http://artpetty.com Leadership, Management and Professional Development Wed, 23 May 2012 22:31:28 +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/2012/04/17/the-cruel-bitter-and-crushing-taste-of-dump-truck-feedback/ http://artpetty.com/2012/04/17/the-cruel-bitter-and-crushing-taste-of-dump-truck-feedback/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:24:27 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=7481 Right after avoiding it, the most commonly employed managerial strategy for dealing with feedback is, delaying it. The first approach is poor form… the latter approach is cruel.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2012/04/17/the-cruel-bitter-and-crushing-taste-of-dump-truck-feedback/feed/ 7 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/2011/12/31/thoughts-on-your-personal-and-professional-success-in-the-new-year/ http://artpetty.com/2011/12/31/thoughts-on-your-personal-and-professional-success-in-the-new-year/#comments Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:02:48 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6877 I was truly gifted in 2011 to gain access to and work with and support some remarkable professionals across a number of different market segments…from high tech to professional services to manufacturing, and I learned something with every engagement and encounter. Here are Six Lessons Learned that Can Help Us All in the New Year:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/12/31/thoughts-on-your-personal-and-professional-success-in-the-new-year/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2011/10/23/arts-weekly-leadership-message-step-up-to-cure-effective-dialogue-deficit-disorder/ http://artpetty.com/2011/10/23/arts-weekly-leadership-message-step-up-to-cure-effective-dialogue-deficit-disorder/#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:47:35 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6714 The medical community and drug companies have their ED malady and cure, but too many management and project teams suffer from their own form of ED…with two more D’s…EDDD… Effective Dialogue Deficit Disorder. It’s not that people aren’t talking. There’s no deficit of hot air swirling around most meeting rooms. The issue is all about the quality of the dialogue. Here are 5 ideas for you to use immediately in pursuit of stomping out Effective Dialogue Deficit Disorder:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/10/23/arts-weekly-leadership-message-step-up-to-cure-effective-dialogue-deficit-disorder/feed/ 7 http://artpetty.com/2011/09/12/leadership-caffeine-always-lead-with-context/ http://artpetty.com/2011/09/12/leadership-caffeine-always-lead-with-context/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:44:02 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=6452 Context in this case is that not-so-secret ingredient that helps people understand the idea or issue and how it connects to something important in the workplace. Context provides the basis for understanding and assessing a situation or a request to do something. It has the equivalent workplace outcome of adding yeast to the process of making bread. Without it, everything is flat. Improve performance by providing critical context at the organizational, strategic and personal levels.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/09/12/leadership-caffeine-always-lead-with-context/feed/ 7 http://artpetty.com/2011/05/16/leadership-caffeine-quit-sending-mixed-signals/ http://artpetty.com/2011/05/16/leadership-caffeine-quit-sending-mixed-signals/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 13:20:56 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5753 How consistent are you in your approaches to dealing with people and problems? Is there an early warning system in place in your office that tracks your every move from the car through the parking lot and into the office? How you respond to people and to situations (victories, losses, mistakes etc.) goes a long way to forming the working environment on your team.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/05/16/leadership-caffeine-quit-sending-mixed-signals/feed/ 5 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/2011/03/21/leadership-caffeine-5-ideas-for-creating-a-tenacious-culture/ http://artpetty.com/2011/03/21/leadership-caffeine-5-ideas-for-creating-a-tenacious-culture/#comments Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:11:55 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=5497 Tenacity is one of those common attributes of most successful people. It’s often one of the key missing ingredients of chronic underachievers. Here are 5 ideas for cultivating a tenacious culture on your team.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2011/03/21/leadership-caffeine-5-ideas-for-creating-a-tenacious-culture/feed/ 17 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/2010/09/21/the-feedback-on-feedback/ http://artpetty.com/2010/09/21/the-feedback-on-feedback/#comments Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:33:51 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4352 Over the past several years beginning with the work for Practical Lessons in Leadership with my co-author, Rich Petro, I’ve made a professional hobby out of exploring the fascinating and very real fear that so many people have for delivering constructive feedback. One of my favorite interviews for the book was with a retired CEO who when I posed the question on whether he had any regrets, without hesitating, responded: “I really regret that I never learned how to have the tough discussions with the people that worked for me.” He quickly added, “To this day, I wonder how much money that I cost my companies.” This most difficult of human interactions in the workplace is also one of the most important. The fear, much like the fear of public speaking is mostly in our minds, and with some deliberate practice, all of us are capable of improving our skills, and as a result, improving our performance, the performance of our teams and of our organizations.