best practices in leadership Archives

Professional Development: It’s Time to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Whether you enjoy speaking in public or would rather have honey smeared all over you and be staked to an anthill, the ability to speak effectively in public is one of the admission tickets to success in many professions. Master this art form and doors open effortlessly in front of you. A very wise manager once indicated something to the effect of, “you will be as successful as you are able to communicate.” It’s an odd twist of words, but the point is clear.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:47:44-05:00January 9th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

The First Work Week of January, 2009: Once Again Into the Storm

Welcome to the first work week of 2009. There are no more opportunities to hide behind the holidays. It’s time to face the worst economy of our lives head on with a steely resolve to overcome and succeed. It's also time to quit preoccupying on the negative news that bombards us and to focus on generating victories.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:47:48-05:00January 4th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Leader, What Are You Doing to Improve Your Value Creation?

Leadership should be one of the principal value creation components of the management system, yet poor leadership practices often result in increased complexity, added waste and blocked attempts to streamline processes and make improvements that would otherwise benefit the organization and its customers. One of the key reasons that leaders and leadership practices often fail to create value (or to create more value) is the lack of a common operational and actionable definition for the role of a leader.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:47:55-05:00December 26th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Effective Leaders Recognize The Power of Collaboration

The best leaders understand their role in creating the effective working environment, and they understand that part of this is creating the conditions for collaboration to take root and grow. On the other hand, ineffective leaders find ways to stifle collaboration, often through managing by fear and intimidation. Negative tactics might drive momentary compliance, but you cannot mandate creativity at the end of a gun barrel.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:47:58-05:00December 23rd, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

Sixty Years of Deming and American Managers Forgot to Pay Attention

Dr. Deming indicated that he hoped one of his life’s accomplishments was to keep American companies from committing suicide. The public spectacle of Detroit and Wall Street committing suicide in the same quarter would indicate that he failed in his mission. Deming’s Theory of Profound Knowledge and 14 points offered (and still do) keys to many of the answers. They are not prescriptive, but rather they combine to create a philosophical approach to running a business, that if adhered to, will stand a chance of succeeding for customers, workers and partners on a global stage.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:47:59-05:00December 21st, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|7 Comments

Leader, What’s Your Questions to Comments Ratio?

Effective leaders understand that the respectful use of questioning is a powerful performance enhancement tool in the workplace. A leader’s questions challenge individuals and teams to look at issues from all angles and they help uncover ideas or suggestions that require a bit more baking.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:48:11-05:00December 10th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

The Pain and Promise of Collaborative Management on Display at Cisco

It’s an exciting time to be leading as the pendulum seems to be swinging away from a style of leading and working that minimized the value of the individual to one that emphasizes empowerment, creativity and the freedom for groups and individuals to think and act. It’s hard to imagine a future where this formula does not produce winners.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:48:13-05:00December 9th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Planning Ahead for the Week: Three Items for Your Management Excellence “To Do” List

Every week represents an opportunity to improve your performance as a manager and leader. In spite of the setbacks of the prior week, the fire drills that caught you by surprise and your own lack of follow-through on your goals, every Monday offers a clean slate for you to fill. My very positive intent here is to offer you a few suggestions each week that will inspire your pursuit of continuous improvement. Enjoy and Prosper!

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:48:14-05:00December 7th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Is it Time to Tune Up Your Firm’s Values?

While Mission is the “reason for being” of a firm, the organization’s clearly stated Values are supposed to define critical behaviors, offer context for decision-making and generally serve as bedrock for defining culture. And like Mission descriptions, the Values are often collections of lofty thoughts that are so far removed from the minds and actions of employees as to be nearly useless.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:48:18-05:00December 4th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|4 Comments

Sustaining Performance Excellence in Business and in Life

It genuinely bothers me when organizations spend years and untold dollars reinventing themselves and succeeding with a quality framework (i.e. Baldrige or Six Sigma) only to show up in the business press as an organization fighting for survival. Achieving milestones and winning awards helps reinforce the progress on the journey, but leaders at all levels have to foster a culture that is perpetually dissatisfied. The fact is that the market never sleeps, customer issues/needs change constantly and there are always competitors interested in taking your share of the customer’s budge

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:48:23-05:00November 24th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments