The Leadership Caffeine Blog
Leadership Caffeine™—Now is the Time to Double-Down on the Fundamentals of Effective Leadership
In the face of complexity and risk, the simplest solutions are generally the best ones. These are indeed challenging times for anyone responsible for managing and leading initiatives, teams, and functions. It might seem as if answers are hard to come by, yet, the...
Leadership Caffeine™—Now is the Time to Double-Down on the Fundamentals of Effective Leadership
In the face of complexity and risk, the simplest solutions are generally the best ones. These are indeed challenging times for anyone responsible for managing and leading initiatives, teams, and functions. It might seem as if answers are hard to come by, yet, the...
Leadership Development and Technical Professionals
My partner and I recently launched a research initiative into the challenges that technical professionals face when jumping on the leadership path. We are actively interviewing and surveying professionals in development, engineering, IT and consulting, and drawing upon the considerable experience of many of our long-term associates including-Joe Zurawski, Jerry Deville at Construx, Jack Kalander […]
The Best Leadership Books are Not Found in the Business Section
I’ll say it again. In my opinion, the best leadership books are not found in the business section of your library or local bookseller. This is a bold (or at least controversial) claim from someone who just spent 14 months co-writing and publishing a book on leadership that is carried in the business section. In […]
Finding Talent in Unusual Places
One of the chapters in my book (with Rich Petro), Practical Lessons in Leadership, emphasizes the role of the leader as Chief Talent Scout and Developer. A lesson that I learn frequently in my travels on business and in my consumer experiences is that some of the most talented potential employees can be found in […]
Towards More Qualified Leads in B2B Marketing
"I’m frustrated with marketing. I don’t know how we decide to allocate our investments and I don’t understand what we are getting in return." This was the lament of a $100 million B2B company CEO that I spoke with recently. This CEO observed a lot of activity but was inherently uncomfortable with his inability to […]
The Role of Strategy in the Evolving Founder-Led Business
Part 1 of Many: One of the most challenging and important phases in the life-cycle of a founder-led business occurs when the organization has matured sufficiently to require the addition of new talent and the evolution of its operating approaches. There is a sizable body of literature on the challenges that founders and their entrepreneurial […]
Recharging at the Kellogg Leadership Conference-Part II
A highlight of the 2007 Kellogg Leadership Conference was the Keynote by Professor Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr., a Professor of Management and Strategy at Kellogg and the former Chairman and CEO of Baxter International. (An internet search of his name offers some great bio material.) His fast-paced, dynamic and humorous delivery was backed by […]
Recharging at the Kellogg Leadership Conference-Part 1
There are at least two habits in my life that I just cannot kick. One is buying good books and putting them in my growing stack of things that I intend to read when I find the time. The other is attending every possible Kellogg Graduate School of Management event that I can find time […]
The First Entry of Another Blog and How I Intend to Deliver Value
Welcome to the first entry! I’ve waited a few weeks since setting up this blog on TypePad for just the right inspiration to kick things off. In the meantime, I’ve been reading as many other blogs as possible, searching for the key to producing something that resonates with readers, provides thought-provoking ideas and pithy commentary […]