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/2010/01/03/the-january-leadership-development-carnival-best-of-2009/ http://artpetty.com/2010/01/03/the-january-leadership-development-carnival-best-of-2009/#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:11:50 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3129 Dan McCarthy, the proprietor of the well-named and always excellent Great Leadership Blog, is out with The January Leadership Development Carnival-The Best of 2009 Edition. I am honored to be in some great company with Dan and many, many of my absolute favorite thinkers and writers, and I encourage you to click over and spend some quality time soaking up the energy and great ideas.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/01/03/the-january-leadership-development-carnival-best-of-2009/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2009/12/04/want-a-dream-team-give-a-visionary-a-voice/ http://artpetty.com/2009/12/04/want-a-dream-team-give-a-visionary-a-voice/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:29:31 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2990 Who’s the Visionary on your team? Hint: chances are it’s not the leader. Contrary to popular myth, “being a visionary” is neither a prerequisite for leading, nor is it bestowed upon the chosen few as they ascend to their lofty perches above us. Many Visionaries labor in relative obscurity, often ignored or worse yet, mocked, because of their unique way of looking at the world and the issues in front of them.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/12/04/want-a-dream-team-give-a-visionary-a-voice/feed/ 5 http://artpetty.com/2009/11/19/leader-whos-sitting-at-your-table/ http://artpetty.com/2009/11/19/leader-whos-sitting-at-your-table/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:57:41 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2916 Once again, Mom is proven right. You become the company that you keep. Surround yourself with intelligent, aggressive individuals comfortable in professionally articulating their perspectives and taking accountability for both their words and their actions, and you will flourish.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/11/19/leader-whos-sitting-at-your-table/feed/ 15 http://artpetty.com/2009/09/22/building-better-leaders-one-at-a-time/ http://artpetty.com/2009/09/22/building-better-leaders-one-at-a-time/#comments Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:11:41 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2510 I had an interesting kitchen table discussion recently with a friend who questioned my belief in the ability to change the world by helping support the development of effective leaders. His point: for every one person that actually “gets it” and develops into an effective, values-driven and people-focused leader, dozens of “incompetent idiots” will end up in positions of responsibility and the cycle of horrible leadership and lousy leaders will continue.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/09/22/building-better-leaders-one-at-a-time/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2009/09/10/two-voices-on-the-words-of-a-leader/ http://artpetty.com/2009/09/10/two-voices-on-the-words-of-a-leader/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:46:21 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2448 This dual post was the outcome of a casual exchange of thoughts via Twitter that quickly evolved into a must-write piece and fun collaboration on an important topic: the words of a leader. My partner in crime here is Mary Jo Asmus, the author of the outstanding Intentional Leadership blog...one that I turn to regularly for inspiration and insight. Good leaders are builders and they form and shape their words into phrases and questions that encourage learning and improvement and risk-taking and more learning. Good leaders are master craftsmen in many ways, and words are some of their most important tools. Less effective leaders use words like tools as well, but in this case they crassly apply the words of brute force in settings where precision is called for

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/09/10/two-voices-on-the-words-of-a-leader/feed/ 13 http://artpetty.com/2009/08/26/management-excellence-audio-interview-the-ceo-perspective-on-product-management/ http://artpetty.com/2009/08/26/management-excellence-audio-interview-the-ceo-perspective-on-product-management/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:51:27 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2388 Notes from Art: I recently mentioned that I would be kicking off the Management Excellence Audio Interview Series, and I’m thrilled to be doing it today with Mike Mulcahy, a technology industry executive that has served as a CEO, a Founder of his own start-up and a Business Unit Leader inside one of the world’s [...]

