclusions of Beyond Performance. Here are some reasons why this may be one of the more important books you will read this decade:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/02/22/leaders-tattoo-this-causal-relationship-on-your-forearms/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-walking-with-giants/ http://artpetty.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-walking-with-giants/#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:42:51 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6599 Twentieth Century Industrialist and the founder of Panasonic, Konosuke Matsushita, established a garden outside of the firm’s modest headquarters in Osaka, Japan. In this garden, he commissioned and placed statues of his heroes. Fittingly, a giant statue of Thomas Edison is at the center of this collection of remarkable Western and Asian inventors and thinkers. [...]

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-walking-with-giants/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2011/08/29/towards-your-growth-as-a-management-innovator/ http://artpetty.com/2011/08/29/towards-your-growth-as-a-management-innovator/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:59:30 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6391 One of the exciting parts of living and working through “these interesting times,” comes from the opportunity to apply the tools of management in new ways and forms to today’s complex problems. This “management innovation” as Dr. Gary Hamel describes it, is much about the search for approaches to organizing, planning, leading and controlling that better fit the challenges of the 21st century. The implication is that in many cases, we’re still trying to solve new and emerging problems with 20th century management tools.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/08/29/towards-your-growth-as-a-management-innovator/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2011/04/11/leadership-caffeine-making-time-to-glimpse-the-future-and-re-think/ http://artpetty.com/2011/04/11/leadership-caffeine-making-time-to-glimpse-the-future-and-re-think/#comments Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:19:04 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5671 As technology finally begins to catch up to our long-standing vision for how it can positively change our work lives and our businesses, it may just be time for us to rethink our stone-age approaches on how we work. If you’ve not pushed yourself to explore the new tools, and if you are responsible in some form or fashion for pushing the envelope on how your firm competes in the market, engages clients and arms its people to win, it might just be time to spend a few minutes focusing on the future.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/04/11/leadership-caffeine-making-time-to-glimpse-the-future-and-re-think/feed/ 10 http://artpetty.com/2011/03/04/management-week-in-review-for-march-4-2011/ http://artpetty.com/2011/03/04/management-week-in-review-for-march-4-2011/#comments Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:50:33 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5386 Every week, I share three thought-provoking management posts for the week. Fair warning: I take a broad view of management, so my selections will range from leadership to innovation to finance and personal development and beyond. This week's selections feature content on reinventing management, the strategic and practical implications of upgrade plans for consumer electronics products and some guidance on improving our decision-making by better utilizing outside advisors. Enjoy!

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/03/04/management-week-in-review-for-march-4-2011/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2011/01/19/nine-key-professional-capabilities-required-by-our-times/ http://artpetty.com/2011/01/19/nine-key-professional-capabilities-required-by-our-times/#comments Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:26:04 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5139 There’s no doubt we live in interesting times…a true Dickensian Best of Times, Worst of Times environment, filled with remarkable opportunities and equally remarkable personal, competitive, societal and global challenges. Over the past few years and few thousand contacts with professionals on the topic(s) of developing as a professional and developing as a leader, a number of key “capabilities needed for success in these times” have emerged as recurring themes in discussions and group settings. Importantly, these themes or as I describe them, Capabilities, Attributes & Behaviors (CABs) are essential for success at both the individual and organizational levels.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/01/19/nine-key-professional-capabilities-required-by-our-times/feed/ 9 http://artpetty.com/2011/01/12/want-to-change-the-world-dont-forget-to-build-your-business-model/ http://artpetty.com/2011/01/12/want-to-change-the-world-dont-forget-to-build-your-business-model/#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:37:35 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5073 Over the past few weeks, I’ve connected with some brilliant individuals in multiple entrepreneurial organizations. In every instance, I heard some form of “We want to change the world” as these high-energy individuals described their ideas and their motivation. I love “change the world ideas” put forth by people passionate about doing something new, doing something better and helping others along the way. There’s no way I can avoid cheering for these teams. However, I can worry for them. Here's why...

