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/2012/03/30/marketing-myopia-redux/ http://artpetty.com/2012/03/30/marketing-myopia-redux/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:31:07 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=7322 It amazes and disappoints me all at the same time how many businesses have no clue what their customers really need from them. This problem is epidemic in the technology world (consumer electronics and business technology) in particular, where feature, function and price wars continue to dominate the landscape in spite of the reality that most of us buy for reasons other than feature, function or price.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/03/30/marketing-myopia-redux/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2012/03/03/systems-thinking-meets-platform-strategy-and-social-media-via-nike/ http://artpetty.com/2012/03/03/systems-thinking-meets-platform-strategy-and-social-media-via-nike/#comments Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:09:25 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=7248 While I admit to being one of those people who views the idea of running as much more attractive than the actual running part (thus far, I've been satisfied to pass runners on my Specialized Road Bike, thank you), I’m blown away by Nike’s strategy with their Digital Plus business and specifically, their Nike+ program for runners. If you are not a member of Nike+ or, if you are not familiar with it, put on your strategy and marketing glasses and take a close look at what they are doing to differentiate, build communities and increase the dialogue with their customers.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/03/03/systems-thinking-meets-platform-strategy-and-social-media-via-nike/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2012/03/01/modern-pricing-traps-and-general-customer-disservice-a-rant/ http://artpetty.com/2012/03/01/modern-pricing-traps-and-general-customer-disservice-a-rant/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:34:27 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=7237 This one is tongue-in-cheek, laced with a great deal of hyperbole and fueled by a strong sense of outrage over the proliferation of bad pricing programs and even worse customer support tactics.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/03/01/modern-pricing-traps-and-general-customer-disservice-a-rant/feed/ 1 http://artpetty.com/2011/10/18/guest-marketing-post-succeeding-with-video/ http://artpetty.com/2011/10/18/guest-marketing-post-succeeding-with-video/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:51:08 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6658 Guest Marketing Post-Succeeding with Video: I'm not alone in my video-phobia, and in comparing notes with many of my colleagues, it seems we all struggle with the same issues. We also agree that the benefits of building a video presence strongly outweigh any of the personal reasons for avoiding this. To support our efforts, I encouraged Amber Wallor and Edgar Mourans, the two pros behind Left Hand Marketing and the drive to help small business owners and even hapless actors like me build a video presence, to offer us some guidance. Here's a free e-book and some encouragement from Amber and Edgar.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/10/18/guest-marketing-post-succeeding-with-video/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2011/09/28/midweek-marketing-delta-builds-customer-experience-one-detail-at-a-time/ http://artpetty.com/2011/09/28/midweek-marketing-delta-builds-customer-experience-one-detail-at-a-time/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:40:40 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6519 I’ve been an unapologetic critic of the money losing and seemingly customer hating airline industry for many years. Anyone who has flown a million miles or more has a good view to the workings of this flying bus business (with apologies to bus companies), and the view is mostly unpleasant. (Not always, just mostly.) Imagine my surprise when I deviated on my return trip from my normal dealings with United, and flew Delta, and I actually enjoyed the experience. I checked my calendar and it wasn’t April Fools Day or Halloween, so all of the truly good natured, helpful and smiling Delta employees might have actually meant it. Here are 7 observations and some lessons for all of us worth sharing:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/09/28/midweek-marketing-delta-builds-customer-experience-one-detail-at-a-time/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2011/07/27/marketing-hall-of-shame-bludgeoning-your-customers-is-a-bad-idea/ http://artpetty.com/2011/07/27/marketing-hall-of-shame-bludgeoning-your-customers-is-a-bad-idea/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:34:21 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6222 Imagine my surprise when in a fit of insanity, I picked up the phone the other night….right after dinner (well, I answered because the caller i.d. indicated the Hotel Chain’s name, and because the troops had the dishes will in hand), and I ended up on the receiving end of an old-fashioned marketing bludgeoning. Seriously, Hotel Chain! You think so highly of the relationships with your clients that you’re engaging in tactics like this to reward them for years of business.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/07/27/marketing-hall-of-shame-bludgeoning-your-customers-is-a-bad-idea/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2011/03/18/management-week-in-review-for-march-18-2011/ http://artpetty.com/2011/03/18/management-week-in-review-for-march-18-2011/#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:53:21 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5479 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 why you need to know more about Baldrige, rethinking your ideas on measuring marketing ROI and the powerful impact of Social Business on your firm's reputation and ultimate success.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/03/18/management-week-in-review-for-march-18-2011/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2010/12/07/10-of-my-favorite-dumb-ass-management-mistakes/ http://artpetty.com/2010/12/07/10-of-my-favorite-dumb-ass-management-mistakes/#comments Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:00:35 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4666 In the spirit of my post, “At Least 20 Things to Stop Doing as a Leader,” which has grown well north of 50 thanks to a deluge of reader comments, I’m back with a list of some insanely stupid and all-too-common management mistakes. These focus more on the decisions, actions or inactions that contribute to creating even bigger problems. While I’ve remained on the positive side of the law here (felons, you’ve had your day!), some of these mistakes are truly criminal. Please feel free to chime in with your additions.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/12/07/10-of-my-favorite-dumb-ass-management-mistakes/feed/ 9 http://artpetty.com/2010/10/27/and-he-kicks-children-in-the-face-and-other-insane-approaches-to-competing/ http://artpetty.com/2010/10/27/and-he-kicks-children-in-the-face-and-other-insane-approaches-to-competing/#comments Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:16:42 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4457 As business leaders, we make decisions every day about how our firms and our people compete. Most of us choose to focus on creating value and solving problems. A few resort to “win at all” costs type behaviors. This latter group poses some vexing problems for those of us that prefer the high-road style of competing for business, but the problems are not insurmountable. Here are six ideas for forming and framing a positive and effective competitive culture.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/10/27/and-he-kicks-children-in-the-face-and-other-insane-approaches-to-competing/feed/ 10 http://artpetty.com/2010/10/26/marketers-4-ideas-to-avoid-falling-victim-to-the-felt-need/ http://artpetty.com/2010/10/26/marketers-4-ideas-to-avoid-falling-victim-to-the-felt-need/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:04:16 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4450 The article, “The Felt Need” by Dan and Chip Heath in the November, 2010 issue of Fast Company is worth the price of the annual subscription for it’s reminder value alone. The Heaths tackle a topic that just about all of us involved in selling, marketing or strategy have succumbed to at some point in our careers: the felt need versus the burning need. Here are four ideas to avoid being victimized by "The Felt Need."

