Three Star Leadership Blog

5/18/13: Wally's Posts on Leadership and Talent Development

Wally Bock — 2013-05-18T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

Here's a review of my posts on leadership and talent development this week. There were posts on Sir Alex Ferguson, the power of coaching, great supervisors, and being a force for good. There were also pointers to other resources by and about leaders, on talent development, to top posts from the independent business blogs, and my Boss's Tips of the Day.

My posts at Three Star Leadership on Leadership and Becoming a Better Boss

Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson is one of sports history's greatest coaches, so his retirement is drawing a lot of attention. But Sir Alex was no ordinary successful coach and his is no ordinary retirement.

5/12/13: Leadership Reading to Start Your Week
Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms, to start off your work week. They're about leadership and strategy, success and failure and important issues of the day. This week, I'm pointing you to several articles including those about why managers haven't embraced complexity, innovation at Corning, additive manufacturing, international banking, food trucks, competition in the mobile space, and women tech entrepreneurs flourish in L.A.

Thank heavens for Miss Daisy
I've observed supervisors for a couple of decades now. The good ones are always in the mix with their team. Miss Daisy is one of the good ones.

5/14/13: By and About Leaders
Studying individual leaders is a great way to learn about leadership. Think of each article as a mini-case study in leadership. This week I'm pointing you to posts by and about David Steinberg, Jack Ma, John Paton, Rob and Zoe Benzinger, Brooke Denihan Barrett, Denise Morrison, Linda Rabbitt, and Beth Comstock.

5/15/13: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs
Every week I select five excellent posts from this week's independent business blogs. This week, I'm pointing you to posts on the duality of leadership, values and choices, real issues in work/life fit, why leaders should be indifferent, and 10 tools for new managers

A Force for Good
The work you do as a boss isn't just about business results. It's also about your effect on people's lives.

5/17/13: Stories and Strategies from Real Life
Some of the best learning happens when you read stories real people and real companies. Read them for ideas, for lessons, and inspiration. This week's stories and strategies from real life are about Warby Parker and Reed Hastings

My posts at Results vs. Activities on Talent Development

You don't know how good you've got it
Today, you can get coaching to help you do a better job. It wasn't always that way.

5/16/13: Top Talent Development Posts this Week
Every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you'll find pointers to pieces about online hiring tools, talent poaching, onboarding, what to do after the talent review, and retaining top talent.

When you follow me on Twitter you'll receive a stream of pointers to interesting blog posts, articles, and resources throughout each business day.

Client Projects

I'm writing blog posts for two clients. I'm helping working on a book about what Professor Clay Christensen says could be "more important than disruption." I'm writing a training manual for a client and coaching two authors through the process of writing and publishing their first book.

If you're interested in writing a book, hiring someone to write for you, or just improving your own writing, you should check out my Zero Draft blog about creating or acquiring the writing that makes a business or career grow.

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.

What can I do for you?

Information Products

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.

5/17/13: Stories and Strategies from Real Life

Wally Bock — 2013-05-17T20:00:00Z

Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

Some of the best learning happens when you read stories real people and real companies. Read them for ideas, for lessons, and inspiration. This week's stories and strategies from real life are about Warby Parker and Reed Hastings

From Wharton: What Eyeware Startup Warby Parker Sees That Others Don't
"Shortly after Neil Blumenthal launched Warby Parker, the e-commerce eyeware startup known for its $95 retro-cool frames, customers emailed asking if they could "stop by" the company's Philadelphia headquarters and check out the glasses for themselves. There was just one problem: Warby Parker -- the brainchild of Blumenthal and three Wharton classmates, Andrew Hunt, Jeffrey Raider and David Gilboa -- didn't have a showroom. So they improvised."

From Business Week: Netflix, Reed Hastings Survive Missteps to Join Silicon Valley's Elite
"On a normal weeknight, Netflix (NFLX) accounts for almost a third of all Internet traffic entering North American homes. That’s more than YouTube, Hulu, Amazon.com (AMZN), HBO Go, iTunes, and BitTorrent combined. Traffic to Netflix usually peaks at around 10 p.m. in each time zone, at which point a chart of Internet consumption looks like a python that swallowed a cow. By midnight Pacific time, streaming volume falls off dramatically"

Boss's Tip of the Day: Positive What if?

