Wake-Up Calls for Managers
For the hard parts no one prepares you for
When the path isn’t clear, the stakes are high, and the answers aren’t obvious—this is where managers struggle most.
Wake-Up Calls for Managers delivers practical, real-world guidance for navigating:
- Tough conversations
- Leading through uncertainty
- Building influence without authority
- Driving results through others
The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Leadership Caffeine™—Good Managers Observe The Characters, Not Just the Action
I love movies and books that are more about the characters and less about the action. I’m addicted to character study so much that when presented with the opportunity to watch an action movie (where character development is typically shallow) or do something tedious...
Leadership Caffeine™—Good Managers Observe The Characters, Not Just the Action
The best managers are devoted students of the art of character study—not out of some desire to play armchair psychologist, but rather out of the desire to help.
Want to Change the World? Don’t Forget to Build Your Business Model
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…
Important Reads: Almost Isn’t Good Enough, Wayne Elsey of Soles4Souls
The latest Management Excellence Book Review: This is not so much a book review as it is my reaction to a powerful work from a man doing remarkable things to change the world. “Almost Isn’t Good Enough,” by Soles4Souls founder, Wayne Elsey is also a book about shoes. And about a man. And about the human condition. And about management and leadership. And about revolutionizing the management and fund-raising practices in the world of not-for-profit organizations.
Leadership Caffeine™: Prepare Your Attitude Daily to Lead Effectively
If as Woody Allen indicated, “80-percent of success is just showing up,” the gross majority of the rest of success must be attributable to adopting the right attitude. I’ll leave a little wiggle room in there for the propensity to act and our good friend, luck. Here are six ideas to help you prepare your positive attitude daily.
Management Week in Review-January 7, 2011
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!
Rethinking Idea Generation
Idea generation is core to everything we do in our organizations. It’s too bad that we’ve been going about it all wrong!
Updates: The Latest e-Newsletter & My Bookstore
Management Excellence Updates for January 5, 2011:My latest e-Newsletter with subscriber-only content is out, and I’ve constructed a new bookstore (without harming any bricks or mortar), featuring my recommendations in leadership & management, strategy, innovation, marketing, history and biography. Back Thursday with my regularly scheduled blog content!
Leadership Caffeine™: How to Cope With Organizational Alchemists
The modern-day practice of alchemy is only metaphorically about the search for a method to turn lead into gold. Instead of the medieval pursuit by alchemists of a magical chemical conversion process to change one element into another, modern practitioners are focused on the magical and easy transformation of people and organizations from one level of performance to another. Here are 12 questions to help you keep the alchemists in check.
January Leadership Development Carnival!
One of my favorite moments every month is strolling through the latest Leadership Development Carnival, hosted by the generous, popular and might I add, remarkably intelligent , Dan McCarthy, proprietor of the aptly named, Great Leadership blog. Dan was kind enough to include my post on, “How to Appropriately Respond to Positive Praise,” and we’ll see how he handles my flowery (but heartfelt) words above! Take a stroll, see how Dan handles the praise, and marvel at the collection of new and classic bloggers contributing their best to help spread excitement and warmth to kick off the new year!
Best of Leadership Caffeine™: A Leader’s Resolutions are Calendar Blind
While it is natural for us to focus on resolutions as we approach the new year, the best leaders understand that improved performance requires an unrelenting, year-long focus on personal and professional development. Instead of joining the masses in pursuit of a ridiculous list of soon-to-be forgotten resolutions (along with those fitness goals), consider this approach to continuous leadership improvement: