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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 Zen lessons for managers, getting the most from an executive development program, coaching instead of just solving the problem, and two posts drawing lessons from the Costa Concordia fiasco.

From Chuck Hebert: Zen Manager – What Zen Can Teach You About Managing Your Business Better
"At first pass, the word Zen conjures up images of dark rooms, with incense burning in the corner.  There’s probably a person sitting in full lotus murmuring, 'ohhhooooommm' over and over again.  Not exactly the person you may take business advice from. On the other hand, the word Zen conjures up images of inner peace and tranquility.  There are several principles and concepts often linked to the practices of Zen, such as: simplicity, focus, and awareness."

Wally's Comment: Chuck Hebert describes three Zen concepts that can make you a better leader. 

From Dan McCarthy: How to Get the Most Benefit from an Executive Development Program
"In my current role as Director of Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire, I’ve had the opportunity to observe and interact with hundreds of our program participants. In former roles, in managing leadership development programs at large companies, I would always take the time to talk to participants before and after they attended an external executive development program."

Wally's Comment: If you're attending an executive development program, you're investing your time and, perhaps, your money. It only makes sense to get as much as possible from that investment. Dan McCarthy gives you eight specific things you can do to make that happen.

From Mary Jo Asmus: Giving the Monkey Back
"Tap. Tap. Tap. Someone is knocking on your office door. You look up and welcome one of your best and most productive managers. You notice that she is carrying a monkey with her. It clings to her and it looks familiar. The monkey is slowly loosening its’ grip and beginning to reach for you as your employee tells you that she has a problem and is stuck. She wants you to fix the problem for her."

Wally's Comment: The original article, "Management Time, Who's Got the Monkey" was first published in the Harvard Business Review in 1974. It's the second most requested article in the magazine's history. So you may think that Mary Jo's post is yet another re-work or commentary. It's not. Read Mary Jo's post for the way you can turn a personal time management/workload issue into a coaching opportunity so that everybody wins.

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: Lessons from the Costa Concordia: A Case For Company Values
"The events before, during and after the January 13 tragedy aboard the Costa Concordia point to a true failure of leadership at every level, from the captain who ran the luxury liner aground during a drive by “salute” off the island of Isola del Giglio to the chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi who is denying any responsibility. Two days ago Foschi told a newspaper they were unaware of this practice."

From Gwyn Teatro: When Leaders Lose Sight of Their Primary Purpose
"Lives are lost.  Trust is broken. Property is destroyed. And, the captain is forever tainted with the whiff of cowardice, no matter what the outcome of official investigations to come.  That’s the sad tale of the cruise ship, Costa Concordia. And Why?  This is why… The captain, the crew, and possibly even the cruise line, failed to keep focused on their primary purpose."

Wally's Comment: Here are two stellar posts that draw lessons from the Costa Concordia fiasco.

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 why candor is good for business, the role of industry analysis in strategy development, creating the conditions for innovation, the fundamentals of change, and the latest list of the 100 best companies to work for.

How I Select Posts for this Midweek Review

The five posts I select to share in my Midweek Review of the Independent Business Blogs are picked from a regular review of about sixty blogs I check daily and an additional twenty-five or so that I check occasionally. Here's how I select the posts you see in this review.

They must be published within the previous week.

They must support the purpose of the blog: to help leaders at all levels do a better job and lead a better life.

They must be from an independent business blog.

As a general rule, I only select posts that stand on their own, no selections from a series.

Also as a general rule, I do not select posts that are either a book review or a book report.

I reserve the right to make exceptions to the above.

Here, on Three Star Leadership, I post things that will help a boss at any level do better and live a better life. At Results vs Activities, I join other bloggers with posts on talent development. .

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

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.