Wally Bock — 2013-05-17T13:29:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Positive What if?

Power questions can help you and the team improve performance. The Positive What if? question is the power question that helps reveal possibilities.

Don't limit yourself to the usual planning or problem solving questions. Ask "What would we do if resources weren't a constraint?

Resources include money, staffing, time, technology, know-how, and more. Asking this question will reveal ideas that may actually be possible. It will stretch your thinking, too.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

A Force for Good

Wally Bock — 2013-05-16T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

In the early part of my career, I was working as the general manager for a trucking and rigging company. Charlie somehow talked himself into a job with us. It was a horrid fit.

The work in our yard and on our job sites was hard, physical and dangerous. Charlie didn't have the experience, stamina, or temperament for it. It took a couple of days for us to realize how bad it was. I waited until Monday morning, called Charlie into my office and fired him.

The next day, the Yard Boss came to my office and told me that Charlie had clocked in and was working in the yard. "I thought you said you'd fired him."

I brought Charlie up to the office. Explained that he was no longer working there, reviewed the reasons, and asked if he understood. He said he did. I told him we'd pay him for the day, since there was obviously a misunderstanding, but that wouldn't happen again. He left.

The next day I got to the office a little late and the Yard Boss met me in the parking lot. "He's back. Can't you even fire someone?" I repeated the process of the previous day, but without paying Charlie.

The next day, he showed up again, but this time I caught him at the time clock. We went to my office. Charlie started to cry.

It turned out that he was afraid to tell his wife that he'd been fired. So he packed his lunch and put on his safety boots in the morning and went back to "work."

We wound up getting his wife involved, which turned out to be a very good thing. She, in turn, got their Pastor involved for some counseling for both of them. Charlie never came back to the yard. It was a happy ending.

The ending got even happier about two years later. Charlie sent me an invitation to his graduation from technical school. With his wife's support and his Pastor's help, he had gone to school and gotten some training that helped him land a job repairing office equipment. He loved it and I'm sure he was better at it than he was at working for us.

Boss's Bottom Line

What you do has impact beyond the numbers. What you do and how you treat people changes their lives and yours. Be a force for good.

Thanks and a tip of the hat to Monique Valcour for her wonderful post "The Ripple Effects You Create as a Manager" which triggered the memories and inspired the thoughts that resulted in this post.

Boss's Tip of the Day: Negative What if?

Wally Bock — 2013-05-16T13:30:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Negative What if?

Power questions can help you and the team improve performance. "What if?" is a power question that you can use to prepare for surprises.

Ask "What if?" to think about what you'll do when disaster strikes.

What if we lose our best customer?

What if NAME gets sick?

What if the computer goes down?

What if a tornado strikes?

You can come up with your own list. Asking "What if?" helps you think in advance about how to respond to emergencies. Asking "What if?" also helps you and your team members develop agile thinking skills.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

5/15/13: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs

Wally Bock — 2013-05-15T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

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 the duality of leadership, values and choices, real issues in work/life fit, why leaders should be indifferent, and 10 tools for new managers.

From Lolly Daskal: The Duality Of Leadership
"As twenty-first century leaders, we need to understand that we are moving toward a NEW ethic, one that is built on duality. In the OLD way of thinking, we based our leadership on a set of shared values and principles aimed at achieving moral perfection while maintaining social order and well being. What got left behind in the old approach are the things that we are coming to value and seek out in the NEW: authenticity, vulnerability, unity."

From Mary Jo Asmus: Family and friends
"Remember that your organization is always willing to take whatever you give. The lure of that giving is seductive. What choices do you need to make today so that decades from now, you can say you’ve had no regrets about how you spent your time?"

From Cali Yost: It's Not Just About "When" You'll Work, But "Where"
"We’ve thrown everyone into the work flexibility water without lessons and said, “swim,” then wonder why so many of us still cling to the side of pool not sure how to move forward. One area of confusion I hear often is that most people still think managing your work+life fit is simply a matter of good time management. Actually, it’s not. In a world without clocks and walls to tell us where work ends and the other parts of our life begin, 'when' we are going to accomplish a particular action or priority is important. But you also have to focus on the 'where' and 'how.'"

