leader Archives

Can You Create A Mission-Driven Focus in a For-Profit Business?

Leaders from the top on down in Not-For-Profits hold an unfair advantage over their erstwhile counterparts in the For-Profit world. Managers in Not-for-Profit are driven by a powerful sense of purpose that delivers meaning and context for even the most mundane of activities. As one young Not-For-Profit manager in my recent Leadership Mastery workshop indicated, "I can't imagine not having the mission to inspire and energize me everyday." My question: Can For-Profit organizations replicate the motivational and contextual power of "The Mission" through other proxies like goals, strategies, bonuses and targets all focused around competitors, financials and metrics like market-share and compound annual growth rate?

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:45-05:00July 1st, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

The Leader’s Challenge: Recognizing the Need for Change

I believe that it is important for organizations to develop competence at translating marketplace and macro-environmental changes into appropriate changes to better serve stakeholders. No easy task, especially considering the "noise" that we all face in this era of accelerating change, time compression and growing complexity.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:53-05:00June 15th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Tuning In to Leadership (and much more) With A Great New Book

Tuned In presents a six-step process for creating a resonator: "a product or service that so perfectly solves problems for buyers that it sells itself." The examples, approaches and ideas for realizing resonators and for supporting the creation of an organizational culture that institutionalizes the requisite thinking and processes are the heart of the work. The steps: find unresolved problems, understand buyer personas, quantify the impact, create breakthrough experiences, articulate powerful ideas and establish authentic connections offer powerful and practical guidance for marketers and executives everywhere.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:49:57-05:00June 9th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|3 Comments

Don’t Misread the Millennials…Or A Coping Strategy for Managers

The impact of this upbringing is now manifesting itself in the workplace, as more buttoned down Generation Xers or younger Boomers are dealing with a wave of people that seemingly don't have the work ethic and willingness to pay dues that allegedly we all must bring to our professional lives. Looked at through the eyes of those that are not so far away in age, but miles away in work philosophy, it's easy to start applying labels like lazy and spoiled. However, before we indict this group of leaders that the demographic numbers indicate that we surely will hand over the reins of power to, it's important to try and understand what makes them tick.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:50:02-05:00June 4th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

Bad Bosses, A Walk with Dante and Your Leadership Legacy

Ask a room full of mid-level managers to talk about great leaders that have supported them and you get a few nice stories. Ask them for examples of bad leaders and bad leadership practices and you may have to run for high-ground as the trickle of mildly repressed memories turns into a torrent of frightening anecdotes described by individuals with a far-away look in their eyes and a tone tinged with revenge in their voices.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:50:18-05:00May 21st, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

Leadership and the Winning Environment

From selecting and supporting the right people to caring enough to provide the tools, mentoring and constructive feedback, this leader, whether CEO, Shift Supervisor or High School Tennis Coach, is truly responsible for creating an environment that breeds success. Success as we know, tends to breed more success. It's a wonderful, vicious cycle.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:50:23-05:00May 15th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

Your Next Boss Might Just Be a 20-something Level 5 Guild Leader

While to most it might seem implausible or even laughable that the leaders of tomorrow are applying skills developed from years of what we viewed as "wasting time" by playing on-line games, it merits some consideration. Certainly most organizations completely drop the ball on effectively identifying and developing leadership talent, and my own experience and research indicates that where most (new) leaders struggle is in the area of soft skills and feedback. You don't learn how to lead from a book or sitting in a classroom at graduate school, so who's to say that the on-line gaming environment is not an outstanding and risk-free way to develop leadership acumen.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:50:24-05:00May 12th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

Three Simple, Low Cost Ideas to Help Jump-Start Leadership Development

Jump-starting a leadership development activity does not require a tremendous investment in program development, outside consultants or big company meetings. Sometimes the best results come from simple approaches, and anything that gets people talking about the right issues can serve as a starting-point. The key point is for you to do something. Any or all of these three simple ideas can get you started.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:50:28-05:00May 7th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

The Raw Marketing Power of Passionate People in the Workplace

A passionate employee is like rocket fuel for your organization. These rare and valuable people build your brand, strengthen client loyalty, stimulate repeat business and energize your workplace just by their daily participation in your business.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:50:34-05:00April 29th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|1 Comment

It Might Be Time for You to Start Acting Like The Leader You Want to Be

A blog post at on Looking and Acting Like a Success at Alan Weis's Contrarian Consulting site triggered some thoughts on what it means to look and act like a leader. While Alan's post emphasizes how a successful person might act to present a desired image, how does a leader portray himself or herself as competent? If this seems superficial to some, I would challenge that a leader is responsible for acting (and to an extent looking) the part.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:50:36-05:00April 28th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments