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Here are five choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms to start off your work week. I'm pointing you articles about improving education, FedEx Canada's boss, the travails of Johnson and Johnson, leadership models, and a little self-evaluation.

From Wharton: SAS Institute CEO Jim Goodnight on Building Strong Companies -- and a More Competitive U.S. Workforce
"These should be heady times for Jim Goodnight, founder and CEO of SAS Institute, a business analytics software and services firm. His North Carolina-based company bucked the economic downturn to make 2009 its third most profitable year on record ­-- and it is currently working on cutting-edge solutions for Macy's and also for the endangered hippos in Africa. But Goodnight, a former statistics professor who launched SAS in 1976, noted that his biggest priority these days is his concern that America isn't turning out enough new scientists and mathematicians to prevent the flow of jobs and critical research to Asia and elsewhere."

Wally's Comment: You've heard this recurring theme: America is not producing enough scientists and engineers to remain competitive. Goodnight beats that drum persuasively in this post and shares some of his unique insights. My own view is that the problem goes much deeper. The educational system we have is leaving us with people who cannot read and write well enough to become anything but wards of the state. What will it take to fix it? Probably a crisis, at least that's how it's always worked before.

From the Globe and Mail: FedEx Canada chief finds strength, comfort in her work
"From the moment they became high school sweethearts, Lisa and Patrick Lisson were a golden couple. They married, had four children and, by their late 30s, held great marketing jobs, Patrick with a big building materials company and Lisa with the Canadian arm of FedEx Corp., the global logistics giant."

Wally's Comment: The US business press rarely writes about effective Canadian bosses. That's one reason I read the Globe and Mail.

From the NY Times: Can Johnson & Johnson Get Its Act Together?
"Johnson & Johnson has had to recall such a variety of products because of quality-control problems across product lines, in multiple factories and in several units last year. Some of its consumer products, for instance, may have contained bits of metal. Others came in bottles with a moldy smell. And some products have gone missing from stores with hardly an explanation. All of this has put the company and its manufacturing under the intense scrutiny of lawmakers and officials at the Food and Drug Administration. "

Wally's Comment: The reason that this Times story is so powerful and so necessary is that Johnson and Johnson is one of those companies that is often held up as a standard of excellence. Lately, though, things have been tough. For background read a Fortune article, "Secrets of Success," and my post "Remembering Tylenol." For another take on the current situation, I suggest the Wall Street Journal article, "J and J Chief Tends Corporate Wounds ."

Note: I recommend that you read the next two posts at the same time. I think you'll find that they interweave nicely.

From WP Carey: Craig Weatherup: What's Your Leadership Model?
"Retired CEO Craig Weatherup was addressing a group of finance undergraduates at the W. P. Carey School recently when he popped a question."How many of you would profess to have a model or a definition of how you want to grow as a leader?" he asked. Three or four hands went up. "I think everybody should raise their hand on that question, and I'll tell you why," he said."

Wally's Comment: Don't mistake this post for one of those "leadership styles" pieces or one that tells you what steps to take to achieve greatness. Weatherup is much more practical and much more introspective. He's asking you to think about leadership and what you imagine good leadership to be.

From Linda Hill and Kent Linebeck: Are You the Boss You Need To Be?
"How are you doing as a boss? As a leader and manager, someone responsible for the results obtained by others, are you the boss you need to be? Are you getting the best from your people, and from those you need but don't control? Are you fully satisfying the ever-rising expectations of your firm and its customers?"

Wally's Comment: This is the initial post for a new blog that you may want to follow. Linda Hill and Kent Linebeck outline what they'll be discussing in their blog and, in so doing, they give you some ideas about what to evaluate in terms of your own leadership performance.

After you read the two posts above, you may want to do a bit of self-assessment. Check out Gwyn Teatro's post, "Taking Inventory and A Model For Making It Meaningful" and then think about "Crafting Your Own Personal Development Plan ."

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to check back on Wednesday when I select five excellent posts from the week's independent business blogs. Last week I highlighted posts on testing for understanding of strategy, when passion gets in the way, your attitude, spotting leaders, and the multi-generational workplace.

Last week's most-read post on my blog was "Great Teams." "A Brief History of Retirement " received the most comments.

If you want to get a book done or improve your performance as a boss, let's talk about options . My coaching calendar currently has space open.

If you're a boss, you should check out my Working Supervisor's Support Kit.

And be sure to stop by at Weekly Leader where I'll try to get you thinking about The Challenge 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.