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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 strategy, the dark side of leadership, working for an "uninspiring" boss, trying to make others happy (or not), and the future of the corporation.

From Bob Sutton: Strategy Is For Amateurs, Logistics Are For Professionals
"I first heard this saying a few years back from Joe McCannon of the Institute for Health Improvement, who was campaign manager for an amazing effort by this non-profit to reduce the number of preventable deaths in U.S. Hospitals. It was called the 100,000 Lives Campaign, which according to most experts who have looked at the data, probably did reduce 100,000 preventable deaths as a result of implementing simple evidence-based practices like hand-washing and keeping the bed elevated about 45 degrees for patients on respirators."

Wally's Comment: The title for this post is one version of a saying that's been common in the military for a long time. The people who handle the logistical planning and implementation are often the voice of realism, noting when an "ideal" strategy simply won't work. They're also the people who make the commanding generals look good.

Everyone remembers Eisenhower. Hardly anyone remembers Sir Frederick Morgan, the man who planned D-Day logistics. Everyone remembers Grant. Hardly anyone but military historians remembers Montgomery Meigs. It was Meigs who calculated that an army of 100,000 needed 2500 wagons and 35,000 animals. That same army would consume 600 tons of supplies every day. It was Meigs who negotiated with Springfield and twenty private contractors to supply rifles.

From Great Leadership: Beware of the Dark Side of Leadership: 11 Tragic Flaw Behaviors 
"Many leaders have what Aristotle would have called a “tragic flaw”. Othello's jealousy and Hamlet's failure to act are two well known literary examples. This weak spot that can lead to a leader’s downfall is often one of the leader’s greatest strengths, which when stressed and overused, turns into destructive behavior. I’ve always believed that most, if not all, leadership behavioral problems are a result of strengths that are over-used. I see it over and over when I review 360 assessments with managers. I can usually connect low scores for a problem behavior back to 1-2 high scores for overused skills. It’s one of the reasons I’m so concerned about the potential for misunderstanding and misuse of the whole “strength-based” leadership development movement. Only developing your strengths and not your weaknesses is a surefire recipe for leadership derailment."

Wally's Comment: Dan McCarthy lists several corrosive weaknesses that can destroy teams and organizations. Good companion reading is Marshall Goldsmith's What Got You Here Won't Get You There.

From Management Craft: When you work for a "good" but uninspiring boss
"Do you wonder: What should I do if my boss is a hard working and good person, but lacks vision, is not inspiring, and does not seem interested in changing?"

Wally's Comment: I think the word "uninspiring" is a bit misleading in this post. Lisa Haneberg deals with the question of what to do if your boss isn't exactly what you want.

From Mary Jo Asmus: Stop Trying to Make Others Happy
"Stop Trying to Make Others Happy In many ways, it makes sense to try to make your followers happy; and it might sound strange that I, your peaceful workplace advocate, would encourage you to stop trying to please others. Hang in there with me on this one, I think you might agree with what I have to say. When you try to make others happy, you – well – try. That’s all you can do is try; no guarantees. And when you don’t get it right, you get frustrated and may even think there is something wrong with the person you are trying to please."

Wally's Comment: In this elegant post, Mary Jo Asmus suggests some ways you can do better on the making others happy front. And she offers sage advice that there's no need to beat yourself up when things don't work out quite the way you wanted.

From Irving Wladawsky-Berger: The Evolving Nature of the Corporation
"What is a corporation?  In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the nature of the corporation has been the subject of considerable debate.  While this is a very complex topic, two major points of view seem to be emerging, which we can use to book-end the different ends of a spectrum, with many hybrid positions in-between. At one end is the view that a corporation is an organization of individuals designed to provide goods and services to consumers, companies and other institutions.  Society benefits in a variety of ways, including the many goods and services that these corporations efficiently produce, as well as the many jobs that they create.  At the other of the spectrum, is the view of the corporation as an organization that will use all lawful means for its single-minded objective of generating profit and wealth."

Wally's Comment: This is your think piece for the week. Give it the time it needs. If you really want to dig into this topic, I suggest The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge.

Bonus: This week two different blogs offered up collected quotes about leadership.

Mike Myatt at N2Growth asked an array of leadership pundits to complete a simple sentence. You'll find wisdom from some people you've heard of and a few that are probably new to you.

CareerBuilder posted "Employing Wisdom." They offer quotes from leaders they've interviewed for their Leadership Series.

That's it for this week's selections from independent business blogs. If you liked this piece you may enjoy my regular post on "Leadership Reading to Start Your Week" which features five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. The last issue had pointers to articles about learning from the Cleveland Cavaliers, flexwork, executive compensation, IBM, and Honest Tea.

And be sure to check out Weekly Leader where I'll try to get you thinking about The Question of the Week.

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.