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Independent business blogs are blogs that aren't supported by an organization like a magazine, newspaper, company, or business school. Those people provide lots of great content, but they don't need any additional exposure. In this post, every week, I bring you posts of quality from excellent bloggers that don't get as much publicity.

This week, I'm pointing you to posts on who's responsible, management by committee, the Hawthorne Effect, firing people, and courage.

From the Curious Cat: The CEO is Only One Person
"The CEO is important but they are only one person. Rarely do they determine the success of a company."

Wally's Comment: This post is mostly pointers to good articles about the impact of a CEO on performance. But it also includes this comment that far too many people forget far too often: "The management system is far more important than one person." I blogged about it this way: "Put your trust in systems, not in genius." The fact is that great organizations seem to be places where there is ongoing improvement on a basic strategy or system, not where there's a constant hunt for the next best thing.

From the HR Capitalist: Are Committees in Your Company Ever a Good Idea?
"Committees. Are they ever a good idea in your company? Sounds like a good excuse to make a decision to me, but hey, I'm just a type A, for-profit capitalist trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents.  People much smarter than me think they're a good idea, and I'm not talking about the non-profit down the street.  Would it surprise you if I told you that Cisco has more than 60 committees to help run the tech giant?"

Wally's Comment: The opposite of managing by system is probably managing by committee. Cisco has gotten a lot of press for its "new" management by committee approach. Scott Anthony, for example, has written about how it might affect innovation. In this post, Kris Dunn looks at the "system" and wonders if it isn't a thinly veiled power play.

From All Things Workplace: Just Pay Attention To Me
"While the increased lighting no doubt made things brighter and healthier, it was the increase in morale that most impacted improvement in productivity. This became known as the Hawthorne Effect. Most people schooled in management & organization development are well aware of the studies.  However, I'm finding more and more business folks who haven't been exposed to them; I thought it might be a good idea to revisit what is the beginning of the "human relations" movement in management."

Wally's Comment: People, being people, want to be noticed. They want to be appreciated. In short, they want to be treated like people. That's a few of many lessons from the Hawthorne experiments.

From HR Bartender: Terminations
"There are a lot of people who cringe at the thought of terminating someone.  And when I say terminating – I mean firing.  Not a layoff because, in most cases, employees don’t have control over a layoff decision.  But my philosophy is employees play an active role in the decision to get themselves fired."

Wally's Comment: Termination is and should be tough. If you're the boss, you need to separate the people who need training and coaching from those who should be fired for the good of all. You need to give them the opportunity to mend their ways. And you need to make the case for firing if that's what you must do with solid documentation. Sharlyn Lauby knows all that and she points out, quite sensibly, that you aren't firing those people, they're firing themselves with the choices they make.

From Jason Seiden at Work: Practice Courage this Holiday Season
"I had a real life fail here land at my feet tonight that I feel compelled to share. The names are being withheld because everyone involved reads my blog."

Wally's Comment: This post is worth reading and not just for the holidays. Jason Seiden makes the case that simply wringing your hands about bad behavior is a cop-out. You need to confront it and that takes courage.

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.