[email protected]

847-612-8420

Free Consultation

The Leadership Caffeine Blog

Explore by Category:

Leadership Caffeine™: Dare to Be Different-If You Dare

Dec 14, 2009

It’s good to be a good leader, so don’t misconstrue the message in this post. The world needs more individuals that care enough to consistently execute the blocking and tackling required to pass for effective leadership. My issue here is that good isn’t good enough, when the potential to be great at this activity that we call leading is within reach. Often, the distance of the reach to “great” is slightly beyond the cultural norms and leadership habits of the firm.

read more

Join the Management Excellence Newsletter List And You Might Win A Book!

Dec 12, 2009

Note from Art: this is shameless promotion and good clean fun. I’m working hard on extending the variety of vehicles that I publish original leadership and management content in, and the Management Excellence e-newsletter is soon to launch. I would love to have you as a subscriber and this is a fun way of stimulating some subscriptions.

First some background, and then the promotion description. I’ve long threatened to start an e-Newsletter, but have been short on execution. A good friend of mine recently referenced it as my “Unicorn” project…something frequently talked about but never seen.

read more

Leadership Caffeine™: A Mostly Thoughtful Guide to Surviving Bad Leadership Days

Dec 7, 2009

Even the most dedicated and experienced of leaders will admit that there are more than a few days when they wonder whether it might not be a lot less stressful to hang up their leadership cleats in favor of an individual contributor role. Like marriage, not every day as a leader is filled with wine and roses. There are many days when you will drive home from work wondering whether you truly accomplished anything, and others when you will feel like you just took a few steps in the wrong direction.

read more

December Leadership Development Carnival

Dec 7, 2009

There are few things that I let get in the way of a Monday Morning Leadership Caffeine post, but today’s Leadership Development Carnival, guest hosted by Mark Stelzner, author of the Inflexion Point blog and Principal at Inflexion Advisors, is one of them. Instead of your usual cup of motivation, you get the entire carafe today with many familiar and some new voices chiming in on all manner of fascinating leadership and business topics.

read more

Want a Dream Team? Give a Visionary a Voice

Dec 4, 2009

Who’s the Visionary on your team? Hint: chances are it’s not the leader. Contrary to popular myth, “being a visionary” is neither a prerequisite for leading, nor is it bestowed upon the chosen few as they ascend to their lofty perches above us. Many Visionaries labor in relative obscurity, often ignored or worse yet, mocked, because of their unique way of looking at the world and the issues in front of them.

read more

My Personal Journey Towards Building Better Leaders

Dec 2, 2009

Note from Art: I’m taking time out from my usual blogging activities today to share with you a bit about the background and approach of my new program and website: Building Better Leaders. After conducting more discussions than I can count with professionals in product management, project management, marketing, new first-time leaders, those interested in leading, technical professionals thrust into leadership, I decided to create something that would solve the problems of: practical content, cost, access, sustainability and guidance. Enter Building Better Leaders.

read more

Leadership Caffeine™: Five Simple Suggestions for Minimizing Management Myopia

Nov 29, 2009

Participate in or monitor enough management team conversations and you will invariably conclude that it’s darned hard for these teams to spend quality time discussing external issues. The gravitational pull of internal “stuff” is overwhelming and resists all attempts to move the conversation to topics outside of the firm’s four walls, preferring instead to keep managers focused on the nuances of their own operations. The result is a self-fulfilling management myopia where the view on the world is grossly limited to the immediate surroundings…and ranges as far as the eyes can see outside conference room windows.

read more

Leadership 2009 Style-What We Learned

Nov 24, 2009

Mix one part global economic crisis with ample quantities of uncertainty and ambiguity. Stir in two-parts ever-changing global competition and a dash of geopolitical instability and you’ll end up with something that looks and feels a lot like the world of today, complete with the mild aftertaste of fear. You’ll also end up with a remarkable living leadership laboratory, where the best leaders are rediscovering the importance of leadership blocking and tackling while simultaneously developing the new skills and approaches required in this complex environment.

read more

Leadership Caffeine™: A Leader’s List of Thanks-Giving

Nov 22, 2009

Note from Art: I’m getting a jump-start on my Thanksgiving post in the hope that you have the opportunity during this holiday-shortened work week to reach out and say “Thanks” to those that you have the privilege of leading and serving. Here are my thoughts on what a leader should be thankful for:

read more

Leader, Who’s Sitting at Your Table?

Nov 19, 2009

Once again, Mom is proven right. You become the company that you keep. Surround yourself with intelligent, aggressive individuals comfortable in professionally articulating their perspectives and taking accountability for both their words and their actions, and you will flourish.

read more