From Scott Eblin: Why Leaders Need to Be Indifferent
"A couple of months ago, I was talking with an executive leader I’ve known for a few years. One of the things I’ve noticed about him in that time is that his confidence has grown in a very appropriate and admirable way. I mentioned this to him and, in reply, he laughed softly and said, 'It’s a fine line between confidence and indifference.'"

From Katy Tynan: Top 10 Tools and Resources for New Managers
"Starting a new job with management responsibilities? It can be overwhelming. The good news is there are plenty of tools to help you be successful in your new management role. Here are a few of my favorites:"

Wally's Comment: In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that one of the resources on Katy's list is my Working Supervisor's Support Kit. In the spirit of gratitude, I thank her for including it.

Carnivals and Such

Carnival of HR hosted by Robert Tanner at Management Journey

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" points you to choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. The last issue had pointers to several articles including those about why managers haven't embraced complexity, innovation at Corning, additive manufacturing, international banking, food trucks, competition in the mobile space, and women tech entrepreneurs flourish in L.A.

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.

Boss's Tip of the Day: Take a fresh look

Wally Bock — 2013-05-15T13:29:00Z

Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Take a fresh look

Power questions can help you and the team improve performance. "What would we do if we were new?" is the power question that will help you take a fresh look at what you're doing.

The force of habit is like the force of gravity. It's invisible, but it's strong. So we go on, doing things the way we've always done them, even if there's a better way. You can find that way if you stop from time to time and ask "What would we do if we were new?"

Make that question a frequent feature of your team meetings. Devote time to a single process or practice and ask what you would do today if you were starting from scratch.

There are lots of names for this technique. I've heard it called the "Visitor from Mars" approach. Some call it "the Andy Grove approach" after the time in his career where he asked this question about Intel's basic business. It's also called "looking at a situation with fresh eyes" or approaching it with "a beginner's mind."

Whatever you call it, do it.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

5/14/13: By and About Leaders

Wally Bock — 2013-05-14T20:00:00Z

Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

I think that one of the best ways to learn leadership isn't studying "leadership" at all. Instead, study individual leaders in their natural habitat and decide what they do that you want to try. Articles by and about leaders and interviews with them are mini-case studies that show you an actual leader in a real situation.

That's why, every week, I bring you a selection of post about individual leaders. This week I'm pointing you to posts by and about David Steinberg, Jack Ma, John Paton, Rob and Zoe Benzinger, Brooke Denihan Barrett, Denise Morrison, Linda Rabbitt, and Beth Comstock.

From the NY Times: He’s No Longer the Loudest Guy in the Room
"David Steinberg, chief of XL Marketing, says that entrepreneurs can learn a lot about people and understand them if they are more open and inquisitive."

From the Wall Street Journal: Jack Ma of Alibaba
"How Is an IPO Like a Marriage? The Billionaire Founder of China's Alibaba Goes Public."

From the Globe and Mail: Charting print through choppy waters
"Mr. Paton, who got his start as a copy boy at the Toronto Sun, is now in charge of one of America’s largest newspaper groups, one with more than 75 daily newspapers in the United States and their affiliated digital properties through Digital First Media. He has also fashioned himself as something of a guru on the new world of selling news in the digital age -- a reputation he carries despite the apparent lack of financial success of some of the entities he manages, such as Journal Register Co., which last year filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years. Mr. Paton is undeterred. He sees a fleeting opportunity to build a new industry on the back of the old."

From the Baltimore Business Journal: How I Got Started, with Rob and Zoe Benzinger
"We manufacture botanical skin care products including Shave With Benefits, with an all-natural foam that makes the razor perform better and last longer."

From the NY Times: Brooke Denihan Barrett on Family and Business
"This interview with Brooke Denihan Barrett, co-chief executive of Denihan Hospitality Group, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant."

