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/2012/03/28/leaders-principles-and-the-pursuit-of-high-performance-teams/ http://artpetty.com/2012/03/28/leaders-principles-and-the-pursuit-of-high-performance-teams/#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:30:22 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=7315 Every high performance team I’ve experienced as a participant, a sponsor or an outside advisor, was governed by an overarching set of principles or values that formed and framed the culture. And while good words alone don’t create success, the combination of the leaders and participants living and acting according to those words everyday made things work.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/03/28/leaders-principles-and-the-pursuit-of-high-performance-teams/feed/ 2 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/2012/02/22/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/2012/02/08/lessons-in-management-innovation-from-main-street/ http://artpetty.com/2012/02/08/lessons-in-management-innovation-from-main-street/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:01:00 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=7064 During the past few years, I’ve marveled at the start-ups and small to mid-sized businesses in my community who didn’t need an army of consultants or MBAs to teach them the very relevant and important lessons that Reeves and Deimler share in their recent Harvard Business Review article, "Adaptability-The New Competitive Advantage."

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/02/08/lessons-in-management-innovation-from-main-street/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2012/02/01/no-one-asked-my-opinion-but-100-billion-for-what/ http://artpetty.com/2012/02/01/no-one-asked-my-opinion-but-100-billion-for-what/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:29:32 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6988 As of this writing, the world is abuzz with the expected Facebook IPO. The number $100 billion is being floated and passed around (probably by those who stand to benefit from a big IPO), and whether real or wild speculation, that’s a number that gives one cause to pause. This is beginning to feel like Déjà vu all over again (thanks, Yogi Berra), much like that fascinating period in the late ‘90’s when stratospheric valuations were applied to firms that had no products, no earnings and sometimes no revenues.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/02/01/no-one-asked-my-opinion-but-100-billion-for-what/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2012/01/25/strategy-towards-hypotheses-experiments-involvement-learning/ http://artpetty.com/2012/01/25/strategy-towards-hypotheses-experiments-involvement-learning/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:22:13 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6946 Few would argue that a nimble, quick-to-learn and quick-to-adapt organization is a bad thing. Given the rate of change in our world, those characteristics are increasingly table-stakes for survival and success. Why then has the approach to strategy and the notion of “strategic planning” in so many organizations remained mired in a 1960’s kind of static, top-down event-focused model? Here are six ideas to transform your organization's approach to and effectiveness with strategy.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/01/25/strategy-towards-hypotheses-experiments-involvement-learning/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2011/11/29/3-key-strategy-questions-to-ask-your-teams-regularly/ http://artpetty.com/2011/11/29/3-key-strategy-questions-to-ask-your-teams-regularly/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:49:51 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6801 In my experience, the management teams that lead the best performing businesses are those that incorporate at least three key strategic questions into almost every operational and status discussion. The gross majority of the dialogue in an organization is about How, and Who and When and the important What and Why issues are left for strategy meetings and other “high-level” discussions. While understandable in the hectic pace of the workday, the shortage of these important What and Why discussions reinforces a dangerous form of operational myopia, where the underlying and unspoken assumption is: If we simply get this done, we’ll be better off as a firm

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/11/29/3-key-strategy-questions-to-ask-your-teams-regularly/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2011/11/08/ten-places-where-management-teams-misstep-on-strategy/ http://artpetty.com/2011/11/08/ten-places-where-management-teams-misstep-on-strategy/#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:56:03 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6735 Strategy…the discussions…the decisions and of course, the execution, is hard work filled with ample opportunities to misstep. From revisiting and updating the underlying assumptions about your business, markets and competitors, to the vexing issues of deciding what to do and what not to do, it’s no surprise that many management teams avoid this work and focus more on incremental operations planning and improvement. However, for those who are courageous enough to go down this important path and do the heavy lifting, here are my top 10 pitfalls and speed bumps to avoid during your journey. 10 Places Where Management Teams Misstep on Strategy...

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/11/08/ten-places-where-management-teams-misstep-on-strategy/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2011/10/21/management-and-leadership-week-in-review-for-oct-21-2011/ http://artpetty.com/2011/10/21/management-and-leadership-week-in-review-for-oct-21-2011/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:06:25 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6699 This week's selections include content on The Great Tech War of 2012, ideas for strengthening your coaching skills, insight into three critical leadership skills and a book that offers something for all of us as we try to escape the pull of the past in our organizations.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/10/21/management-and-leadership-week-in-review-for-oct-21-2011/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2011/10/17/leadership-caffeine-speed-kills-10-situations-to-call-a-timeout/ http://artpetty.com/2011/10/17/leadership-caffeine-speed-kills-10-situations-to-call-a-timeout/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:15:23 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6646 Somewhere on the way to this world we now live and work in, “speed” became a proxy for success. Speed is undoubtedly important, but beware relying on it as the sole indicator of effectiveness. It’s a cruel tyrant, demanding fealty from followers, while discouraging critical and deep thinking and focusing solely on time-to-response as a metric of success. Here are at least 10 situations where you should resist the need for speed and call a timeout:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/10/17/leadership-caffeine-speed-kills-10-situations-to-call-a-timeout/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2011/10/05/escaping-the-gravitational-pull-of-the-past/ http://artpetty.com/2011/10/05/escaping-the-gravitational-pull-of-the-past/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:10:49 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6590 If you work in a firm struggling to redefine itself and maintain its relevance in this changing world, you’re not alone. You’re also involved in a battle for your firm’s life.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/10/05/escaping-the-gravitational-pull-of-the-past/feed/ 8 http://artpetty.com/2011/06/08/why-its-time-to-ditch-your-plans-for-the-summer-strategy-off-site/ http://artpetty.com/2011/06/08/why-its-time-to-ditch-your-plans-for-the-summer-strategy-off-site/#comments Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:51:10 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5839 From the symbolism of the annual off-site strategy event to the cost to the fact that strategic thinking time is reduced to a once or twice a year event, this approach is anachronistic in a world with markets and conditions changing daily. In twenty years of these things with some great people and great businesses, I’ve yet to see anything come out of these meetings that changed our businesses. I will offer that they did allow for another layer of vetting and idea absorption. Nonetheless, the heavy lifting took place with others outside of the cozy confines of a resort or hotel meeting room. It's time to ditch the annual strategy off-site.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/06/08/why-its-time-to-ditch-your-plans-for-the-summer-strategy-off-site/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2011/05/11/frontline-leaders-help-our-firms-go-and-grow/ http://artpetty.com/2011/05/11/frontline-leaders-help-our-firms-go-and-grow/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 13:37:04 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5731 Great frontline leaders create great experiences for their employees. This flows immediately and directly to customers. And then it flows to the top and bottom lines.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/05/11/frontline-leaders-help-our-firms-go-and-grow/feed/ 7 http://artpetty.com/2011/04/25/leadership-caffeine-motivate-with-context/ http://artpetty.com/2011/04/25/leadership-caffeine-motivate-with-context/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:15:20 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5690 We waste fortunes inside our organizations on misguided programs and oddball incentives, seeking ways to motivate and inspire people to work hard, innovate, create, care and to live up to their potential, when the real solution is literally on the tip of our tongues. Here are 5 ideas for curing Context Deficit Disorder:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/04/25/leadership-caffeine-motivate-with-context/feed/ 13 http://artpetty.com/2011/02/19/coming-soon-a-saturday-serial-a-view-from-the-millennial-perspective/ http://artpetty.com/2011/02/19/coming-soon-a-saturday-serial-a-view-from-the-millennial-perspective/#comments Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:23:37 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5298 During the next few weeks, I will kick off two new features here on the blog. The first will be a Saturday Management Serial...an on-going story involving fictional firms and companies and the buffet of leadership, management and business issues that require solving by you, the readers. The second new feature will offer a view from the youngest generation in the workforce on the realities of leading, managing and developing a career. We've heard a great deal from the 40-something management group on the challenges of leading the generations...now, we'll hear the story from the other side of the age fence. Coming soon!

