Art Petty, Author at Management Excellence by Art Petty

Leadership Caffeine™: It’s Vuja De All Over Again

I’m re-reading Tom Kelley’s outstanding book, “The Ten Faces of Innovation,” based on his experience with design firm IDEO, and came across his wonderful use of the phrase Vuja De (the opposite of that feeling we call Déjà vu) in the chapter on acting as an anthropologist to observe people’s true behavior. With apologies to Yogi Berra for borrowing and twisting his classic phrase, "It's Deja Vu all over again," a little Vuja De in your daily leadership life might just be the prescription to turbocharge team and individual performance.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:33-05:00February 15th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|11 Comments

Suddenly, Deming is Relevant Again

In my opinion, Deming has never been irrelevant as a management philosopher, teacher and advisor, but our fast-moving, idol-for-a-minute, fad-crazed modern culture, we’re quick to write off those thinkers and doers from prior eras as yesterday’s relics…interesting perhaps, but irrelevant.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:34-05:00February 12th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|17 Comments

The New Employer-Employee Loyalty Prescription

The term and concept of “loyalty” is one that is frequently bandied about in phrases that sound much like, “there is no longer any loyalty to workers,” and “few workers admit any feelings of loyalty to their employers.” The term is also used to contrast today’s transactional workplace relationships with the supposed near utopian state of yesteryear, when our parents and grandparents started at one company early in their lives and ended up retiring from that company 40 years later. The concept of “loyalty” in the workplace is in need of a makeover, complete with a new definition and fresh examples of what constitute reasonable and professional levels of loyalty for and from all parties.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:35-05:00February 10th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|15 Comments

Leadership Caffeine™: Be Careful How You Value Your Time-15 Minutes Can Make a Big Difference

As leaders, we all know that it’s the little things that count. A word of encouragement might just be rocket fuel for one person while a constructive suggestion serves as the same for another. Alternatively, ignoring or paying superficial attention to a topic that an employee deems important is a guaranteed way to demoralize and deflate a person.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:37-05:00February 8th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|19 Comments

February Leadership Development Carnival

Thanks to Mark Bennett and the great people at Talented Apps for hosting the February, 2010 Leadership Development Carnival. Take a stroll through the Carnevale di Venezia Edition (you'll have to click over to understand the creative tie-in to the Carnival in Venice) and check out some truly intriguing, inspiring and compelling posts from bloggers old and new. OK, instead of old, perhaps I should say familiar!

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:38-05:00February 7th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

When Will You Choose to Be Successful? An Irreverent Rant on Personal Motivation

It never ceases to amaze me how many excuses people have for not succeeding at something they view as important to them personally or professionally. While behavioral psychologists might label this as an issue of “external versus internal locus of control,” as I listen to the excuses flowing for not getting the job, not losing weight, not saving money, not making it to class, not writing a book, not keeping up with blogging, what I’m really thinking is (in very loud terms inside my mind), “YOU HAVE NOT MADE UP YOUR MIND TO SUCCEED!”

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:39-05:00February 5th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|10 Comments

The Three C’s and One D of Great Hiring According to Small Business Owners

Experienced small business owners and managers understand the critical importance of making great hires. The right people propel your business and the wrong ones cost you precious time and money. The wrong hires ring up expensive opportunity costs by making less than optimal decisions, inappropriately leading or misleading your teams and not helping you create value and gain a competitive advantage. I spoke to a number of owners running visibly successful firms and asked for their insights on hiring talent on their teams. The roll-up of their advice is as follows...

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:40-05:00February 3rd, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|3 Comments

Leadership Caffeine™-It’s Time to Get Serious About Learning from Your Twenty-Somethings

One of the recurring themes in my writing and teaching activities is the importance of blending the generations in the workplace. I’ve been a cheerleader for this cause for the past few years and I truly believe that good managers everywhere must find opportunities to leverage the unique perspectives of experience, pragmatism and idealism available from this fascinating mix of time travelers. I’ve now moved beyond my polite encouragement for managers to find ways to adapt and cope with what seem to be the foreign habits and foreign viewpoints emanating from the more youthful in the workforce. It's time to get serious about learning and benefitting from this younger generation.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:41-05:00January 31st, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|13 Comments

The Powerful Business and Career Advice of “Tell Me a Story”

For anyone that caught the special tribute aired recently on 60 Minutes to the late Don Hewitt, the show’s creator, you will recognize the four words, “Tell me a story,” as Hewitt’s self-described secret to success for this now 40-something year old news magazine. In support of his “tell me a story” mantra, one of Hewitt’s fascinating insights and in his opinion, a secret to the show’s remarkable success was (I paraphrase) that people don't want to hear about issues, they want to hear the stories of individuals impacted by the issues. There’s a subtle but profound lesson for all of us in life and in business in his messages.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:42-05:00January 29th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|10 Comments

Team Stuck in the Creativity Deep Freeze? Try “Why Not?” to Start the Thaw

Without exception, the healthiest businesses that I work with are those that offer a workplace environment and atmosphere that encourages a free-flow of ideas ranging from outlandish to “I can’t believe we didn’t think of that before.” It is the part of the natural culture of the firm to think in terms of “What if?” and “Why not?” Alternatively, the less than healthy firms that I encounter share many failure attributes, including a complete dearth of creativity and visible creativity-inducing practices and processes. What should you do if you are called upon to help jump-start the creativity culture where the creative processes have gone into deep-freeze?

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:40:43-05:00January 27th, 2010|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|12 Comments

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