Blog

IVOA Is Now Available as a ChatGPT Plugin

By Peter DiGiammarino

OpenAI has approved IntelliVen Operations Advisor (IVOA) for public availability as a ChatGPT plugin. Learn how to install and use IVOA to apply Manage to Lead methods, templates, tutorials, and rubrics directly in everyday leadership work.

Help Young People Choose Where to Grow

By Peter DiGiammarino

A simple visual exercise helps young people choose which skills to develop and gives parents, grandparents, mentors, and coaches a window into their thinking.

How Leadership Teams Build and Maintain Shared Clarity

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams perform better when they make individual thinking visible, work through different views, and develop shared clarity they can use.

Learning to Think Together

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams develop shared understanding by learning to think through important questions together. The progression is simple: What I think. What you think. What we think. What more we can discern. What we say. This progression describes a discipline that leadership teams can apply to virtually any consequential issue. Practiced repeatedly, the discipline becomes part … Continue reading Learning to Think Together →

Conversations Every Fast-Growing Leadership Team Needs

By Peter DiGiammarino

The people who work closely with leaders often know things about their strengths, contributions, and opportunities to grow that the leaders themselves cannot see. A simple, facilitated reflection process can turn that collective knowledge into meaningful leadership development.

Talk to Anyone. Direct No One.

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leaders need direct communication across organization levels to understand what is happening and test whether their messages are getting through. The key is to communicate freely without creating competing lines of authority.

How Manage to Lead Fits Together

By Peter DiGiammarino

Manage to Lead is an integrated leadership operating system that helps leadership teams develop shared understanding, improve organization performance, and create the conditions under which others can successfully lead.

The Meaning of Manage to Lead

By Peter DiGiammarino

Why Manage to Lead? The name reflects three complementary ideas: people manage in order to lead, the work of leadership must itself be managed, and leadership excellence requires the discipline to “manage” to lead. Together they form the philosophy behind the Manage to Lead leadership operating system.

Developing Shared Ways of Thinking and Working

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams develop shared ways of thinking and working by making thinking visible, strengthening it together, and cultivating leadership disciplines that shape organizational culture.

Making Thinking Visible

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leadership teams can only examine, improve, and build upon thinking that becomes visible. This essay explores why revealing observations, assumptions, reasoning, and questions enables leadership teams to develop stronger shared understanding, make better decisions, and improve organization performance.

Steering Committees: Engaging Stakeholders for Guidance, Commitment, and Growth

By Peter DiGiammarino | October 13, 2025

Note: A complementary reading for MtL Module 8 Get Help Leaders who “get help” know success comes not from going it alone but from surrounding themselves with structures that strengthen thinking, accountability, and action. In Manage to Lead, we emphasize the value of an Accountability Board, Advisory Board, Coach, and Peer Group. There is another … Continue reading Steering Committees: Engaging Stakeholders for Guidance, Commitment, and Growth →

Process Maps Turn Confusion Into Clarity

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 20, 2025

Participants in IntelliVen’s Manage to Lead (MtL) program sometimes ask: “Why do we need to work on process maps?” It’s a fair question. The answer is that process mapping is not theory or busywork — it’s a practical tool you use on your own organization to turn hidden confusion into shared clarity. What follows explains … Continue reading Process Maps Turn Confusion Into Clarity →

Purpose and Goals: Why You Need Both W-W-W and Mandate

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 18, 2025

W-W-W and Mandate: Two Distinct Tools, Both Essential When working on their business, leaders sometimes ask: Which sequence is right? W-W-W → Mandate Mandate → W-W-W Both sequences work. You need to work on both. W-W-W is about purpose. It clarifies identity by answering three simple but interconnected questions: WHAT do we provide? WHO do … Continue reading Purpose and Goals: Why You Need Both W-W-W and Mandate →

What Would Peter Drucker Think of Your ICP?

By Peter DiGiammarino | August 3, 2025

TL;DR Investors’ first question is always your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). If you can’t answer crisply, nothing else matters. Most teams treat ICP as one question, but it’s really three: WHAT do you provide? WHO must have it now? WHY do they choose you over alternatives? Mis-alignment on any leg stalls growth—marketing targets the wrong … Continue reading What Would Peter Drucker Think of Your ICP? →

Use the IntelliVen Operations Advisor GPT to GET CLEAR and ALIGN

By Peter DiGiammarino | July 10, 2025

IntelliVen Manage to Lead tools now run on AI. Meet the IntelliVen Operations Advisor (IVOA) GPT. Tap into your familiar Mandate, WHAT-WHO-WHY, and Change Framework tools right inside ChatGPT—guided by our AI-trained Manage to Lead logic. It’s free for now—try it today: Go to: intelliven.com and open the RESOURCES menu tab. Select: IVOA  (you may … Continue reading Use the IntelliVen Operations Advisor GPT to GET CLEAR and ALIGN →

Don’t go to the conference stupid!

By Peter DiGiammarino | December 4, 2024

While it’s possible that a qualified sales prospect might be seated next to you at a conference session or visit your booth, relying solely on chance encounters isn’t a smart strategy. The odds are just too slim to make random interactions a primary reason for attending. The true value of attending an industry conference multiplies … Continue reading Don’t go to the conference stupid! →

Timeless Leadership Lessons for Success

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 30, 2024

Certain principles stand out as fundamental to achieving sustained success in leadership and team performance. They offer practical guidance to help leaders, teams, and organizations reach their potential to perform and grow. Here are ten such principles to apply for long-term growth and performance: Complement your strengths with those of others. No one achieves much … Continue reading Timeless Leadership Lessons for Success →

Selling Your Company: Ten Lessons for a CEO-Owner

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 24, 2024

While selling your company can be exhilarating, it’s also fraught with potential missteps. A savvy CEO-owner understands that careful preparation and discipline are crucial in turning a potential triumph into a true success, rather than a costly disappointment. These ten tips, distilled from years of experience on both sides of deals, won’t guarantee success—but they … Continue reading Selling Your Company: Ten Lessons for a CEO-Owner →

Why It’s Hard to Keep Three Things in Mind at Once—and How W-W-W Makes It Possible

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 20, 2024

Leaders and teams often juggle multiple priorities at once, but maintaining focus on three completely different things simultaneously—especially for extended periods—is much harder than it seems. This challenge isn’t just anecdotal; it’s rooted in how our brains process information. And this is precisely why frameworks like W-W-W (WHAT-WHO-WHY) are so critical, yet often underutilized. The … Continue reading Why It’s Hard to Keep Three Things in Mind at Once—and How W-W-W Makes It Possible →

W-W-W and Go-to-Market Fit: Essential Partners for Success

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 20, 2024

As organizations grow, leaders are often faced with strategic questions that may seem similar but address different parts of the business. One question that often comes up is whether frameworks like W-W-W (WHAT-WHO-WHY) and concepts like go-to-market fit are two ways of addressing the same challenge, or if they are fundamentally different. Given the increasing … Continue reading W-W-W and Go-to-Market Fit: Essential Partners for Success →

Understanding Two Perspectives: Differentiating the MtL WHY and Sinek’s Why

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 18, 2024

In business and leadership, understanding your “Why” is pivotal for success and meaningful connections. This newsletter compares two distinct perspectives—the MtL WHY and Simon Sinek’s Why—that drive your organization’s purpose and strategy. The MtL WHY: Understanding Your Customer The Manage to Lead (MtL) WHY is based on the principles outlined in the book Manage to … Continue reading Understanding Two Perspectives: Differentiating the MtL WHY and Sinek’s Why →

How to run a meeting.

By Peter DiGiammarino | September 4, 2024

Effective meeting management increases organization performance and efficiency. Conversely, poorly managed meetings drain resources and hinder progress. This post explores the three stages of a successful meeting, outlines key meeting roles, and provides strategies to develop and implement a robust meeting plan that enhances the likelihood of success. Stages of an Effective Meeting All meetings … Continue reading How to run a meeting. →