Note from Art: 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 the joy of work as a craft, responding to failure and exploring the latest thoughts from leading bloggers at the March Leadership Development Carnival.

A Special Note: This week’s catastrophe in Japan saddens us all. My thoughts are with the people of Japan and my friends and former colleagues in the Panasonic family.

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From John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing fame: Work as Craft: The opportunity to meet John was one of my highlights of the past few years. If you’ve followed his work, you know him as one of the leading marketing voices of our day and an excellent and thought-provoking author. This post shows his thoughtfulness and passion for his work, and both the post and the incredible comment thread offer us all food for thought.

From the post: “Owning a business is a beautiful thing; a thing done quite often, not for riches, but to fulfill a dream or carry out a passion for doing something. Work viewed in this fashion embodies the qualities of a craft: skill, passion, knowledge, pride, and ownership.”

From Peter Bregman writing at the Harvard Business Review Blogs: The Right Way to Respond to Failure. Great guidance for both parenting and for leading. How we respond to failure ultimately determines how we succeed. How we respond to the failure of others goes a long way to helping them gain something positive from the experience.

From the post: “Typically, when people fail, we blame them. Or teach them. Or try to make them feel better. All of which, paradoxically, makes them feel worse. It also prompts defensiveness as an act of self-preservation. (If I’m not okay after a failure, I’d better figure out how to frame this thing so it’s not my failure.)”

From Dan McCarthy and a cast of thousands (OK, dozens) under the big top: The March Leadership Development Carnival. Dan works hard at Great Leadership to produce a nearly endless string of compelling leadership content. However, his public service endeavor as the owner and frequent host of The Leadership Development Carnival is over the top in support of the spread of ideas from writers far and wide. This monthly event is a great place to catch up with your favorites and find great new business and leadership thinkers.

From the post: “It’s March Madness, the ides of March, the March of Dimes, the March equinox, the March on Washington, Fredric March, National Frozen Food Day, National Woman’s History month, and Mardi Gras, all rolled into one big fat March Leadership Development Carnival!! I’m pleased to host this month’s collection of favorite leadership development submissions from a few of my favorite leadership blogging friends.”

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That’s it for the week. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll be back next week with more Leadership Caffeine to help you get started and stay positively productive!

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I’m always interested in working with you to support your development and the development of great leadership and management practices in your organization. Contact me to discuss your needs for coaching, speaking or training.