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Here are five choice articles from the business press to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about women in the workforce, specialization in business education, innovation, CEO longevity, and the importance of listening.

From the Economist: Female power
"Across the rich world more women are working than ever before. Coping with this change will be one of the great challenges of the coming decades."

Wally's Comment: This is an economist Briefing on women in the workforce. There are many factors in play here. Compare this piece with a 2006 article from the New York Times: "How Suite It Isn’t: A Dearth of Female Bosses."

For a good book on management by one of those successful women who seems to fly beneath the radar of most of the business press, I suggest How We Lead Matters by Marilyn Carlson Nelson.

For a good discussion of how negotiating tactics may play a role in the salary differential between women and men, I suggest an excellent series of blog posts from Dorothy Dalton, beginning with "Let's Go Girls, Negotiate!" I'm pointing you to the first of several posts. The comments form a rich discussion of several issues, including negotiating.

From the NY Times: The Business of Zeroing In
"The trend toward specialization has crept into most fields over the past few decades, but few have embraced the shift more enthusiastically than graduate schools of business. Since 1990, the year that the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, the main accreditation board for business schools, changed its guidelines to encourage innovative curriculums, schools have focused on areas like aerospace, wine management, luxury goods, real estate and energy management."

Wally's Comment: There's been a lot of criticism of MBA programs. Most of it didn't take. But the recession and a hiring chill inspired MBA programs to seek new ways to package their product. The question always remains: what is an MBA program going to give me that a thorough company-based development program won't give me? For an idea of how company programs may compare to formal MBAs, read "Enterprise's Virtual MBA" from Business Week.

From INSEAD: The innovator's DNA
"A major new study involving some 3,500 executives has highlighted the key skills that innovative and creative entrepreneurs need to develop. The six-year-long research into disruptive innovation by INSEAD professor Hal Gregersen, Jeffrey Dyer of Brigham Young University and Clayton Christensen of Harvard, outlines five 'discovery' skills you need."

Wally's Comment: Read this for the five discovery skills. Ignore the assumption that there are "innovators" and lesser beings. Concentrate on the "do" and not the "be." And remember that there are three kinds of innovation. Only one seems to be covered in the INSEAD piece.

From USA Today: What is a CEO's secret to longevity?
"Many CEOs don't last as long as a refrigerated fruitcake, which is somewhat different than the rest of us. Although Americans have a reputation for job hopping, a 2007 study by Towers Perrin found that among workers who have been in the same industry 20 years or more, 40% said they had been with the same company for 20 years plus. Avnet, a giant electronics company with $16 billion in annual revenue, says that of its 2,061 U.S. employees 45 years and older, 11% have been with the company 25 years or more."

Wally's Comment: Del Jones is one of my favorite business writers because he bases his articles on good questions. For this article the question seems to be: "How do long-term CEOs do it and stay sane?"

From Forbes: Every CEO Must Be A Chief Listening Officer
"If it was good enough for A. G. Lafley, it's good enough for you."

Wally's Comment: Note the lead to this piece. A. G. Lafley has become the exemplar of the Great CEO of the Age. The fact is that he is very good. He has delivered some great results and big-time change at Proctor and Gamble. And he's got a very congenial personal style. Most of the press on Lafley has concentrated on innovation, but I think he's a powerful model of leadership behaviors like listening.

For more, check out "A.G. Lafley on Leadership, Brands, and Innovation" and "Lafley and Immelt: In search of billions."

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.