Blog

Revenue Leads Expenses

By Peter DiGiammarino

Most leadership teams know the problem. They set an annual revenue target, build spending around it, and move forward as if the planned revenue inflow is already on its way. If revenue later develops more slowly than hoped, the organization is forced to pull back, delay hires, cut initiatives, and explain why the original plan … Continue reading Revenue Leads Expenses

Before You Build, Get Clear

By Peter DiGiammarino

Before You Build, Get Clear AI makes it easier than ever to build, prototype, and automate. It does not make it any less important to think. When the cost of building drops, the cost of building the wrong thing rises. Remember Peter Drucker’s aphorism that ends wtih “… are you doing the right thing?” That is … Continue reading Before You Build, Get Clear

Finding the CEO for What Comes Next

By Peter DiGiammarino

An IntelliVen Insight by Eric Palmer. AI is not a feature cycle. It is a reset of SaaS economics. Eric Palmer, a highly successful Senior Operating Partner with more than 30 years of experience leading private, public, private equity-owned, and venture-backed companies, recently shared what he is seeing across  software businesses. Eric uses and has … Continue reading Finding the CEO for What Comes Next

Time Horizon Discipline

By Peter DiGiammarino

Leaders often say: “We don’t have enough time.” “We’re far from our goals.” “Everything feels urgent.” Most of the time, the issue is not time. It is a mismatch between the decision and the planning horizon. Manage to Lead is built on clarity and disciplined change. Time horizon discipline is part of that clarity. Different … Continue reading Time Horizon Discipline

When Attention Is the Constraint, Focus the Work and the Reviews

By Peter DiGiammarino

Most things go wrong because leaders are spread too thin, not because the work is impossible. When the volume of initiatives outstrips reviewer capacity, important items get little or no attention. Meetings slip. Mental presence drops. The fix is to match what we take on to the attention we can invest, and to raise the … Continue reading When Attention Is the Constraint, Focus the Work and the Reviews

The Architecture of Resilience: How Early Labor Silences Fear in High-Stakes Leadership

By Peter DiGiammarino

By: Richard Block From a very early age, working was a given. It was simply what you did. In reflecting on these early experiences and contrasting them with the lives of my children and grandchildren, I see a significant divide. The loss isn’t just in the paycheck; it is in the “patterns of behavior” that … Continue reading The Architecture of Resilience: How Early Labor Silences Fear in High-Stakes Leadership

From Tool to Teammate: Six Practices That Make AI Work for Us

By Peter DiGiammarino

At IntelliVen, we work from a defined body of leadership and management practice: the Manage to Lead (MtL) System. It is documented in our text, taught in our classes, and organized into more than sixty tools and templates and 70 insights and tutorials. We use these tools every day with clients and trainees and we are … Continue reading From Tool to Teammate: Six Practices That Make AI Work for Us

When there’s no right answer: get input, get commitment, then decide

By Peter DiGiammarino

Calls about who the team counts on for what are hard. Leaders worry about making valued people feel overlooked or diminished. Direct reports mostly want clarity, fair reasoning, and as much scope and recognition as they can reasonably earn. This post offers a way to handle those tensions: get input one-on-one, secure commitment to support … Continue reading When there’s no right answer: get input, get commitment, then decide

Say the Same Words. Mean the Same Things.

By Peter DiGiammarino

Walk into almost any leadership meeting and you will hear the same words: Vision. Strategy. Mandate. Values. Culture. Everyone nods. Everyone is confident they understand. Then you listen a little longer and realize something important: People are using the same words to mean different things … and different words to mean the same things. That … Continue reading Say the Same Words. Mean the Same Things.

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

By Peter DiGiammarino

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

Unlock Your Potential with Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance

By Peter DiGiammarino | July 18, 2024

A staggering 97% of employees and executives believe that a lack of alignment within a team adversely affects the outcomes of tasks or projects (McKinsey).  While business leaders agree that clarity and alignment are crucial for growth, research also indicates that less than 33% of top teams are fully aligned across operating functions. In this context, … Continue reading Unlock Your Potential with Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance

Strategic Alignment Verification: A Method to Ensure Your Team is on Board

By Peter DiGiammarino | June 1, 2024

To maximize organizational effectiveness and ensure strategic alignment, it is essential for a leader to regularly verify their team’s understanding and commitment to their vision—even if  they believe alignment is already achieved. Leaders should consider engaging facilitative help to objectively navigate this verification process, regardless of their certainty about team alignment. This impartial facilitation not … Continue reading Strategic Alignment Verification: A Method to Ensure Your Team is on Board