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/09/21/the-feedback-on-feedback/feed/ 11 http://artpetty.com/2010/09/19/leadership-caffeine-in-praise-of-consistency/ http://artpetty.com/2010/09/19/leadership-caffeine-in-praise-of-consistency/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:17:18 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4344 Take a few minutes to think about the best leaders that you’ve ever worked for. What terms best describe them? Chances are the word “consistent” didn’t show up in the top five. Perhaps it should. Consistency may just be the very unsexy and uninspiring element to your leadership style that will help you grow your credibility and allow you to create and sustain a working atmosphere that allows your team members to prosper.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/09/19/leadership-caffeine-in-praise-of-consistency/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.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/09/09/the-importance-of-strategy-fueled-leadership/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2010/08/25/finding-time-to-focus-or-speed-kills/ http://artpetty.com/2010/08/25/finding-time-to-focus-or-speed-kills/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:52:41 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4222 The lot of professionals inside many organizations can easily be characterized by a series of endless status meetings, hurried hallway conversations and messages quickly dispatched on a pda while walking, ignoring the meeting in process or consuming a protein bar on the run. Nonetheless, work gets done, customers are served and growth often created. I do however, worry and wonder about the human costs and the cost to the organization in lost-ideas, missed opportunities and a much more superficial existence.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/08/25/finding-time-to-focus-or-speed-kills/feed/ 13 http://artpetty.com/2010/07/21/team-conflict-as-long-as-it%e2%80%99s-not-personal-run-with-it/ http://artpetty.com/2010/07/21/team-conflict-as-long-as-it%e2%80%99s-not-personal-run-with-it/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:47:39 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=4028 I’m leery of happy teams. Don’t get me wrong. I like positive experiences and working with happy people, however, in my experience, the happy teams are the ones that produce mediocre results or, they don’t produce at all. Give me a group of people that show up to do battle on the issues versus the team that strives for peace and harmony, any day.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/07/21/team-conflict-as-long-as-it%e2%80%99s-not-personal-run-with-it/feed/ 6 http://artpetty.com/2010/06/04/10-things-you-must-know-about-feedback/ http://artpetty.com/2010/06/04/10-things-you-must-know-about-feedback/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:06:37 +0000 Art Petty http://www.buildingbetterleaders.com/?p=983 Mastering the art and science of feedback is the closest thing you will find to a silver bullet when it comes to leading others.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/06/04/10-things-you-must-know-about-feedback/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2010/05/24/leadership-caffeine-5-ideas-for-improving-your-ability-to-engage-as-a-leader/ http://artpetty.com/2010/05/24/leadership-caffeine-5-ideas-for-improving-your-ability-to-engage-as-a-leader/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 13:38:11 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3756 Some leaders move through their days like a flat rock skipping over the surface of a pond. They are focused on personal efficiency and speed, and the faster they move and the more decisions that they make, the better they believe they are doing as leaders. They are transactional leaders. Their days are blurs of decisions, quick meetings, hurried hallway exchanges and even more hurried text and e-mail messages, often created while they are present but not engaged in the event or conversation of the moment. If improving performance, fostering a culture of learning and innovation and developing the confidence to tackle the tough topics are all important for your firm, it’s time to engage more and transact less.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/05/24/leadership-caffeine-5-ideas-for-improving-your-ability-to-engage-as-a-leader/feed/ 9 http://artpetty.com/2010/04/12/leadership-caffeine-learning-to-adjust-your-altitude/ http://artpetty.com/2010/04/12/leadership-caffeine-learning-to-adjust-your-altitude/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:50:07 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3588 While the phrase is most commonly referenced as attitude adjustment, I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that one of the abilities that leaders must develop to be effective is the ability to adjust their altitudes. Good leaders learn to scale institutional and intellectual heights with ease and comfort, quickly adapting to the audience and situation.