From the Boston Globe: Campbell Soup CEO Denise Morrison talks corporate innovation
"If you still think of Campbell's as the tomato soup behemoth that inspired Andy Warhol, maybe you haven't been paying attention. The New Jersey company these days offers customized Goldfish crackers, and recently launched a new line of microwaveable soups exclusively through digital and social media like Spotify, Tumblr, and the Angry Birds game. The company also named a vice president of innovation, Michael Paul, in March. A few nuggets from Morrison's keynote address, and my quick chat with her afterward."

From the NY Times: Founder of Rand Construction Didn’t Care for Teaching
"Linda Rabbitt is the founder, chairwoman and C.E.O. of Rand Construction in Washington."

From Knowledge at Wharton: Beth Comstock and GE: Imagining the Future
"Beth Comstock was stuck. A self-described small-town Virginia native, she was in her mid-20s, recently divorced and the mother of a four-year-old daughter. She was also shy and somewhat wary of change. One way or the other, though, a change was going to come, so she decided to screw up the courage to make it a big one."

Boss's Tip of the Day: What would be fun to try?

Wally Bock — 2013-05-14T13:27:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

What would be fun to try?

Power questions can help you and the team improve performance. "What would be fun to try?" is a power question that can lead to innovation.

Ask this question when you're planning a project. You'll get some great ideas. The word "fun" seems to unlock the playful part of us and lets the creative juices flow. And when you ask for things that would be fun to try, it seems to neutralize the tendency to shoot down ideas as soon as they're voiced.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

Thank heavens for Miss Daisy

Wally Bock — 2013-05-13T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

I was on my weekly early morning shopping swoop. I like to hit the stores early, when there aren't a lot of people and when the shelves are still stocked. I'd loaded up my cart and I was checking out, making my usual chit-chat with the cashier. Suddenly she looked behind me with a big smile on her face.

"Thank heavens for Miss Daisy!"

I turned around to see what was going on. When I got in line there was only one register open, but since then several more had opened up. Most of those registers were idle, while there was a long line of shoppers behind me. Miss Daisy, the supervisor, was helping people get to the open registers.

I've been shopping at that store for about nine months now. I've noticed Miss Daisy. That's not hard because she's always around and doing something.

Great supervisors do that. They get into the mix with their team. At that moment, her traffic directing done, Miss Daisy was taking up a position near a cashier trainee.

I wanted to ask the woman who has checking me out what she thought was great about Miss Daisy. I didn't have to. As I turned back around she volunteered her own assessment.

"She's always doing that. Helping people out, making things better."

It would be hard to get a better performance evaluation than that.

Boss's Bottom Line

Are you always helping people out, making things better?

Boss's Tip of the Day: What's a problem for you?

Wally Bock — 2013-05-13T13:27:00Z

Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

What's a problem for you?

Power questions can help you and the team improve performance. "What's a problem for you?" is the power question that helps you zero in what matters for a team member.

Lots of bosses ask about problems, the key in this question is the phrase "for you." When you ask the question that way you get answers that almost always start a conversation and sometimes result in big improvements in productivity or morale.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

5/12/13: Leadership Reading to Start Your Week

Wally Bock — 2013-05-12T22:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms, to start off your work week. They're about leadership and strategy, success and failure and important issues of the day. This week, I'm pointing you to several articles including those about why managers haven't embraced complexity, innovation at Corning, additive manufacturing, international banking, food trucks, competition in the mobile space, and why women tech entrepreneurs flourish in L.A. Be sure to look for dots that you can connect.

Note: Some links require you to register or are to publications that have some form of limited paywall.

Thinking about Leadership and Strategy

From London Business School BSR: Corporate strategy in the age of sustainability
"In the race to conform to the latest sustainability trend, companies are losing sight of the bigger picture. They need to redefine their strategies to cope with the new realities."

From Richard Straub: Why Managers Haven't Embraced Complexity
"I remember well when the idea of applying complexity science to management was first being eagerly discussed in the 1990s. By then, for example, scholars at the University of St. Gallen had developed a management model based on systems thinking. Popular literature propagated the ideas of complexity theory — in particular, the notion of the "butterfly effect" by which a small event in a remote part of the world (like the flap of a butterfly's wings) could trigger a chain of events that would add up to a disruptive change in the larger system (such as a hurricane). Managers' eyes were opened to the reality that organizations are not just complicated but complex. Why did this interest and work in complexity not lead to major changes in management practices? There are, I think, a few major reasons that it didn't — and that also suggest that the overdue change might now finally take place."

