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21 Do’s and Don’ts to Optimize the Annual Strategy Offsite

May 29, 2009

As predictable as the change of seasons and the swooning of the Cubs in the Chicago-area, I’m starting to hear whisperings about plans for upcoming strategic planning offsites.

And while I spend a lot of time preaching to anyone that will listen that STRATEGY IS A PROCESS NOT AN EVENT, I’ve come to grips with the fact that many organizations and leaders relegate their strategic thinking time to these annual events.

If your organization treats strategic planning this way, I’ll offer a few of my hard-learned lessons in the form of 21 Do’s and Don’ts on how to optimize results and possibly even catalyze a more robust process that sustains beyond the once-a-year event.

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Fresh Voices: Management in the 21st Century

May 27, 2009

If you are fascinated as I am about the evolution of management and its role, form and function in our current and near future world, I strongly encourage you to check out Gary Hamel’s blog post (Help Reinvent Management for the 21st Century).

This is a case where the post prompts a flood of great thoughts and ideas from some sharp people from around the globe.

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The Drive to Create—Rocket Fuel for Entrepreneurs

May 20, 2009

I sat and talked yesterday with a uniquely impressive entrepreneur. She is not yet successful, and in fact she is barely two weeks young in her new adventure. If I was asked to handicap her chances of success, the odds would be very good.

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Leadership and the Project Manager-Critical Skills for Success and a New e-Book

May 19, 2009

Great project managers are also great leaders. The best of the project managers are senior contributors that understand their role is more about helping the group succeed than it is about conducting status meetings and revising and distributing reports.

My new e-Book, Leadership and the Project Manager—Developing the Skills that Fuel High Performance, was written to serve as a “Quick-Start” to developing as a senior contributor for anyone (certified or not) that is charged with leading and managing projects.

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Leadership Caffeine™ for the New Week: Bad Coffee and The Tyranny of Consensus

May 18, 2009

Like bad coffee, I’m not particularly fond of leading by consensus or even seeking consensus as a decision-making tool. I’ve long viewed managing by consensus as a “Tyranny of Mediocrity” approach to leading and making decisions. In seeking consensus, compromises are made that eliminate the more radical, revolutionary innovations and settle on solutions that make as many parties as possible happy.

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Six Strategy and Leadership Lessons from Studying World War I

May 14, 2009

I often look through the lens of history for lessons in leadership and strategy that can be applied in business. Unfortunately, it seems as most of the pivotal events of human history involve wars.
And while war is an odious event, there are many lessons to learn—both good and bad from the leaders that give birth to the events as well as from the leaders and followers that prosecute them.

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Fresh Voices: Perspectives on Change, Communication and Delegation

May 12, 2009

One of my favorite outcomes of blogging has been the opportunity to meet and learn from some really sharp people that share a passion for many of the same topics that I write about: leadership excellence, high performance and personal and professional development.

Consistent with my desire to hunt for great new books, I’ve been seeking out new (to me) writers on topics that are relevant to anyone engaged in working with and leading others or focused on developing themselves. I plan on sharing these posts and authors with you from time to time, just like I would a great new book or a newly discovered writer. This week’s posts and authors include…

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Leadership Caffeine™: Scouting for Talent in Unusual Places

May 11, 2009

This week’s focus is on scouting talent, and like most of my posts, I’m encouraging you to break some established rules. The best leaders that I know are also the best talent scouts. They are acute observers of people and extraordinarily quick to identify individuals with potential. They are also great developers of talent, but that’s a separate topic for another day.

In my experience in working around and talking with individuals that have outstanding track records in finding and developing new talent, there are three core attributes that they look for…

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Read Art’s Latest Article: Leadership and the Millennials at CW Bulletin

May 6, 2009

For those of you that have followed this blog, heard me speak or have been a participant in one of my MBA classes or workshops, you know that I’ve opted for the dissenting opinion on this youngest generation in the workforce. I am a huge fan!

I was thrilled when the professionals at CW Bulletin, the on-line supplement to Communication World magazine invited me to share my thoughts on this new generation and to offer some guidance for leaders on how to harness the talents and fire of these young knowledge workers. The result is my latest article, aptly named: Leadership and the Millennials.

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