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/08/26/management-excellence-audio-interview-the-ceo-perspective-on-product-management/feed/ 1 0:17:18 Notes from Art: I recently mentioned that I would be kicking off the Management Excellence Audio Interview Series, and I’m thrilled to be doing it today with Mike Mulcahy, a technology industry executive that has served as a CEO, a Founder of his o[...] Notes from Art: I recently mentioned that I would be kicking off the Management Excellence Audio Interview Series, and I’m thrilled to be doing it today with Mike Mulcahy, a technology industry executive that has served as a CEO, a Founder of his own start-up and a Business Unit Leader inside one of the world’s largest organizations.  Oh, and Mike just happens to be one of the best sales professionals that I’ve had the privilege of knowing. Mike is also one of those all-too-rare top executives that consistently champions the cause of product management inside his organizations. I know this first-hand, because it was Mike that provided me with an early opportunity to build a product management organization from the ground up. We recently reconnected and Mike highlighted his on-going challenges in supporting the development of great product management and great product managers on his teams. I invited him to share his thoughts and perspectives with the community in this inaugural interview program, and he graciously agreed. A few last comments and then on to the interview. The audio recording tools that I used are new to me and there are some sound quality issues. Bear with me as I improve those in future interviews.  Fortunately, the issues in this one are that Mike is very audible, and I’m a bit quieter.  At least we got that part right! I took the opportunity to poll the very active pm community out on twitter (#prodmgmt) and asked what they wanted to hear from the CEO. I received some phenomenal questions and based on the volume was only able to tackle a few here during the interview. I’ve included the full listing of the questions below…and encourage all interested parties to share their thoughts on these important issues. They are great content for future posts and interviews as well. Last and not least, Mike has graciously volunteered to field specific questions about the audio interview here on the blog via the comments. Ask away. With no further adieu, here’s Mike Mulcahy for 17 minutes offering his very experienced perspectives on product management. – Summary List of Questions from Product Managers for “the CEO” Via Twitter (#prodmgmt) Note: some great content for comments, questions and follow-on posts.  Thanks! What is the most compelling problem the CEO faces that he believe a pm can help solve? How does the ceo believe he best connects with the pm team? Does the CEO see prod mgmt becoming commoditized? What metrics does he use to determine if PM is performing well? Does he trust PM to stop development on a dead product? His view on relationships between pm and company/depts. What are the driving metrics he seeks from product mgmt? How does he encourage continuous learning from product management? What is product management’ss role w. development if the company is using agile? Do you view product management as product focused or more product marketing? Is product management really the Voice of the Customer? Does product management have a seat at the leadership table? I am interested to know how he feels about compensation based on product revenue. What innovation initiatives/practices do they have in place?  What is the role of PM in them? How important is domain vs functional pm expertise? How has he positioned the PM function in his org?  i.e. VP level, stand-alone or within marketing or development? Does PM own the product /line of business at a P& L level? Career, Leadership Art Petty no no http://artpetty.com/2009/08/03/leadership-caffeine-resistance-and-the-leader/ http://artpetty.com/2009/08/03/leadership-caffeine-resistance-and-the-leader/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:45:49 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2243 Resistance shows up in many forms in our daily lives. It’s what keeps us from eating properly, working out regularly, taking that leap into a new job that we’ve been dreaming about for years, and pushes off to some unknown point in the future, the writing of the book that nearly everyone says that they have in them. If none of those examples fit, think of something in your life that you know you should do, but haven’t found the time or had the discipline to do it. That’s resistance. Resistance shows up in leadership settings and in the workplace in many forms:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/08/03/leadership-caffeine-resistance-and-the-leader/feed/ 5 http://artpetty.com/2009/07/13/leadership-caffeine-for-the-week-too-much-time-with-the-wrong-people/ http://artpetty.com/2009/07/13/leadership-caffeine-for-the-week-too-much-time-with-the-wrong-people/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:17:22 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2154 My biggest mistakes as a leader occurred as a result of spending way too much time attempting to change two people. I was young, new to the formal leadership scene and convinced that with my help and guidance, these two talented individuals would certainly shed their dysfunctional and toxic behaviors. Wow, was I wrong!

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/07/13/leadership-caffeine-for-the-week-too-much-time-with-the-wrong-people/feed/ 19 http://artpetty.com/2009/07/10/effective-leadership-how-do-you-know-when-you-are-getting-it-right/ http://artpetty.com/2009/07/10/effective-leadership-how-do-you-know-when-you-are-getting-it-right/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:28:55 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2147 If you’ve spent time in a leadership role, you know that it is remarkably difficult to get good quality feedback on how you are doing and for that matter, how everyone else is doing under your leadership. If you haven’t wondered about this, you are either naïve or you are caught up in all of the nice things that people say in your presence. Newsflash: almost no one tells the boss he stinks, when he’s in the room. Some of the worst leaders that I’ve had the displeasure to cross paths with, plied their evil practices with glee, protected by the cheering throngs around them.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/07/10/effective-leadership-how-do-you-know-when-you-are-getting-it-right/feed/ 5 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.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/25/collaboration-and-the-leader/feed/ 13 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/16/the-struggles-and-mental-toughness-of-a-leader/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/16/the-struggles-and-mental-toughness-of-a-leader/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:13:45 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2009 I’m particularly drawn to the quality of “mental toughness” in great leaders. Where most would have cut and run, the best stare at adversity and seem to draw strength from the enormity of the challenges in front of them. Failures are but mere setbacks and when conventional wisdom and all of the advisors preach capitulation, these leaders see and seize opportunity. I look for this quality in leaders in the business environment, but often our hiring and screening processes get in the way. We tend to focus on hiring those that package themselves as flawless.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/16/the-struggles-and-mental-toughness-of-a-leader/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/11/a-fresh-voice-and-leadership-and-the-art-of-apology/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/11/a-fresh-voice-and-leadership-and-the-art-of-apology/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:25:20 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1944 There’s an excellent post entitled, “Sorry is not the final word, just the beginning,” by guest author and Product/Project Management Consultant, Lisa Winter at one of my favorite blogs: The Art of Project Management. hosted by the UCSC-Extension in Silicon Valley. Ms. Winter describes a situation where she inadvertently upset a valuable but delicate team member on a conference call, and then went to significant lengths to apologize and regain his support. In addition to the happy ending, this fine post prompted some thoughts on a topic that I confess I’ve not spent a lot of time thinking about: the role of the apology as a leadership tool. I can’t help but feel a little guilty that I’ve not raised this topic in the past, and for that, I apologize...(OK, I had to work it in somewhere!).

