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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 to articles about Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, John Deere in Spain, Kodak, the model business, and creating change at Yahoo.

From Strategy + Business: The Thought Leader Interview: Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
"INSEAD’s expert on leadership development clarifies how self-awareness can break the destructive pattern of corporate narcissism."

Wally's Comment: What I like most about Kets de Vries' work is his emphasis on leaders as human and therefore emotional beings. For background, click over to "Putting leaders on the couch " on the INSEAD site. 

From INSEAD: John Deere in Spain – it’s not just about tractors
"There are few things in the life of a manager as unsettling as knowing your company’s days are numbered. Especially when a sister company in the same market wins the luck of the draw and headquarters - half a world away - tells you to wind down operations. That was the story at John Deere Spain in 1986 following a decision by U.S. management to move all European tractor manufacturing to Germany. For workers at the Spanish subsidiary of the global agricultural and construction machinery group, there were few options. Spain had just joined the European Union, and Deere headquarters wanted to consolidate European operations."

Wally's Comment: One of my clients in the US was the subsidiary of a European company. The issue of who would make strategic decisions was a constant source of tension. That's only one of the story elements in this piece about John Deere in Spain.

From HBS Working Knowledge: Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness
"When American companies shift pieces of their operations overseas, they run the risk of moving the expertise, innovation, and new growth opportunities just out of their reach as well, explains HBS Professor Willy Shih, who served as president of Eastman Kodak's digital imaging business for several years."

Wally's Comment: Many of the very best process improvement and new product ideas happen on the front lines. If you outsource the front lines, then you also outsource most basic innovation.

From the Economist: The beauty business
"Careers in modelling are typically short-lived, badly paid and less glamorous than pretty young dreamers imagine. Yet the business is changing. For one thing, educated models are in. This may sound improbable. In the film “Zoolander”, male models are portrayed as so dumb that they play-fight with petrol and then start smoking. But such stereotypes are so last year."

Wally's Comment: Here's a fascinating look behind the scenes of an industry most of only view from the outside. For some comparison reading, try "Is Super Skinny Back in Fashion?" from the Wall Street Journal and "Plus-Size Revelation: Bigger Women Have Cash, Too " from the NY Times.

From Nilofer Merchant: Yahoo's Shakeup Demands Fearlessness
"Four longtime Yahoo board members, including the chairman, are leaving the company. In this one move, Yahoo is trying to make a clean break from the past — signaling that they are primed to reboot. It's a much-needed and long-overdue step on the path to shifting trajectories."

Wally's Comment: As a rule, we have simple mechanistic models in our heads that we use to explain the complex world around us. That works for most short term situations, but as the time horizon recedes, those models work less and less well. Nilofer Merchant's stellar post about change (hopefully) at Yahoo addresses how change plays out in the complex world and what kinds of strategic initiatives are needed.

For background on basic system archetypes and latency, grab a copy of The Fifth Discipline and turn to Appendix 2. For some background on Yahoo and how the company got to where it is, read my post, "Being Lucky isn't Enough ."

Carnivals, Lists, and Such

Leadership Development Carnival hosted by Mark Bennett at TalentedApps

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 your weekly business pulse, courageous questions, leadership and surrender, integrity and keeping it, and dealing with a problem boss.

Studying individual leaders is a great way to learn about leadership. That's why my weekly post points you to posts by or about individual leaders. Last week I pointed you to posts by and about Georgia Berner, Amy Astley, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sheryl Sandberg.

On my Zero Draft blog I profiled Ed Batista's blog .

"Learning to Cook, Learning to Lead" and "The Computer Virus and Human Nature " were popular posts on my blog last week.

If you want to get a book done, improve your blog posts, or make your web copy more productive, please check out my blog about business writing. My coaching calendar for authors and blog writers currently has time open. Please contact me if you're interested.

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.