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Here's my pick of the five best posts from this week's business blogs. I'm pointing you to posts on firing the right people, Wrigley's, seeing technology from a different historical and cultural perspective, health scores like credit scores, and trust. Let's start with the Carnivals.

The Rainmaker Groups hosts the most recent Carnival of Human Resources at the Maximizing Possibility Blog

From Art Petty on Management: Want to Improve Your Business? Fire the People Holding You Back.
"Why is it that so many managers struggle with the issue of firing the employees that justifiably require firing? I've watched as brilliant business owners and otherwise accomplished leaders have agonized over this issue, unable to take the final step, while knowing all the while that it has to be done."

Wally's Comment: Firing is one of the toughest things a manager can do. That's one reason managers shy away from it. But another reason is that nobody trained them how to do it fairly and in a way that will stand the test of adversarial review.

From Diane Brady at Business Week: Something to Chew On
"Everyone listens to Warren Buffett. The world’s richest man is often hailed as one of the greatest stock pickers in history. So why is Buffett buying a stake in Wrigley, the maker of Juicy Fruit and Doublemint gum (the latter of which I’m chewing to get in the mood as I write)? It’s not like the candy business is the place to be in this age of paranoia over obesity, sugar and long-term health.

Wally's Comment: Lessons worth learning from a surprising source.

From Jim Stroup at Managing Leadership: Magic, technology, and culture
"Some years ago, I was on a beach of a not-so-remote nation which was developing rapidly. I was looking out to sea with a group of locals who were highly educated, and who seemed perfectly sophisticated and at ease with the modern world. And then it hove into view: an American aircraft carrier. It steamed majestically by on its way to a nearby port for a shore visit. It was magnificent, unhurried, unperturbed. Capable at once of nuanced flexibility and of terrible focus, it was the most powerful fighting machine on the surface of the globe. It took a long time to go by. I admired its clean lines, its flight deck bristling with aircraft that could perform reconnaissance and strike missions hundreds of miles distant, its superstructure studded with communications devices spanning the electromagnetic spectrum. When it began to recede into the harbor, I turned, smiling, to my friends, to share my excitement. But upon observing their expressions, I was struck silent. They had seen something altogether different than had I.

Wally's Comment: Arthur Clarke was right. Any sufficiently advanced technology will seem like magic. But it's never magic to the magician.

From Kris Dunn at HR Capitalist: Will You Eventually Have a Heath Care Score Similar to Your Credit Score?
"Imagine a Health Care system that functioned like the consumer credit industry. Scott Kornhauser has. The CEO of Healthation thinks the system will ultimately deliver a personal health care score (like a credit FICO score) that drives what consumers pay for healthcare, complete with the ability to improve their rating over time with the right behaviors/performance."

Wally's Comment: Great post on an interesting concept. I still think we ought to call what we've got a "disease care system" because that's what we spend our money on. So a true healthcare score would be a real change.

From George Ambler at the Practice of Leadership: How is your Trust Rating?
"I stumbled across a very interesting post “What’s Your ‘Trust Rating’” which highlights some interesting research on trust. As you are well aware trust is absolutely critical to effective leadership, in fact, I would go as far as to say that without trust you cannot lead! The article discussed research by social psychologist, Robert Hurley who defines trust as “confident reliance on someone when you are in a position of vulnerability.” In the research Robert Hurley identified the following 10 primary factors can help us determine why people trust or fail to trust."

Wally's Comment: Trust is important in any relationship, but especially so when one party has the power and asks the other to follow willingly.

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.