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
Insights from the Latest Career Reinvent Boot Camp
A Lot Can Happen in Eight Short Weeks We wrapped up the latest Career Reinvent Boot Camp with last night’s group session, and as always, for this program, it’s part celebration of incredible progress and new friendships made, and a short, slightly sad goodbye. (The...
Insights from the Latest Career Reinvent Boot Camp
We wrapped up the latest Career Reinvent Boot Camp with last night’s group session, and as always, for this program, it’s part celebration of incredible progress and new friendships made, and a short, slightly sad goodbye. Here are some of the key insights gained via this fabulous cohort group:
Leading the Generations-An Example of What Not to Do!
I attended the family holiday party this weekend and while munching on too many cheesy ryes and catching up on the lives of the out-of-town relatives, I was stopped in my tracks by the story of the job change that my Gen X second cousin described. It was a stark description of the gross mismanagement of the generations at a unique time in history when we have four very distinct generations in the work force.
Leadership in Marketing Communications-In Search of the Relentless Promoter
There are many good B2B Marketing Communications professionals and teams, but a few individuals and teams stand-apart from the crowd as great. The truly great communications professionals are what I describe as Relentless Promoters. These rare and gifted professionals are the lifeblood a strong marketing communications team, and are visible by their singular focus on developing and refining programs and strategies that drive action or create visibility with their target audience. Here are a few suggestions for marketing leaders on finding and developing these valuable professionals.
Leader, are you the problem with your team’s performance?
As a leader looking for ways to improve the performance of your team, it is important to spend some time examining the impact that you have on the working environment and productivity of your associates. Effective self-examination might just help identify some opportunities for your own development that will spur the performance of those around you.
Sales and Marketing-It’s time to improve your performance on the trade show floor
Hey, sales and marketing manager(s), have you evaluated your team’s trade show performance recently? If not, it’s time to get out and walk the floor, work the booth and listen and learn. In my own B2B experience, trade shows were important components of an overall program to build thought-leadership, strengthen industry and influencer relations, and […]
Is it time to rethink your strategy chessboard through lateral thinking?
"You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper." Edward De Bono I was preparing for a strategy program with a client recently and came across some notes on one of the more invigorating topics on creativity: lateral thinking. The term and concept of "lateral thinking" was coined and […]
Marketing Leadership-An Oxymoron?
This is a return to one of my favorite rants-marketers giving marketing a bad name. In my 2007 article, Marketing Misunderstood, I described the struggle that many top B2B executives have in trying to understand the value that marketing contributes to their business. While there is ample blame to go around for why the nature, […]
First-time leaders and the wonderful world of ambiguity
I had just finished reading a great article in the December 4, 2007 Wall Street Journal, entitled: Welcome the Millennials, when I sat down to check e-mail and was excited to see a note from a long-time associate (and great person) describing her latest career step. After a number of years as a superstar soloist […]
Extreme Career Development
Warning-Extreme Career Development is not for everyone! If you enjoy the consistency of your day job and the warmth of your familiar cubicle walls, then run, don’t walk away from this posting. On the other hand, if you are uncomfortable being comfortable and you have experienced the surge of adrenaline that comes from pushing yourself […]
Are your managers talking candidly with each other?
I’ve been out on the road for a few days, so the postings slowed down a bit. Back in the office part of this week and a lot of thoughts and ideas to offer on a variety of topics. Full disclosure for today’s posting on communications…I market and deliver workshops that address team communication issues. […]