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/01/12/want-to-change-the-world-dont-forget-to-build-your-business-model/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2011/01/05/rethinking-idea-generation/ http://artpetty.com/2011/01/05/rethinking-idea-generation/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:55:25 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5002 Idea generation is core to everything we do in our organizations. It's too bad that we've been going about it all wrong!

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/01/05/rethinking-idea-generation/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2010/11/16/at-least-3-reasons-were-still-raving-about-lousy-leaders/ http://artpetty.com/2010/11/16/at-least-3-reasons-were-still-raving-about-lousy-leaders/#comments Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:41:27 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4554 I’ll wager a month’s worth of coffee that if you asked everyone that you know to generate a list on what makes an effective leader, the output would be nearly identical. So if this construct of an effective leader is so readily apparent, why is there a nearly endless supply of disgruntled workers capable of describing lousy leader horror stories to anyone that will listen?

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/11/16/at-least-3-reasons-were-still-raving-about-lousy-leaders/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2010/11/13/the-leaders-role-in-promoting-innovation/ http://artpetty.com/2010/11/13/the-leaders-role-in-promoting-innovation/#comments Sat, 13 Nov 2010 14:31:22 +0000 Art Petty http://www.buildingbetterleaders.com/?p=1431 If the role of a leader wasn't challenging enough, let's pile on one more abstract but critical challenge to the heavy lifting already required by leaders in this fast-changing world: promoting a culture of innovation.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/11/13/the-leaders-role-in-promoting-innovation/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2010/11/08/leadership-caffeine-managing-risk-without-stifling-experimentation/ http://artpetty.com/2010/11/08/leadership-caffeine-managing-risk-without-stifling-experimentation/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:13:49 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4515 The art and science of management is much about coping with risk. There are few certain outcomes in business, and that’s particularly true when we factor in the reality that people are darned complex and don’t always act rationally. More often than not, I see managers and leaders looking at their world through the eyes of “what can go wrong?” and basing their decisions solely on attempting to minimize those identified adverse outcomes. Here are 5 ideas that leaders can use to help experimentation flourish on their teams.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/11/08/leadership-caffeine-managing-risk-without-stifling-experimentation/feed/ 14 http://artpetty.com/2010/10/25/leadership-caffeine-stuck-in-a-rut-try-these-ideas-on-for-size/ http://artpetty.com/2010/10/25/leadership-caffeine-stuck-in-a-rut-try-these-ideas-on-for-size/#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:06:50 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4439 There’s an awful bad case of the “serious” malady running through our society right now, and for just a moment, we all deserve to unclench our jaws, breathe and even form that rare but powerful facial expression, the smile. Consider this my attempt (albeit a weak one, I’m certain) to take a little of the seriousness out of your day while offering ideas that might just have something to them. Or, they might not, but, I’ll leave that for you to judge.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/10/25/leadership-caffeine-stuck-in-a-rut-try-these-ideas-on-for-size/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2010/10/20/in-pursuit-of-management-innovation-in-marketing/ http://artpetty.com/2010/10/20/in-pursuit-of-management-innovation-in-marketing/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:57:32 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4429 The practice of management has evolved at a snail’s pace over the past 50 years, and one of the core tools of management and a key issue for any organization, marketing, has lagged just slightly behind.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/10/20/in-pursuit-of-management-innovation-in-marketing/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2010/09/22/the-anachronistic-and-oxymoronic-tyranny-of-marketing-control/ http://artpetty.com/2010/09/22/the-anachronistic-and-oxymoronic-tyranny-of-marketing-control/#comments Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:10:04 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4362 The new world of marketing frightens many experienced marketing professionals. For those accustomed to believing that they have some form of inalienable right to control everything that is said or published about their firm in the name of “managing the brand,” these are difficult times, indeed.