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/11/a-fresh-voice-and-leadership-and-the-art-of-apology/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/09/executive-behaviors-your-boss-has-no-clothes-and-revolution-from-the-bottom/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/09/executive-behaviors-your-boss-has-no-clothes-and-revolution-from-the-bottom/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:32:31 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1935 Gary Hamel offers a post well worth reading on “Why Success Often Sows the Seeds of Failure,” in his Management 2.0 blog at the Wall Street Journal. He takes some tough and well-earned shots at the narrow-minded thinking of executives that foments the eventual demise of formerly good organizations. In my opinion, the habits and traps that bedevil formerly successful companies also exist in those less-than successful organizations. Regardless of starting point, the tendencies and habits of ineffective executive leadership are not hard to see. In theory, they shouldn’t be hard to call out and change. However, we don’t. Why not?

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/09/executive-behaviors-your-boss-has-no-clothes-and-revolution-from-the-bottom/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/08/leadership-caffeine-for-the-week-coffee-your-health-and-8-suggestions-to-improve-your-teams-problem-solving-skills/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/08/leadership-caffeine-for-the-week-coffee-your-health-and-8-suggestions-to-improve-your-teams-problem-solving-skills/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:56:19 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1927 The best learning opportunities in the workplace occur when individuals or teams come face to face with a vexing problem. These situations provide outstanding growth opportunities and a great chance to generate and implement innovative and creative solutions. Of course, the manager has to play by the rules. Unfortunately, there are still a few managers and leaders out there that insist on spoiling these ripe learning opportunities by requiring you to follow a specific approach or steps in solving a problem.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/08/leadership-caffeine-for-the-week-coffee-your-health-and-8-suggestions-to-improve-your-teams-problem-solving-skills/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2009/06/03/why-do-evil-leaders-flourish-inside-some-organizations/ http://artpetty.com/2009/06/03/why-do-evil-leaders-flourish-inside-some-organizations/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:20:38 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1908 It’s always been a mystery to me why so many arguably evil managers and leaders not only last but seem to thrive inside certain organizations. You know the type. Hey, maybe you are one. If so, chime in. I’ve never actually heard from an evil leader that was willing to talk openly about why he is the way he is. Evil leaders tend to fit one or more of these profiles...