Elevate Your Skills: Don’t Just Build—Create a Legacy

By Peter DiGiammarino | May 18, 2024

The most successful professionals don’t just list skills when pitching a prospect—they frame their expertise as a solution to an urgent business problem. Whether you’re laying bricks or building castles, the labor may be the same, but the way you present it changes everything. By shifting from listing tasks you will perform to solutions you … Continue reading Elevate Your Skills: Don’t Just Build—Create a Legacy

Growth is Good: Why Growing Your Business is Essential for Success

By Peter DiGiammarino | May 15, 2024

In the fast-paced world of early-stage businesses, leaders often find themselves caught up in the daily grind of delivering their product or service, whether it’s making pizzas or developing software. However, focusing solely on the day-to-day operations can hinder long-term success. It’s crucial for businesses to not only work in the business but also on … Continue reading Growth is Good: Why Growing Your Business is Essential for Success

The Evolving Leader: Leading Through Stages of Organization Maturity

By Peter DiGiammarino | May 9, 2024

Organizations, like living things, go through distinct stages of growth and development. This maturity model helps us understand the characteristics of organizations at various points in their journey, and how the role of the leader must adapt to navigate each stage successfully. This post explores the five stages of organizational maturity: Concept, Startup, Credible, Sustainable, … Continue reading The Evolving Leader: Leading Through Stages of Organization Maturity

Embracing Uncertainty: A Leader’s Path to Growth and Adaptability

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 26, 2024

Leaders are often confronted with complex decisions that can shape the trajectory of their organizations. Amidst the pressure to find the “right” answer, it’s easy to become mired in indecision, oscillating between various options and seeking input from every possible source. However, true growth as a leader lies not in the pursuit of a singular … Continue reading Embracing Uncertainty: A Leader’s Path to Growth and Adaptability

Maximizing the Value of Review Meetings

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 21, 2024

Periodic reviews are critical for keeping important initiatives, functions, and projects on track in an organization. However, maximizing the value from review meetings takes thoughtful effort from both the reviewers and those presenting their work (the reviewees). Too often, one or both do not put in the necessary preparation or exhibit good practices during the … Continue reading Maximizing the Value of Review Meetings

Gain the Ultimate Leadership Edge: The Art of Helicoptering Up

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 5, 2024

As an emerging leader, you’re likely facing a number of high-stakes situations – important meetings, presentations, negotiations, and other career-defining moments. In these pressure-filled scenarios, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment, reacting instinctively rather than consciously guiding your actions toward your desired outcomes. This is where the leadership technique of “helicoptering up” … Continue reading Gain the Ultimate Leadership Edge: The Art of Helicoptering Up

Emerging Leaders: Mastering Group Process for Success

By Peter DiGiammarino | April 5, 2024

As an emerging leader, the ability to effectively navigate group work is a critical skill. Too often, we find ourselves in situations where groups become mired in the easy tasks, neglecting the more challenging but equally important aspects of the work. In this post, we will explore key strategies to help you and your teams … Continue reading Emerging Leaders: Mastering Group Process for Success

Launching the First Cohort of the Enhanced “Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance” on Maven

By Peter DiGiammarino | February 3, 2024

We’re thrilled to announce that IntelliVen’s flagship course, Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance is about to debut on Maven with significant upgrades and enhancements. Since it was developed for American University in 2010, the 10-module MtL course has empowered hundreds of leaders and their teams to achieve breakthrough  improvements in performance and growth. … Continue reading Launching the First Cohort of the Enhanced “Manage to Lead: The Path to Breakthrough Performance” on Maven

Balancing Act: Navigating the Complex Interplay Between a Portfolio CEO and Private Equity Managing Directors

By Peter DiGiammarino | January 18, 2024

This post is based on remarks IntelliVen CEO, Peter DiGiammarino, made about what Private Equity Operations partners do for portfolio CEOs at a National Private Equity International Operating Partners Forum Panel Discussion in Sentry Center, New York City. Panel Topic A view from the portfolio company CEO on: Management autonomy and sponsor inclusion; striking the right … Continue reading Balancing Act: Navigating the Complex Interplay Between a Portfolio CEO and Private Equity Managing Directors

Scaling User Engagement: Implementing Community Strategy for Business Growth and Loyalty

By Breanna DiGiammarino | December 22, 2023

Once there are more users of your company’s product than you can keep in touch with individually on a regular basis, it is likely time to implement a community engagement strategy. The primary objective of a community strategy is to engage a high-priority subset of users in a forum that enables them to connect with … Continue reading Scaling User Engagement: Implementing Community Strategy for Business Growth and Loyalty