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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 five choice ones to start off your workweek. I'm pointing you to articles to two articles about the current subprime/credit/trust crisis. One perceptive writer looks forward, the others backward. There are also pointers to articles about how the world is doing, the changing face of Wal-Mart, and training.

Last week's newsletter was "What you can learn from watching babies learn to walk." As usual there were pointers to Web and Reading Resources, too.

From Business Week: How Real Was the Prosperity?
"We're just beginning to figure out how much of the nation's recent growth was the result of a credit-induced frenzy. Here are some guideposts."

Wally's Comment: Business Week looks backward and asks, in effect, "Was it all a dream?"

From the New York Times: Hate to Spoil a Weekend, but
"I don't see how you can avoid a certain amount of gloom given the week we've just had -- and its implications for the future of the U.S. economy."

Wally's Comment: Joe Nocera is as lucid and perceptive a writer as there is about business issues. This is his look ahead.

From the Economist: Somewhere over the rainbow
"In a week of financial uncertainty we look behind the headlines to a world that is unexpectedly prosperous and peaceful."

Wally's Comment: In typical Economist fashion, the magazine pulls back to look at how humanity as a whole is doing.

From Workforce Management: Wal-Mart CEO Lays Out Plans to Help Other Employers Cut Health Care Costs
"Wal-Mart CEO and president Lee Scott says that the retailer will deepen its involvement in health care by contracting with employers to help them reduce prescription drug costs. Scott claims Wal-Mart will save its employer customers $100 million this year."

Wally's Comment: Whatever you think or feel about Wal-Mart, this article is worth your time. A lot of issues are covered in addition to clues about which way the 600 pound gorilla is going to shift.

From Training: People Prioritized Training
"Any business organization would cease to exist without its employees. But too often the human element is an afterthought when change is implemented. Top organizations know change—and the financial impact of it—is made up of four elements: process, technology, people, and knowledge. Few companies recognize that better than Purolator Courier Ltd., the largest overnight express delivery company in Canada, which picks up and delivers more than one million packages each weekday. In the past five years, Purolator made significant improvements in process and technology, implementing computer-based route optimization and real-time and trace technology. Developing human resources was the next logical step."

Wally's Comment: This is a good article, but one line caused me to ponder. It's the one in the above paragraph about first we did the technology, and then we did the people. Seems to me like the reverse would make more sense.

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.