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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 motivation and money, flexibility, Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon, the view of GM from Harvard, and why it's important not to be stunned into immobility.

From Entrepreneur: 5 Employee Motivation Myths Debunked
"Leaders often miss the mark when trying to ramp up employee productivity. Let’s debunk some of the top motivational myths."

Wally's Comment: This simply the best short article I've ever seen on this topic. It's realistic, gives you some practical suggestions, and takes in the full breadth of the research. A must read.

From the Economist: Flexibility
"In a business context, flexibility can refer to a number of different ideas. Today its most common usage is in the workplace where it refers to such things as flexi-time, variable hours and extended periods of leave. But the word has a longer pedigree in the area of strategy, where it generally refers to a firm’s ability to respond to changes in its environment both rapidly and at low cost. In the (limited) sense that strategy is an unchanging commitment to something, it is the antithesis of flexibility."

Wally's Comment: This is part of the Economist series on business ideas. It's the usual Economist in-depth treatment.

From USA Today: Avon's Andrea Jung: CEOs need to reinvent themselves
"Andrea Jung will soon mark a decade as CEO of Avon Products (AVP). She's the most-tenured female CEO in the Fortune 500, having outlasted such notables as Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard and Anne Mulcahy at Xerox. Jung, who at 50 may have another decade or more to go, spoke to USA TODAY corporate management reporter Del Jones about the challenges of leading a company through an unusual recession. Following are excerpts, edited for clarity and space."

Wally's Comment: Just because you may not have heard of Andrea Jung, doesn't mean there isn't a lot you can learn from her. She's done fabulous work at Avon, in the US and, especially, I think outside it. In my view, Avon may be the most effective organization there is at providing opportunity for women around the world to take control of their lives.

From HBS Working Knowledge: GM: What Went Wrong and What's Next
"Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for General Motors? Or are those just headlights from an oncoming train? Among Harvard Business School faculty, it depends on whom you ask."

Wally's Comment: Members of the Harvard Business faculty weigh in on GM. There are lots of opinions, of course. But if you read nothing else in this article, skip down to Nancy Koehn's history-based analysis. It has the scent of wisdom about it.

From the Gallup Management Journal: What Leaders Must Do Next
"It’s going to be a long, grueling road ahead for CEOs and senior executives -- even if the economy turns the corner. Here’s how leaders can manage the many challenges they’ll face."

Wally's Comment: Gallup is one of those great companies that provide insight and data that the rest of us get to adapt and use. This is a powerful article on the need to actively and aggressively strive to provide a great working environment while the economic storms rage outside.

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.