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/06/03/why-do-evil-leaders-flourish-inside-some-organizations/feed/ 22 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/27/fresh-voices-management-in-the-21st-century/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/27/fresh-voices-management-in-the-21st-century/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 11:43:56 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1871 If you are fascinated as I am about the evolution of management and its role, form and function in our current and near future world, I strongly encourage you to check out Gary Hamel's blog post (Help Reinvent Management for the 21st Century). This is a case where the post prompts a flood of great thoughts and ideas from some sharp people from around the globe.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/27/fresh-voices-management-in-the-21st-century/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/26/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-your-message-and-the-chicken-salad-sandwich-test/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/26/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-your-message-and-the-chicken-salad-sandwich-test/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 13:01:13 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1861 Much of what passes for leadership conversation in the workplace is filled with unnecessary and meaningless jargon that gets in the way of the true message. It’s time to de-clutter our conversations and choose words that are meaningful and actionable to our team members.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/26/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-your-message-and-the-chicken-salad-sandwich-test/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/18/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-bad-coffee-and-the-tyranny-of-consensus/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/18/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-bad-coffee-and-the-tyranny-of-consensus/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 11:04:11 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1812 Like bad coffee, I’m not particularly fond of leading by consensus or even seeking consensus as a decision-making tool. I’ve long viewed managing by consensus as a “Tyranny of Mediocrity” approach to leading and making decisions. In seeking consensus, compromises are made that eliminate the more radical, revolutionary innovations and settle on solutions that make as many parties as possible happy.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/18/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-bad-coffee-and-the-tyranny-of-consensus/feed/ 7 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/14/six-strategy-and-leadership-lessons-from-studying-world-war-i/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/14/six-strategy-and-leadership-lessons-from-studying-world-war-i/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 13:19:46 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1644 I often look through the lens of history for lessons in leadership and strategy that can be applied in business. Unfortunately, it seems as most of the pivotal events of human history involve wars. And while war is an odious event, there are many lessons to learn—both good and bad from the leaders that give birth to the events as well as from the leaders and followers that prosecute them.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/14/six-strategy-and-leadership-lessons-from-studying-world-war-i/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/12/fresh-voices-perspectives-on-change-communication-and-delegation/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/12/fresh-voices-perspectives-on-change-communication-and-delegation/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 13:51:32 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1637 One of my favorite outcomes of blogging has been the opportunity to meet and learn from some really sharp people that share a passion for many of the same topics that I write about: leadership excellence, high performance and personal and professional development. Consistent with my desire to hunt for great new books, I've been seeking out new (to me) writers on topics that are relevant to anyone engaged in working with and leading others or focused on developing themselves. I plan on sharing these posts and authors with you from time to time, just like I would a great new book or a newly discovered writer. This week's posts and authors include...

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/12/fresh-voices-perspectives-on-change-communication-and-delegation/feed/ 5 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/11/leadership-caffeine-scouting-for-talent-in-unusual-places/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/11/leadership-caffeine-scouting-for-talent-in-unusual-places/#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 13:12:56 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1630 This week’s focus is on scouting talent, and like most of my posts, I’m encouraging you to break some established rules. The best leaders that I know are also the best talent scouts. They are acute observers of people and extraordinarily quick to identify individuals with potential. They are also great developers of talent, but that’s a separate topic for another day. In my experience in working around and talking with individuals that have outstanding track records in finding and developing new talent, there are three core attributes that they look for...

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/11/leadership-caffeine-scouting-for-talent-in-unusual-places/feed/ 4 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/07/why-i-hate-the-%e2%80%9csandwich%e2%80%9d-technique-for-delivering-feedback/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/07/why-i-hate-the-%e2%80%9csandwich%e2%80%9d-technique-for-delivering-feedback/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 13:11:48 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1623 At the risk of inviting the ire of a great number of readers and trainers, I am once again opting for the dissenting opinion on a controversial topic. I absolutely hate the use of the “sandwich” technique in delivering constructive feedback. Here's why and here's my guidance to help you throw away this leader's crutch and to start delivering clear, polite feedback that supports behavioral change.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/07/why-i-hate-the-%e2%80%9csandwich%e2%80%9d-technique-for-delivering-feedback/feed/ 22 http://artpetty.com/2009/05/06/read-arts-latest-article-leadership-and-the-millennials-at-cw-bulletin/ http://artpetty.com/2009/05/06/read-arts-latest-article-leadership-and-the-millennials-at-cw-bulletin/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 13:33:29 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1616 For those of you that have followed this blog, heard me speak or have been a participant in one of my MBA classes or workshops, you know that I've opted for the dissenting opinion on this youngest generation in the workforce. I am a huge fan! I was thrilled when the professionals at CW Bulletin, the on-line supplement to Communication World magazine invited me to share my thoughts on this new generation and to offer some guidance for leaders on how to harness the talents and fire of these young knowledge workers. The result is my latest article, aptly named: Leadership and the Millennials.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/05/06/read-arts-latest-article-leadership-and-the-millennials-at-cw-bulletin/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2009/04/27/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-are-you-mentor-potential/ http://artpetty.com/2009/04/27/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-are-you-mentor-potential/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:48:50 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1559 This week’s topic focuses on the plight of the first time leader and a call to action for experienced leaders everywhere to step up and do a better job mentoring and coaching.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/04/27/leadership-caffeine-for-the-new-week-are-you-mentor-potential/feed/ 2 http://artpetty.com/2009/04/24/nine-power-techniques-for-building-your-leadership-credibility/ http://artpetty.com/2009/04/24/nine-power-techniques-for-building-your-leadership-credibility/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:51:30 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=1553 Whether you are a first-time leader, an experienced manager taking over a new team or an informal leader such as a project or product manager, you will be as successful as you are credible. Your credibility is your professional bedrock. Build on it carefully and constantly.

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