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The 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.

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Some of the most interesting business articles seem to come across my screen during the weekend. Here are my five picks to start off your workweek. I'm pointing you to articles about young voters, the music industry, the "foreclosure crisis," psychological help for the CEO, and how business technology convergence may affect your bottom line. But first a note of pride.

I'm honored to have the Three Star Leadership Blog selected as one of the best business blogs of the year by the people at Political Calculations who put together the "On the Moneyed Midways" review of blog carnivals. Thanks, folks.

Last week's newsletter was "The Peanut Butter Trick." As usual there were pointers to Web and Reading Resources, too.

From Business Week: Youthquake
"They're called the Millennials—and they're fed up. Why? Try angst about jobs, health care, and debt. Now they're getting pols to listen."

Wally's Comment: Every US election we hear about the impact of the youth vote, but, after doing lots of grunt work for candidates, young people who are qualified to vote seem to stay away from the polls in droves. It actually could be different this time, both because of the characteristics of the generation now coming of voting age and because some campaigns are working to use their energy and get them to the polls.

From the Economist: The music industry from major to minor
"Last year was terrible for the recorded-music majors. The next few years are likely to be even worse."

Wally's Comment: Just like the grocery business is a model for retail, the music business is a model for all information-based businesses.

From the New York Times: Cruel Jokes and No One Is Laughing
"There’s nothing like black humor to define — however sadly and starkly — the blows that keep on coming in this mortgage debacle. But make no mistake, lenders are only beginning to learn how to manage the onslaught of jingle mail and houses turned inside out. Investors, homeowners and regulators have greeted the new year hoping that the worst of this financial nightmare is over. Some investors may even view Bank of America’s planned bailout of Countrywide Financial last week as a sign that it is safe to wade back into financial services stocks. But while other economic crises over the last decade were resolved relatively quickly and cleanly — the Mexican peso mess, the Russian debt debacle and the dot-com implosion — the unraveling of the great home mortgage boom is significantly more complex. There are infinitely more moving parts to this problem, and it will take far longer to right."

Wally's Comment: This is another excellent article by Gretchen Morgenson who's been writing with power and insight about these issues for a while. When she says that this thing is just starting and nowhere near ending, I'd take that as wise counsel.

From Inc: The Couch in the Corner Office
"Sometimes CEOs need an understanding ear--but they worry that confiding in a colleague isn't safe or smart. Leslie G. Mayer is an ear-for-hire. As founder of the Mayer Leadership Group, in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and a senior fellow at Wharton, she says she has listened to and advised dozens of top executives at companies large (GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Aramark) and small (InnaPhase, TMX Communications). Mayer, who holds a doctorate in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, travels sans couch--but she does bring a deep understanding of the fraught relationships, secret insecurities, and empathic blind spots that weaken healthy leadership."

From Industry Week: Survey Says: "Whole Brained" Corporations Profit From Convergence
"Nonprofit research think-tank the BTM Institute recently released a research report that shows enterprises with converged business technology management have markedly increased financial performance and exhibit superior revenue growth and net margins."

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.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

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.