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
Strengthening New Manager Development is a Key Priority
New managers are the front-end of our leadership pipelines. And, they face a daunting challenge in shifting from contributor/producer to manager. They need help, coaching, training, and on-going support, and that's often hard to come by in our time-stressed worlds....
Strengthening New Manager Development is a Key Priority
New managers are the front-end of our leadership pipelines. And, they face a daunting challenge in shifting from contributor/producer to manager. They need help, coaching, training, and on-going support, and that’s often hard to come by in our time-stressed worlds.
Trust and Team Performance
Earlier in my career, I remember rankling at a comment from an outside adviser that suggested that our management team did not trust each other enough to deal with the tough issues. I disagreed. We were all motivated, experienced professionals, committed to doing what was right for the business. Surely we could hunt down and […]
Keeping it In Perspective
No thoughts on compelling business issues today, other than the reminder to everyone about the importance of keeping the activities of your life in proper perspective. Family, food and football have become the staples of the American Thanksgiving, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that we are all on a similar journey of unknown […]
Management by Consensus-The Tyranny of Mediocrity
Developing an Effective Decision-Making Style is One of the Many Challenges of New LeadersMany managers and most early-career leaders struggle with their responsibility for decision-making. Some leaders are fearful of exposing themselves by making a bad decision and therefore, avoid this responsibility. Others feel empowered by their station and make frequent, unfounded and ill-advised decisions, […]
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 […]