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/10/26/marketers-4-ideas-to-avoid-falling-victim-to-the-felt-need/feed/ 2 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/2010/09/12/leadership-caffeine-in-pursuit-of-your-potential/ http://artpetty.com/2010/09/12/leadership-caffeine-in-pursuit-of-your-potential/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:37:39 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4320 You’re good, but do you have it in you to be great? I work with a lot of good professionals. These are smart people, all technically adept at their jobs and committed to working hard for their organizations. Only a few of these good individuals push themselves to become great.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/09/12/leadership-caffeine-in-pursuit-of-your-potential/feed/ 11 http://artpetty.com/2010/08/04/the-career-enhancing-benefits-of-message-mapping/ http://artpetty.com/2010/08/04/the-career-enhancing-benefits-of-message-mapping/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:06:38 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4086 Critical communication situations demand crystal clarity. With apologies for my abusive but personally amusing alliteration above, I’m banging the drum again on the need for all of us to carefully form and frame our messages before we open our mouths and trip on our tongues.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/08/04/the-career-enhancing-benefits-of-message-mapping/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2010/04/09/jumpstart-your-marketing-reading-to-retrain-your-brain/ http://artpetty.com/2010/04/09/jumpstart-your-marketing-reading-to-retrain-your-brain/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:22:40 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3579 In my opinion, there’s never been a better time to get involved in the field of marketing. The advances in technology, the spread of social media and the incredible need that organizations everywhere have for individuals that get that marketing is a philosophy…a way of thinking and acting, and not a department, has never been greater.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/04/09/jumpstart-your-marketing-reading-to-retrain-your-brain/feed/ 8 http://artpetty.com/2009/11/18/why-competition-is-so-great-and-what-chicago-needs-to-learn/ http://artpetty.com/2009/11/18/why-competition-is-so-great-and-what-chicago-needs-to-learn/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:25:51 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2906 Note from Art: I love the city of Chicago. I love the people, the energy and I love the feel of the restaurants and museums and the theaters. However, I don’t love the knuckleheaded political and union wrangling that blares from every news channel in a constant drone of finger pointing and accusations and bone-headed moves. We're battling insane ex-governors and ridiculous retail sales tax increases in the face of a recession. One of the latest issues is the backlash and the stream of excuses for the loss of several major conventions due to complaints of usurious pricing and strong-arm tactics. It's time for Chicago to step up!

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/11/18/why-competition-is-so-great-and-what-chicago-needs-to-learn/feed/ 1 http://artpetty.com/2009/10/15/leading-in-the-trenches-what-do-you-do-and-no-one-buys-gobbeldy-gook/ http://artpetty.com/2009/10/15/leading-in-the-trenches-what-do-you-do-and-no-one-buys-gobbeldy-gook/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:25:59 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2740 OK, this might seem like an odd one, but ask most people what they do and what do you get? “I’m an accountant,” or, “I work in marketing/customer service/support” etc. Attend a business-networking event and listen to the introductions. “We’re a leader in…” or, “We make…” or, “We’re a software company... ." Boring. Hard to stimulate interest with an answer that makes someone want to reach for the bacon-wrapped water chestnut and shout, “Next!”

