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 schools and the business press to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about ATT's iPhone problems, RIM's Smartphone advantage, creativity, more on Toyota, and the silver tsunami.

From Business Week: AT&T's iPhone Mess
"In mid-December, Fake Steve Jobs, the alter ego of widely read journalist and blogger Dan Lyons, posted the following appeal to his fellow members of iPhone Nation: "On Friday, Dec. 18, at noon Pacific time, we will attempt to overwhelm the AT&T data network and bring it to its knees. The goal is to have every iPhone user (or as many as we can) turn on a data-intensive app and run that app for one solid hour. Send the message to AT&T that we are sick of their substandard network. …Join us and speak truth to power!" Soon thousands of hooligans—or if you prefer, frustrated customers paying AT&T (T) as much as $150 per month—took to Twitter and Facebook to join up. "

Wally's Comment: Be careful what you wish for. I'm sure that when ATT got the exclusive contract to handle the iPhone, it seemed like a huge success for a company that's had more than a few customer service problems. Now, though, the very popularity of the phone may turn out to be the undoing of the carrier. And remember, boys and girls, the fellow who gave you the new ATT is now the fellow in charge at GM.

From the Toronto Globe and Mail: RIM's smart-phone advantage
"It's the competitive advantage that happened almost by accident. When Research In Motion executives made the decision many years ago to route much of the e-mail traffic on BlackBerrys through RIM's own servers, they probably weren't thinking about a future in which everyone carries around a mobile, bandwidth-hogging computer. The company was focused on how to give business and government clients a fast and secure means of sending and receiving sensitive information. But as the smart-phone market – once populated almost entirely by RIM's business customers – shifts to a consumer focus, RIM's strategy is starting to look good again for an entirely different reason."

Wally's Comment: Sometimes you get lucky. That's what happened to RIM. Nobody planned for a market like this, but it turns out that the plan to deliver great service in a different market works in this one, too.

From SMU: The idea of creativity, the creativity behind an idea
"When creativity expert, Fredrik Härén, asked his seminar audience how many thought creativity was important to their work, almost the entire room raised their hands. Next, when asked how many think that they are creative, only a few did."

Wally's Comment: Creativity is coming up with good ideas. Human beings seem to do that naturally. What they don't do is share those ideas, either school convinced them that they're not very creative or because some bosses have belittled the ideas they shared. That means there are two goals. One is helping people understand that they're creative. The other is supporting that creativity at work.

From Wharton: Quality on the Line: The Fallout from Toyota's Recall
"More than any other auto manufacturer, Japan's Toyota has built its name on quality. Now, the identity of the world's largest car maker is in question as it recalls millions of vehicles because they may suddenly accelerate, putting the lives of drivers and their passengers at risk."

Wally's Comment: This is a thorough and thoughtful analysis of how Toyota got to where it is today and what they need to do in the future.

From the Economist: The silver tsunami"Most people understand about the ageing of society in the abstract. But few have grasped either the size of the tsunami or the extent of its consequences. This is particularly true of the corporate world. Companies in the rich world are confronted with a rapidly ageing workforce. Nearly one in three American workers will be over 50 by 2012, and America is a young country compared with Japan and Germany. China is also ageing rapidly, thanks to its one-child policy. This means that companies will have to learn how to manage older workers better. It also means that they will be confronted with a wave of retirements as the baby-boomers leave work in droves. "

Wally's Comment: Yep, if you believe that demographics are destiny, you'll love this article. Even if you don't believe that, you ignore the tidal wave of aging Boomers at your peril. Reading this article will help you focus.

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.