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/02/19/coming-soon-a-saturday-serial-a-view-from-the-millennial-perspective/feed/ 0 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/2011/01/07/management-week-in-review-january-7-2011/ http://artpetty.com/2011/01/07/management-week-in-review-january-7-2011/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:08:14 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5027 One of my professional goals this year is to do a better job sharing insights and perspectives from a broad range of great leadership and management writers and thinkers. Every Friday, I will share my three favorites for the week. This week, I'm including content on transforming yourself, testing your strategy and turning some of the disasters of 2010 into great lessons for 2011. Enjoy!

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/01/07/management-week-in-review-january-7-2011/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/2010/12/11/management-excellence-book-review-management-its-not-what-you-think/ http://artpetty.com/2010/12/11/management-excellence-book-review-management-its-not-what-you-think/#comments Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:19:34 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4690 I confess to having a proclivity for essay collections when it comes to reading about management. Essays move along quickly and they offer the reader the opportunity to capture quick sound bites over breakfast, on the train or in other ideal reading rooms. Also, there’s the reality that many management books struggle to adequately fill the space between the book-covers, offering up their best in the introduction, the first chapter and the wrap-up chapter. Here are my thoughts on: Management? It's Not What You Think! by Henry Mintzberg, Bruce Ahlstrand and Joseph Lampel.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/12/11/management-excellence-book-review-management-its-not-what-you-think/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2010/12/08/management-excellence-book-series-six-disciplines-execution-revolution-with-gary-harpst/ http://artpetty.com/2010/12/08/management-excellence-book-series-six-disciplines-execution-revolution-with-gary-harpst/#comments Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:55:33 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4673 I started this book series to share the insights and approaches of some truly sharp people on solving vexing business problems. This particular interview with Gary Harpst, author of, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution and the earlier Six Disciplines for Excellence, taps into Gary's hard won, practical experience and his great ideas on helping small and mid-sized businesses deal with strategy execution. Enjoy the thoughtful, actionable and experience-tested guidance from Gary in our podcast interview!

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/12/08/management-excellence-book-series-six-disciplines-execution-revolution-with-gary-harpst/feed/ 0 0:27:57 I started this book series to share the insights and approaches of some truly sharp people on solving vexing business problems. This particular interview with Gary Harpst, author of, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution and the earlier Six Discipli[...] I started this book series to share the insights and approaches of some truly sharp people on solving vexing business problems. This particular interview with Gary Harpst, author of, Six Disciplines Execution Revolution and the earlier Six Disciplines for Excellence, taps into Gary's hard won, practical experience and his great ideas on helping small and mid-sized businesses deal with strategy execution. Enjoy the thoughtful, actionable and experience-tested guidance from Gary in our podcast interview! Leadership, Performance, Strategy Art Petty no no 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/2010/10/26/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/2010/09/27/leadership-caffeine-let-your-questions-be-their-guide/ http://artpetty.com/2010/09/27/leadership-caffeine-let-your-questions-be-their-guide/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:52:23 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4370 The art of asking questions is a leadership power tool. A good question from a leader is like a pebble thrown into a pond. While the splash occurs at the impact point, the question encourages people to think experiment and even innovate, long after the initial asking.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/09/27/leadership-caffeine-let-your-questions-be-their-guide/feed/ 9 http://artpetty.com/2010/09/09/the-importance-of-strategy-fueled-leadership/ http://artpetty.com/2010/09/09/the-importance-of-strategy-fueled-leadership/#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:20:50 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4310 I’ve written on the topic of Strategy Fueled Leadership several times, and fresh off of a great podcast interview with Gary Harpst, author of Six Disciplines Execution Revolution (stay tuned for my posting) and my recent interview with Jocelyn Davis for Strategic Speed, I am on my soapbox again. It is critical to link leadership with strategy and vice-versa and the failure to do this is one of the root causes of strategy and execution failure in organizations.

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