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/09/22/the-anachronistic-and-oxymoronic-tyranny-of-marketing-control/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2010/08/31/management-excellence-book-series-podcast-strategic-speed/ http://artpetty.com/2010/08/31/management-excellence-book-series-podcast-strategic-speed/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:25:01 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4250 I had the good fortune to connect recently with Jocelyn Davis, one of the co-authors (along with Henry Frechette, Jr., and Edwin Boswell) of Strategic Speed, for an interview, where we discussed the high failure rate of strategies, the meaning of "strategic speed," and a number of other issues important to anyone interested in improving strategy execution. Jocelyn's insights into the book and the world of strategy and leadership were fascinating.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/08/31/management-excellence-book-series-podcast-strategic-speed/feed/ 1 0:23:50 I had the good fortune to connect recently with Jocelyn Davis, one of the co-authors (along with Henry Frechette, Jr., and Edwin Boswell) of Strategic Speed, for an interview, where we discussed the high failure rate of strategies, the meaning of "s[...] I had the good fortune to connect recently with Jocelyn Davis, one of the co-authors (along with Henry Frechette, Jr., and Edwin Boswell) of Strategic Speed, for an interview, where we discussed the high failure rate of strategies, the meaning of "strategic speed," and a number of other issues important to anyone interested in improving strategy execution. Jocelyn's insights into the book and the world of strategy and leadership were fascinating. Leadership, Performance, Strategy Art Petty no no http://artpetty.com/2010/08/10/leadership-caffeine-quit-managing-reduced-expectations/ http://artpetty.com/2010/08/10/leadership-caffeine-quit-managing-reduced-expectations/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:01:54 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4114 A great friend and talented product manager once offered in a moment of frustration that he viewed his principal job as one of “managing reduced expectations.” This brilliant, but depressing turn of words reflected bigger business problems, including a logjam in development that effectively precluded us from doing anything to enhance the competitiveness of our products in a timeframe shorter than something that you might find on a geologic time-scale. The “managing reduced expectations” seems to be a theme inherent in our society right now, and it is a dangerous mind-set.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/08/10/leadership-caffeine-quit-managing-reduced-expectations/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2010/07/28/innovation-is-everyone%e2%80%99s-business/ http://artpetty.com/2010/07/28/innovation-is-everyone%e2%80%99s-business/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:13:07 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4058 Take a poll in your firm on whether people feel responsible for innovation in their jobs or in their departments, and I’ll offer an educated guess on the outcome. Those involved in engineering, design, marketing and product management will feel a strong sense of responsibility to innovate. For others in supporting or operations-focused roles, the need or ability to innovate will be rated towards the low end of perceived priorities or even capabilities. That’s a shame. A good innovator and good innovations are terrible things to waste, regardless of functional role.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/07/28/innovation-is-everyone%e2%80%99s-business/feed/ 11 http://artpetty.com/2010/04/21/rethinking-talent-leadership-and-the-organization/ http://artpetty.com/2010/04/21/rethinking-talent-leadership-and-the-organization/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:46:26 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3641 Anyone involved in leadership and responsible for the development of leaders should read the recent BusinessWeek article, “Can GE Still Manage?” The article offers a fascinating look into GE’s traditional leadership and high-potential development practices, and raises an interesting question of whether these practices still hunt in a very different world than when they were conceived. While I'm not qualified to critique GE’s approach, the article certainly begs all of us to be thinking about or rethinking everything that we take for granted in how we find and cultivate talent and how we deploy our resources.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/04/21/rethinking-talent-leadership-and-the-organization/feed/ 9 http://artpetty.com/2010/03/17/7-ideas-to-stimulate-experimentation-in-your-organization/ http://artpetty.com/2010/03/17/7-ideas-to-stimulate-experimentation-in-your-organization/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:42:29 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3511 In some organizations, there are so many systemic and cultural disincentives to experimentation that it’s a wonder that executives and employees are able to decide what to have for lunch today that was different from yesterday. In spite of the natural inertia towards the sure thing or the shortcut (external advice in lieu of more risky and time-consuming experimentation), I’ll offer my few cents worth on why and how you and your firm can use experimentation as a means of building value and confounding competitors.