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
FIve Big Ideas to Help Get New Manager Development Right
I'm opinionated on the challenges (and solutions) for new manager development. Here's why: Why I Care About New Manager Development so Passionately I know the potential of these individuals. As a corporate manager and then executive, I dedicated time and energy to...
FIve Big Ideas to Help Get New Manager Development Right
Managers are the individuals we need to create engagement, deliver quality results, and serve as critical enablers of change and adaptation in our world. And if Gallup. is even half right with their measures of disengagement and their pointing to managers as the cause, we’re failing at manager development. Here are five big ideas to help.
Leadership and Shifting Baseline Syndrome
The idea of shifting baseline syndrome is most often referenced in ecological terms. I see it in action in the workplace and in our personal lives almost every day. Perhaps it’s time to shift the baseline, but in the right direction.
Leadership Caffeine™—Less than 3 Gigaseconds
Time is the true source of wealth in our world. The average life expectancy is less than 3 gigaseconds. How are you using your time to impact those you encounter?
Revisiting What It Takes to Become You at Your Best
Letting go of the past is frightening but almost always necessary for growth. However, one part of our past is worthy of retaining and reigniting: the dreams of our youth. Somewhere in those dreams were clues to our true purpose and the potential for us to be at our best. Instead of letting go, reel the thin line that still connects you to that dream and explore how you can bring it to life. Letting go in other areas is an important part of this process.
New Program Helps Drive Big Outcomes with Small Changes
Large scale organizational transformations often create more problems than they solve. That’s why my new Level-Up program focuses on identifying discrete behaviors that what adopted and reinforced, offer the potential to drive big results.
Rethinking Leadership: Article and Podcast at Pragmatic Marketing
My recent article, Rethinking Leadership in an Era of Change, and the supporting podcast can be found at Pragmatic Marketing.
Leadership Caffeine™—9 Lessons from the North Woods
There’s no shortage of leadership and management lessons to be found in the hard, manual labor found at a north woods property. While to many, the work might seem overwhelming, for those secure in the knowledge that they are creating something remarkable for those around them, the work is just part of the price of admission to success.
How to Set the Stage for a Great Day at Work (video)
A few years ago, I learned an invaluable lesson from a workshop group on how to set the stage for a great day at work. Enjoy and use it in great health!
Travis Kalanick’s Growing Up To-Do List as a Leader
Travis Kalanick, the CEO and founder of Uber, has had a tough few weeks. With a major sexual harassment investigation and a lawsuit by Alphabet (Google) for patent infringement, the last thing he needed was another viral bad moment. Unfortunately, that’s what he got when he berated an Uber driver and was captured on camera. Mr. Kalanick indicated that, “It’s time to grow up,” and he “wants leadership help.” Here’s a “Leadership To Do” list to help him get started…
Leadership Caffeine™—Sweeping Incrementalism for Big Results
The big fixes complete with broad frameworks and their own vocabularies are alluring. They also are sinkholes of despair and frustration for groups unable to translate the ideas into coherent actions. Instead, focus on the small, subtle changes in behaviors that offer the potential for big results. I call this: sweeping incrementalism.