From Chief Executive: Learn (Don’t Just Manage)
"In terms of the first step, leaders and organizations are often stuck in patterns of behaving and operating that have kept them in good stead for years. Traditional approaches to development teach us to be successful by managing people, tasks and the business, but they often overlook getting unstuck from approaches that worked in the past but no longer apply.

Innovation and Technology

From Strategy + Business: The Gorilla of Agile Business Innovation
"Corning Glass Chief Technology Officer David Morse explains how the company—through speed and customer focus in research, development, and engineering—has built a multibillion-dollar enterprise."

From Industry Week: Leading Innovation
"At a time when innovation is so highly valued, a large majority of innovation efforts fail. What can company leaders do to get innovation on the right track?"

From the Journal-Sentinel: 3-D printers break the mold for manufacturing
"When Pioneer Products Inc. was asked to make the tooling for a boat part that was designed in Germany, cast in Missouri, for use by a manufacturer in Florida, the Racine company used three-dimensional printing for a prototype that could be shared by everyone in the manufacturing process."

From London Business School BSR: Mobile numbers
"A happy side effect of the mobile revolution is an array of stunning stats."

Industries and Analysis

From the NY Times: Apple’s Rivals See an Edge in Using Wireless Accessories
"Hotels outfitted guest rooms with alarm clocks containing a telltale wedge of 30 tiny pins that could play music from Apple’s devices and charge their batteries. Retail stores were thick with sound docks and other speaker systems meant to work with Apple gadgets. But Apple’s iron grip on the digital accessories in hotel rooms, store shelves and living rooms is starting to slip — potentially risking the royalties it earns from accessory makers and, more significant, giving Apple customers more freedom to switch to rival products. That could be an issue for a company whose stock has been shaken in recent months as investors worry that the iPhone business is slowing."

From the NY Times: The Food-Truck Business Stinks
"Why lukewarm hot dogs still rule the streets of New York City."

From the Economist: Twilight of the gods
"Investment banking faces a leaner, humbler future, says Jonathan Rosenthal, though a select few banks will emerge from the financial crisis even larger and more powerful."

From the LA Times: The war for mobile messaging is on
"Start-up mobile messaging apps have surged, displacing traditional SMS texts. Silicon Valley titans such as Google and Facebook want in on the action"

From the Star Tribune: Minnesota firms go wild for oil equipment
"In this Land of 10,000 Lakes, manufacturers that have spent a decade buying water treatment firms are now aggressively adding oil to the mix. Companies ranging from Pentair and Ecolab to Graco and 3M are making big bets on the energy sector by acquiring specialty equipment makers or introducing new products that protect pipelines or thin, separate, store or decontaminate oil, gas and frac sand."

Work Now and in the Future

From Strategy + Business: Turning the Tables on Success
"In today’s workplace, what goes around comes around faster, sinking takers and propelling givers to the top."

From Monique Valcour: The Ripple Effects You Create as a Manager
"What you might not appreciate is that the socially-transmitted impact of your mindset extends well beyond those people with whom you interact directly in the workplace. It also touches those to whom they are connected — most notably their partners and family members, but also their larger networks and communities."

Women and the Workplace

From HBS Working Knowledge: A Company’s Evolving View of Gender Equity
"Looking at the evolution of gender in US society over nearly 20 years, a new study by Lakshmi Ramarajan, Kathleen L. McGinn, and Deborah Kolb traces how one prominent professional-service firm internalized the shifting concerns."

From the LA Times: Female tech entrepreneurs flourish in L.A.
"Not too long ago, such meet-ups among tech-savvy women — or men, for that matter — were a rarity in Los Angeles. Entrepreneurs who wanted to launch a start-up headed to Silicon Valley. Now, L.A.'s tech scene is exploding with new firms, a number of them founded by women. Unimpeded by the Bay Area's cliquish male programmer culture, they're using their expertise in retail, entertainment, advertising and media to build digital companies whose products and services are often aimed at other women."

