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Here are five choice articles from the business press to start off your workweek. I'm pointing you to articles about taking over a new team, laptops and the wireless net, start-up success, aggressively seeking opportunity in the downturn, and Industry Week's top 50 manufacturing companies.

From Fortune: Three rules for brand-new CEOs
"Incoming chief executives have a lot to learn, which is why so many of them don't last very long."

Wally's Comment: This is good advice for any boss who's starting out with a new team. For a full-blown study of what to do when you take over, pick up a copy of You're in Charge, Now What? by Thomas Neff and James Citrin.

From the Economist: Small but disruptive
"Laptops are evolving—and forcing the rest of the computer industry to change."

Wally's Comment: The idea of a netbook has been popping up since there's been a net. Maybe now's the time. If so, what does that mean for other device makers?

From Inc: The Start-up Guru: Y Combinator's Paul Graham
"Paul Graham's business school and investment fund, Y Combinator, has launched 145 companies -- for a lot less money than you would think."

Wally's Comment: Paul Graham is a lucid advocate of turning geeks into entrepreneurs. Y Combinator is his venture capital cum incubator to turn the trick. As you might guess, he provides a thought-pumping interview.

From Business Week: Companies Willing to Take Risks in a Recession
"Some global companies, from Fiat to Oracle to Toys 'R' Us, are taking advantage of the downturn by making gutsy moves that are likely to pay off later."

Wally's Comment: Companies like Valero and McDonald's are taking advantage of their strong positions to get even stronger during this downturn. I bet somebody there read the Bain study, "Taking Advantage of a Downturn." Bain found that more than 20 percent of companies in the bottom quartile in their industries jumped to the top quartile during the last recession. About the same percentage of companies dropped from the top quartile in financial performance to the bottom.

From Industry Week: 2009 Industry Week's 50 Best Manufacturing Companies
"That swoosh you hear isn't LeBron James gliding over defenders for a slam dunk. Rather, it's Nike Inc. riding the backs of such superstars as James and Tiger Woods on to the 2009 IW 50 Best Manufacturing Companies list. Nike is among several newcomers to the IW 50 list that include such household names as Kellogg Co. and Philip Morris International Inc. These manufacturers and the rest of the IW 50 leaders are selected based on a formula applied to the IW U.S. 500 spreadsheet. Company performance is measured over a three-year period (2005-2008) in the areas of revenue growth, profit margin, return on equity, asset turnover, inventory turnover and return on assets. The six variables are weighted with the most recent year contributing 50% of the calculation in each area."

Wally's Comment: I'm putting this last because it's a browser's delight. Scan the rankings, read the commentary, and dig down for more on the companies.

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.