Book Review: The Right Leader

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Michael Ray Hopkin

“How we go about doing the things we choose to do or are called upon to do is what makes a leader the right leader.” In his book The Right Leader: Selecting Executives Who Fit, author Nat Stoddard (with help from Claire Wyckoff) investigates the complex topic of assuring smooth executive transitions, with their primary focus at the [...]

Filed under: Integrity, Knowledge, Leadership, Team Building, Trust | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The price of leadership

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin

The topic of whether leaders are born or made comes up often and has created many interesting conversations. In their recent Wall Street Journal article Do You Really Want to be a Leader?, Preston C. Bottger and Jean-Louis Barsoux address the question “are leaders born or are they made?” with the simple statement “the answer [...]

Filed under: Leadership, Purpose, Trust | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

Keeping the best

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin

One of the keys to creating a successful organization is hiring and retaining the best talent available. During difficult times, management too often forgets that their people are their greatest asset. The Wall Street Journal tackles the issue of retaining executives in a recent article How to Keep Your Best Executives. The key, according to [...]

Filed under: Knowledge, Leadership, Product Management / Marketing, Team Building | Tagged: , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Book Review: Find Your Great Work

Posted on June 6, 2009 by Michael Ray Hopkin

“No one ever says: ‘My life’s just too interesting, too stimulating, too provocative, too fulfilling, too engaging…’” All things we do fit into three categories: Bad work: A waste of time, energy and life. Doing it once is one time too many. Good work: The familiar, useful, productive work you do and do well. Great [...]

Filed under: Innovation, Leadership, Purpose | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The lonely PM

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Michael Ray Hopkin

I recently read an interesting post by Byron Workman that he called A Dying Product Manager. He talks about a person he met who was the only product manager (PM) at his company. He struggled to help others at the company understand the strategic role of product management and was unable to get visibility at [...]

Filed under: Leadership, Market-driven, Product Management / Marketing, Team Building | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Five factors of leadership

Posted on May 1, 2008 by Michael Ray Hopkin

I’ve stated before that product managers have to be leaders (in the true sense of the word) because they have the responsibility on their shoulders to get products out the door on time, with high quality and under budget. The kicker – and the reason they must be leaders – is the people they rely [...]

Filed under: Integrity, Knowledge, Leadership, Learning, Product Management / Marketing, Team Building, Trust | Tagged: , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

When the game is on the line

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Michael Ray Hopkin

I just finished watching the end of an NBA playoff game. The home team was ahead but the losing ground. I watched the leader of the team (a point guard) take over, make the plays and win the game. He made a few mistakes (missed two free throws) but ultimately did what he needed to [...]

Filed under: Leadership, Product Management / Marketing, Trust | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

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