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/04/12/leadership-caffeine-learning-to-adjust-your-altitude/feed/ 14 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/2010/02/22/leadership-caffeine-teach-dont-tell/ http://artpetty.com/2010/02/22/leadership-caffeine-teach-dont-tell/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:01:47 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3390 I discovered a long time ago that I was much more effective as a leader and as a father (a much harder job to get right!) if I adopted an approach that emphasized teaching over telling. While there are circumstances where telling is appropriate…the battlefield, the operating room, perhaps the football field and a few others that I’m sure that I would think of if given enough time, most people prefer to learn, not to carry out orders.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/02/22/leadership-caffeine-teach-dont-tell/feed/ 12 http://artpetty.com/2010/01/20/avoiding-another-dumb-management-mania-the-disposable-worker/ http://artpetty.com/2010/01/20/avoiding-another-dumb-management-mania-the-disposable-worker/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:07:51 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=3215 I wrote last week on “Thoughts on Leading and Managing in the Era of the Disposable Worker.” The post was prompted by an article in BusinessWeek, outlining this latest gem of management wisdom that has organizations of all types rethinking the need for employees and shifting to contract workers. Positions from the CEO suite to those types of roles that we’ve become accustomed to outsourcing, and everything in-between, are fair game. I’m traditionally leery of fads of all sorts, as they tend to be driven by hysteria, causing normally sane and rational people to act in a manner that defies explanation. I'm fearful that we are on the brink of another horrendous, value-destroying mania as we embrace the short-term cost convenient fad of creating disposable workers.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2010/01/20/avoiding-another-dumb-management-mania-the-disposable-worker/feed/ 9 http://artpetty.com/2009/12/22/want-to-make-a-difference-treat-leadership-as-a-calling/ http://artpetty.com/2009/12/22/want-to-make-a-difference-treat-leadership-as-a-calling/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:15:48 +0000 Art Petty http://www.buildingbetterleaders.com/?p=739 The most effective leaders that I’ve observed, worked for, mentored and studied all have one thing in common. They have a deep regard for the impact of their role on others and they treat this responsibility like a precious gift, holding it in trust and preparing to pass it along to the next generation. These leaders view their profession as a calling, not a job.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/12/22/want-to-make-a-difference-treat-leadership-as-a-calling/feed/ 0 http://artpetty.com/2009/11/05/success-is-often-one-step-beyond-the-expected/ http://artpetty.com/2009/11/05/success-is-often-one-step-beyond-the-expected/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:22:36 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2855 We all intuitively know that one of the keys to success or at least one of the the cures for mediocrity is going that extra little distance that makes all of the difference in the eyes of our customers or audiences. Why then do so many professionals struggle to live by this simple but powerful approach?

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/11/05/success-is-often-one-step-beyond-the-expected/feed/ 14 http://artpetty.com/2009/11/03/leading-in-the-trenches-recovering-from-trickle-down-project-management-chaos/ http://artpetty.com/2009/11/03/leading-in-the-trenches-recovering-from-trickle-down-project-management-chaos/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:53:23 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2834 Project inflation…the spread of too many projects and the heaping of them upon the tormented and torn few is a formula for disaster. Unfortunately, work force reductions and pressures to reduce costs, improve processes and to innovate all fuel project inflation. Consider adopting a rigorous approach to project selection by asking and answering these following questions:

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/11/03/leading-in-the-trenches-recovering-from-trickle-down-project-management-chaos/feed/ 3 http://artpetty.com/2009/11/02/leadership-caffeine-bringing-confidence-back/ http://artpetty.com/2009/11/02/leadership-caffeine-bringing-confidence-back/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:45:14 +0000 Art Petty http://artpetty.com/?p=2827 Confidence is a powerful force in the workplace for individuals and for teams. It’s that extra-added something that allows us to look at the world through eyes that see opportunities to pursue, challenges that exist to be met and new heights within easy reach. Unfortunately, given the beat-down that most of the world has been taking for the past year or two, confidence is in short supply in the workplace. It's time to bring confidence back.

]]> http://artpetty.com/2009/11/02/leadership-caffeine-bringing-confidence-back/feed/ 11 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.

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