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/10/15/leading-in-the-trenches-what-do-you-do-and-no-one-buys-gobbeldy-gook/feed/ 17 http://artpetty.com/2009/09/30/leading-in-the-trenches-how-well-do-you-know-your-customers/ http://artpetty.com/2009/09/30/leading-in-the-trenches-how-well-do-you-know-your-customers/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:00:27 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2560 If you don’t know your customers at a sufficient level of detail, including their hopes, dreams and emotions, everything you are doing includes a high degree of guesswork and randomness. Your messaging likely includes a great deal of blah blah about your firm. Promotional activities are fired from a shotgun, and while they occasionally hit something, there is no viable, sustainable marketing system in place.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/09/30/leading-in-the-trenches-how-well-do-you-know-your-customers/feed/ 9 http://artpetty.com/2009/08/12/twitter-and-social-networking-job-search-power-tools-or-time-killers/ http://artpetty.com/2009/08/12/twitter-and-social-networking-job-search-power-tools-or-time-killers/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:56:17 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2292 One of the best lessons that I've learned from working on about two million fix-it and improvement projects with my Dad is to match the right tool to the job at hand. This is particularly true in searching for a job, which can be one of the more vexing projects for many people. Fortunately, there are a number of interesting new power tools available in the form of social networking platforms, to help today's job seeker. However, unlike the tools in the picture, there are few guidelines on how and where to to use these tools to good effect.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/08/12/twitter-and-social-networking-job-search-power-tools-or-time-killers/feed/ 1 http://artpetty.com/2009/08/11/sales-strategy-playbook-competitor-acquired-it%e2%80%99-may-be-a-gold-plated-gift-wrapped-opportunity/ http://artpetty.com/2009/08/11/sales-strategy-playbook-competitor-acquired-it%e2%80%99-may-be-a-gold-plated-gift-wrapped-opportunity/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:30:25 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2283 In talking with a CEO friend running a smaller tech firm, he indicated that there is increasing buzz about various potential combinations and roll-ups that will impact his specific sector. He said this with a smile, and an interesting observation that “when my competitors are acquired, our business spikes and new opportunities are uncovered.” That's an Interesting way to look at the situation. I know a lot of people who fear the outcome of Competitor X merging with Firm Y.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/08/11/sales-strategy-playbook-competitor-acquired-it%e2%80%99-may-be-a-gold-plated-gift-wrapped-opportunity/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2009/08/07/friday-fare-and-summer-shorts/ http://artpetty.com/2009/08/07/friday-fare-and-summer-shorts/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:55:11 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2269 Fresh off of the coldest July since AD 85 here in the Chicago-area, the weather is finally warming a bit and I’m breaking out the Summer Shorts for this Friday Fare post here at Management Excellence. (Since my wife didn’t get it either, this means that today’s post is going to include brief snippets instead of my usual lengthy essays. Get it…summer shorts! Hey, I thought it was a cute play on words.)

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/08/07/friday-fare-and-summer-shorts/feed/ 5 http://artpetty.com/2009/07/25/art-rants-the-insane-and-confusing-battle-for-the-pipe-into-your-home/ http://artpetty.com/2009/07/25/art-rants-the-insane-and-confusing-battle-for-the-pipe-into-your-home/#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:32:40 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2196 All across America, legions of streetwalkers (not that kind!) have been dispatched to your home to help you deal with the serious issue of your television service. Or is that your Internet service? Or your phones? Or your wireless phones? Or your toaster? You'll soon realize that you’ve become involved in some form of new, maniacal game brought to you by people that have created rules that don’ benefit anyone but them. It’s your job to figure out the catches and traps and gotcha’s! I’m not certain that you as the consumer can win this game, but you can definitely lose. The issue is, how much?

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/07/25/art-rants-the-insane-and-confusing-battle-for-the-pipe-into-your-home/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/18/fresh-voices-two-posts-that-can-improve-your-day-and-your-life/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/18/fresh-voices-two-posts-that-can-improve-your-day-and-your-life/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:01:57 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2043 Still reeling from my losing battle with the apologetic sales rep from Big Telco, I went searching for solace and inspiration from the many great writers that I follow. Two posts from two professionals in very different fields stood out as particularly thought provoking and inspiring.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/18/fresh-voices-two-posts-that-can-improve-your-day-and-your-life/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/17/big-telco-and-the-art-of-the-apology-driven-sales-pitch/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/17/big-telco-and-the-art-of-the-apology-driven-sales-pitch/#comments Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:31:14 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2026 Apologies are everywhere these days. I wrote a post on leaders and apologies last week, and this week, Letterman is in the news apologizing to Sarah Palin for a joke that went awry. Yesterday, as I prepared to get even with my evil Telco provider by dropping them like a bad habit, I ran square into an onslaught of apologies followed by a brazen sales pitch. What follows is my own recollection of events during this phone call.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/17/big-telco-and-the-art-of-the-apology-driven-sales-pitch/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/21/sales-and-marketing-wake-up-and-start-refining-your-leads/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/21/sales-and-marketing-wake-up-and-start-refining-your-leads/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 14:36:18 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1845 I was reminded yesterday of one of the fundamental failure points of many marketing and sales teams: lead management. This reminder was painful. The short-story version is that in spite of tremendous advances in technology tools to analyze, monitor and manage sales leads in the three years since I’ve been charged with doing this, many (actually, the word used was “most”) firms are less than diligent in managing leads from the initial touch-point to final disposition.

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