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I've had my head up in swivel mode this week, checking out the business blogs. Here are pointers to five thoughtful and thought-provoking posts. I'm pointing you to posts on what our self-help books say about us, two posts succession, a post on why CFOs don't want to become CEOs, and an excellent post on performance management. But first, a look at the carnivals.

Business Opportunities and Ideas hosts the latest edition of Carnival of the Capitalists.

Guerilla HR hosts the most recent Carnival of Human Resources.

From Roger von Oech: What Do Our Self-Help Books Say about Us?
"I've been listening to a Shakespeare course (from the Teaching Company). In a lecture about the play Henry V, the author Peter Saccio makes an interesting aside. 'You can learn a lot about a culture and an era by examining the self-help books that were popular during that time.'"

Wally's Comment: A tip of the hat to Michael Wade at Execupundit for the pointer to this post.

From Jim Stroup at Managing Leadership: Ready for action
"At our celebration, the Marine Detachment Commander, the Consul-General, and the oldest Marine present (me, this year) stood as the birthday cake was rolled in. The youngest Marine in the detachment then joined us. The first piece of cake was cut and offered to the Consul-General in reciprocation of the honor of her attendance. The next was presented to me. My role was to take a bit of the cake, then to pass it on to the youngest Marine next to me. He accepted it, and took his own piece from it. This simple ceremony symbolically represents the passing from one generation to another of the skills, knowledge, wisdom, and traditions of the Corps. The new generation shoulders this legacy, weaves its own accomplishments into it, and then passes it on in turn."

From The Practice of Leadership: How are you doing as a leader?
"Leadership development and succession planning is critical for today’s organizations. Successful leaders take considerable time in developing leaders and plan for leadership succession, to ensure that they leave a legacy and that their mission is completed. Succession planning starts long before the leader is ready to leave the organization. It’s part of the leader's responsibility to develop others. "

From Business Week: Even CFOs Don't Want to Be King
"No wonder so many people say there’s not enough good talent for the top job. Even some of the managers most qualified to become CEOs don’t want the job. A new study by Grant Thornton, the national accounting firm, found that 43% of CFOs don’t want to be CEO of a company one day."

From Ann Bares at Compensation Force: The Trifecta of Effective Performance Management
"Study results suggest that effective performance management is achieved through a balanced focus on three things: leadership support, program design, and execution by managers."

Wally's Comment: This is a stellar post on the components of effective performance management. Ann presents a simple, yet powerful, way of sorting out performance management issues.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

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Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

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For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.