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.

Follow me on Twitter

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.

Here are five choice articles from the business press to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about innovation at Google, music distribution, trust, re-inventing Applebee's, and Roy Vallee of Avnet. 

From INSEAD Knowledge: Powering the Google engine: innovation is key"
It’s a $20 billion company with a formidable staff strength of 20,000, but the spirit of innovation (and enterprise) is alive and well at Google Inc, 11 years after the company was founded by then-students Larry Page and Sergey Brin."

Wally's Comment: This article is largely an interview with Dave Girouard, President of Enterprise of Google. There's plenty of good stuff here, even though Mr. Girouard seems to claim that Google invented practices [like giving employees time to work on whatever interests them] that other companies have used for decades.

From HBS Working Knowledge: Tracks of My Tears: Reconstructing Digital Music
"Record labels have depended on album sales to boost profits. But in the digital music era, consumers prefer single songs over music "bundles." The result? Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse says it is time for the industry to rethink its products and prices."

Wally's Comment: Many of the challenges that other industries will face have already been on the "challenge list" of the music business.

From Stanford Business: Temper Your Trust to Avoid Financial Rip-Offs
"Trust may be "the all-powerful lubricant that keeps the economic wheels turning," but Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme is just the latest example of the catastrophes that can result when those economic wheels turn too smoothly, according to Stanford Business School Professor Roderick M. Kramer."

Wally's Comment: Too much of the writing about trust makes it seem like an either/or proposition. There is either trust, which is good, or there isn't, which is not. Reality and business are more complicated than that. Read this for some insight about how to interweave trust and the need to verify.

From Forbes: Reinventing Applebee's
"Julia Stewart, chief executive of DineEquity, revitalized pancake house IHOP. Pulling off the same feat at Applebee's might be tougher."

Wally's Comment: Corporate change is hard. It's even tougher when you take on a second challenge, bringing all the successes and failures from your previous efforts as baggage.

From Knowledge at WP Carey: Avnet's Roy Vallee on Leadership
"One morning recently, marketing professor  Antony Peloso sat down with Mr. Vallee to talk about Avnet, his leadership style, and how to motivate employees -- even in a far-flung global operation."

Wally's Comment: Since June 1991, Avnet as successfully acquired more than 60 companies. They're one of the few companies to both develop and practice a successful acquisition strategy. One of Vallee's big challenges is to make sure that newly acquired companies become productive members of the Avnet team quickly. Another is leading a worldwide enterprise made up of companies with a variety of cultures, both business and anthropological.

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.