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/03/17/7-ideas-to-stimulate-experimentation-in-your-organization/feed/ 7 http://artpetty.com/2010/01/31/leadership-caffeine-its-time-to-get-serious-about-learning-from-your-twenty-somethings/ http://artpetty.com/2010/01/31/leadership-caffeine-its-time-to-get-serious-about-learning-from-your-twenty-somethings/#comments Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:34:02 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3286 One of the recurring themes in my writing and teaching activities is the importance of blending the generations in the workplace. I’ve been a cheerleader for this cause for the past few years and I truly believe that good managers everywhere must find opportunities to leverage the unique perspectives of experience, pragmatism and idealism available from this fascinating mix of time travelers. I’ve now moved beyond my polite encouragement for managers to find ways to adapt and cope with what seem to be the foreign habits and foreign viewpoints emanating from the more youthful in the workforce. It's time to get serious about learning and benefitting from this younger generation.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/01/31/leadership-caffeine-its-time-to-get-serious-about-learning-from-your-twenty-somethings/feed/ 13 http://artpetty.com/2010/01/04/leadership-caffeine-develop-a-big-picture-view-or-risk-becoming-a-carp/ http://artpetty.com/2010/01/04/leadership-caffeine-develop-a-big-picture-view-or-risk-becoming-a-carp/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:47:39 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3136 Far too many leaders that I work with lack awareness of the broader forces swirling around their firms, their customers and those shape-shifting clusters that we describe as industries. Given the hurricane like market and societal forces buffeting our globe today, a strategy of boarding up the windows and hunkering down is tantamount to committing corporate suicide. Yet, mostly by the sin of omission, this is exactly what I’m observing inside too many organizations.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/01/04/leadership-caffeine-develop-a-big-picture-view-or-risk-becoming-a-carp/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2009/11/29/leadership-caffeine-five-simple-suggestions-for-minimizing-management-myopia/ http://artpetty.com/2009/11/29/leadership-caffeine-five-simple-suggestions-for-minimizing-management-myopia/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:34:01 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2953 Participate in or monitor enough management team conversations and you will invariably conclude that it’s darned hard for these teams to spend quality time discussing external issues. The gravitational pull of internal “stuff” is overwhelming and resists all attempts to move the conversation to topics outside of the firm’s four walls, preferring instead to keep managers focused on the nuances of their own operations. The result is a self-fulfilling management myopia where the view on the world is grossly limited to the immediate surroundings…and ranges as far as the eyes can see outside conference room windows.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/11/29/leadership-caffeine-five-simple-suggestions-for-minimizing-management-myopia/feed/ 10 http://artpetty.com/2009/09/02/the-human-touch-in-customer-support-an-endangered-species/ http://artpetty.com/2009/09/02/the-human-touch-in-customer-support-an-endangered-species/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:55:03 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2417 The issue is customer service and specifically, the increasing number of businesses that I am running into that offer no or extremely hard-to-find contact with a human for support or account questions.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/09/02/the-human-touch-in-customer-support-an-endangered-species/feed/ 21 http://artpetty.com/2009/07/17/jump-start-strategy-by-jumping-straight-to-the-middle-of-the-process/ http://artpetty.com/2009/07/17/jump-start-strategy-by-jumping-straight-to-the-middle-of-the-process/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:27:01 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2172 Get your team talking about the right topics and get them focused on assessing and comparing based on the criteria that are the most important to your success. Skip the summer strategy offsite and start the dialogue on determining what’s truly important, and you’ll find yourself and your organization moving and working the right things faster than you might imagine.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/07/17/jump-start-strategy-by-jumping-straight-to-the-middle-of-the-process/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/25/collaboration-and-the-leader/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/25/collaboration-and-the-leader/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:59:17 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2060 Many leaders are lousy collaborators. It doesn’t seem to matter that they spend a great deal of time encouraging, coaching and facilitating collaboration between their team members and across functional boundaries. When it comes time for Leader A to work with Leader B on something other than getting other people to do things, the dynamics get interesting and the output is often disappointing.

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