Strategy Archives

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

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.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:44:52-05:00May 29th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|2 Comments

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

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.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:45:01-05:00May 19th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|5 Comments

From Strategic Planning to Strategic Conversations

While there is no doubt that strategic planning done right is a valuable management process and tool, in my opinion, we need to change both the vernacular and the approaches to move from strategic planning to conducting strategic conversations. Frankly, I want everyone in my firm thinking, talking and relating their work activities to the firm’s strategies for creating customer value and thumping competitors.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:46:01-05:00April 16th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|3 Comments

“It’s Simple” and The Six C’s that Enable High Performance

Sometimes we learn lessons in interesting ways. I learned the power of "keeping things simple" in an amusing but instructive manner from an early mentor at Panasonic. For leaders looking to manage complexity during these difficult times, I offer my own Six Power Tools for keeping things simple and driving high performance.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:46:22-05:00March 18th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

Inspiration and Hope: Encouraging Sound Bites in a Challenging World

There’s enough negative going around. Here’s a few worth reading that will leave you thinking and maybe even feeling a bit more upbeat. Students of strategy and performance excellence might want to take a closer look at how McDonald’s is using leadership, strategy, customer relations and information to successfully beat back the economic doldrums. And for an extended dose of hope and encouragement, check out the March issue of Fast Company, where the focus is on the world’s most innovative companies.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:46:27-05:00March 10th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

Too Many Projects Chasing Too Few People-It’s Time to Learn to Say No!

One of the themes that I hear consistently in workshops and in discussions with the professionals in my MBA classes is frustration over the propensity of a firm’s leaders to never say “No” to a project. Lacking a viable mechanism to compare, evaluate and select and reject projects, decisions are made based on politics, gut feel and the squeaky customer wheel. The net result of this lack of discipline is that the people doing the work end up overloaded and overwhelmed. They operate in compliance mode, focusing on surviving until the next deadline and adding little creative value or innovation to their activities. You can end this chaos and rebuild your team's morale and effectiveness by building in new systems and proper rigor to project evaluation and selection.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:46:34-05:00March 3rd, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|2 Comments

The Challenge and Opportunity of the Product Manager

Product Managers face significant organizational challenges in their quest to expand their roles and increase their value-creating contributions to their firms. Through a recent and on-going series of interviews with senior executives as well as product managers across a variety of technology and manufacturing organizations, it is becoming clear that more and more organizations recognize the potential for product management to create tremendous value. It is also clear that enlightened executives increasingly recognize that the professionals that wok in product management roles are a ready-made source of high potential contributors and emerging leaders. Senior executives are looking for their emerging senior contributors in product management to bring more advanced skills to the party, in the areas of: Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Executive Presence and Process Optimization.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:46:41-05:00February 17th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|2 Comments

Turnarounds and Talent is Overrated: Two Great Posts

Some days others have created such interesting posts, the best thing that I can do is to encourage you to head in their direction. Today's posts from some great pros are too good to pass up. Point your browser towards both of these and enjoy!

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:47:40-05:00January 13th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|0 Comments

Bicycle Helmets, Texting while Driving and Project Failure

The same traits that drive people to do dumb things that they know can cause personal injury, manifest themselves in the way many organizations pursue projects. Like head injuries from a bicycle fall without a helmet and car accidents due to texting or talking on the phone, every single one of the issues above and the many more that I did not list, are easily prevented by the application of well-established professional project management practices.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:47:47-05:00January 6th, 2009|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|3 Comments

Marketing Yourself Part II: Defining Your Professional Value Proposition

Job search is a hot topic right now, and I received a number of notes from individuals who read my Irreverent Opinions of a Resume Hobbyist post the other day, asking for input about how to craft a Personal/Professional Value Proposition to support their job-hunting activities. I said in the post that I view this as the hardest task in developing an effective resume (and self-marketing strategy), and is the area where you will likely spend the most time creating content and agonizing over wording.

By Art Petty|2024-08-08T13:48:03-05:00December 18th, 2008|1,770 Legacy Leadership Caffeine and Management Articles|2 Comments