Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

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.

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

Find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.

Find out more about Wally's coaching services.

Every week, reporters around the continent write great business stories that don't make it onto your screen or into your local paper. And every week I scour newspapers around the continent to identify five of those great stories to enrich your weekend reading. This week I'm pointing you to stories about a spicy acquisition, six degrees of separation, a supporter for Exxon Mobil, the new hands-on CEO at H & R Block, and coaching. But first some other pointers.

Look to your left to see what I blogged about here this week. Over at Momentor I blogged about asking "What good can I make of this?" when you wind up in a job that's not exactly what you expected.

Last week's newsletter was "The Happy the Terrier Rule." As usual there were pointers to Web and Reading Resources, too.

This week's blog carnivals were

• The Leadership Development Carnival hosted by Dan McCarthy
• The Learning and Development Carnival hosted by Chris Morgan

And now, here's my pick of the five best local stories this week.

From the Baltimore Sun: Spice maker set to grow
"Spice maker McCormick & Co. will soon expand capacity at its Hunt Valley plant as it prepares to begin manufacturing Lawry's seasonings and Adolph's marinades. The Sparks company said yesterday that it had completed the $604 million acquisition of Lawry's from a division of Unilever. It was the biggest acquisition in McCormick's history."

Wally's Comment: Most mergers and acquisitions don't work, but this one seems like it's got a good chance. Read the story of how this came about and see if you agree with me.

From the Washington Post: Instant-Messengers Really Are About Six Degrees from Kevin Bacon
"Turns out, it is a small world. The "small world theory," embodied in the old saw that there are just "six degrees of separation" between any two strangers on Earth, has been largely corroborated by a massive study of electronic communication. With records of 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people from around the world, researchers have concluded that any two people on average are distanced by just 6.6 degrees of separation, meaning that they could be linked by a string of seven or fewer acquaintances.

Wally's Comment: This is a fascinating article. It gives you an idea of why social networking sites think they can make money.

From the Houston Chronicle: Exxon Mobil says it's not behind Twitter account
"According to the online bio, "Janet" at ExxonMobilCorp in Irving was "Taking on the world's toughest energy challenges." In the brief, 140-character snippets Twitter allows, she points out the oil giant's philanthropic efforts, answers questions about the company's policies and even laments a shortage of caramel apple sugar babies at one Exxon retail outlet. This foray into the new media frontier for one of corporate America's blue chip companies might seem ground-breaking if it wasn't for one thing."

Wally's Comment: Man bites dog in this one. It looks like we have someone in the Twitter-sphere taking up the cause of that poor, abused company, Exxon Mobil.

From the Kansas City Star: H&R Block’s new CEO jumps right in
"Back when he was a rising young finance star at McDonald’s Corp., new H&R Block Inc. chief executive Russ Smyth put in some time behind the counter too. “I cleaned toilets, made fries and learned to flip burgers,” Smyth said in an interview Friday, his first day as Block’s president and chief executive officer. And yes, he wore a paper hat. “Proudly,” he said. Now the 51-year-old soon-to-be Leawood resident plans to apply that same hands-on approach to what he calls “Russ’ learning tour” as he takes over running the nation’s largest tax preparation network."

Wally's Comment: It's always a good sign when an outside CEO sets out to learn something about the business.

From the Montreal Gazette: Coaching becoming new secret weapon in growing war for talent
"Some businesses say coaching is their 'secret weapon' when it comes to the war for talent, just as the trend is being embraced by companies across Canada. It's being used as a leadership development tool, attraction and retention, succession planning, as a training aide and just to help busy professionals keep some balance and stay focused as workers face heavy workloads amid labor shortages."

Wally's Comment: If you don't think coaching was a good thing, this article will give you lots of reasons to change your mind. Coaching can be a win for everyone providing the coach and client are well matched for the situation, the coach is competent and the client is willing to work at change.

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.

Request your free copy of "Meeting the Challenges of the Boomer Brain Drain: An integrated approach."

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.