Carnivals and Such

Leadership Development Carnival hosted by Karin Hurt

Carnival of HR hosted by Robert Tanner at Management Journey

If you enjoyed this post, you should check out my other curated posts. Here are the ones from last week.

5/7/13: By and About Leaders
Studying individual leaders is a great way to learn about leadership. Think of each article as a mini-case study in leadership. This week I'm pointing you to posts Fred Deluca, Jeffrey Weinstein, Wendy Lea, Candace and Charles Nelson, Robert Diamond, Shellye Archambeau, David Goldberg, and Steve Case.

5/8/13: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs
Every week I select five excellent posts from this week's independent business blogs. This week, I'm pointing you to posts on lessons learned the hard way, honoring yourself, thinking about the humans, making leadership more human, and how to take an interest in people.

5/10/13: Stories and Strategies from Real Life
Some of the best learning happens when you read stories real people and real companies. Read them for ideas, for lessons, and inspiration. This week's stories and strategies from real life are about Intel, HP, movie theaters, Donaldson Company, and Sony.

"Big Data," "The Wonder of 'I wonder'," and "What happened to Ron?" 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.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Wally Bock — 2013-05-12T17:08:41Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

Matthew Norman, writing in the Telegraph on May 10, noted that the Queen's Speech "was relegated to an afterthought on news bulletins by the retirement of a septuagenarian football manager." The manager was Sir Alex Ferguson.

This was no ordinary retirement, in part because this is no ordinary coach. The Manchester United web site tells the tale: "Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in British football history, winning almost 40 trophies – including 13 Premier League titles – during his time in charge of Manchester United."

Even that is not enough to explain all the attention. Matthew Norman says of Sir Alex that "Somehow, he has come to transcend his sport, and represent something larger and more profound even than football."

Indeed he has. Here are some articles to give you some insight into what all the fuss is about.

From the NY Times: A Coach Who Stands Above Them All
"Alex Ferguson, who produced 13 league championships at Manchester United, is a candidate for the title of greatest coach in history. The other names that emerge might be surprising."

From the London Business School: Leadership lessons from Sir Alex Ferguson
"What are the lessons of Sir Alex Ferguson’s 27-year tenure as manager of Manchester United? Pundits and former players have been falling over each other to praise Ferguson’s successes and his ability to bring out the best in his players. But I think there are some wider lessons for the business world that can be learnt from his lengthy reign, and from the way he has handled his departure."

From Slate: Alex Ferguson interview
"The Manchester United manager discusses his early start, the importance of continuity, and his need to be alone."

From the New Yorker: The Meaning of Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson
"When was the last time a picture of a soccer coach appeared on the front of the Financial Times and the New York Times on the same day? The answer is never, I would guess. But on Thursday morning, staring out from the front pages of the two newspapers I get delivered, there were the ruddy features of Sir Alex Ferguson, who, until his retirement on Wednesday, had been the manager of Manchester United, one of the most successful sports teams in the world. In a league where most managers last a year or two, Ferguson’s twenty-seven-year tenure was remarkable and unique. In modern American sports, there’s no real comparison, either. Bill Belichick’s thirteen-year run at the New England Patriots probably comes closest."

The articles above are all from the last few days, but learning lessons from Sir Alex isn't anything new. Here are two articles from prior years to add perspective.

From the Economist: 25 years of Alex Ferguson: The secrets of Sir Alex
"THE celebrations of Sir Alex Ferguson's 25 years as manager of Manchester United Football Club are well deserved. To thrive so successfully at the top for so long is surely unprecedented, not just in soccer but throughout the sporting world. His rise over the past quarter-century is not just the story of the revival of a great football team that had lost its way, but also an illustration of the transformation of the British economy during that time."

Harvard Business School Cases: Sir Alex Ferguson--Managing Manchester United
"For almost three decades, Sir Alex Ferguson has developed the Manchester United soccer club into one of the most recognized sports brands in the world. Professor Anita Elberse discusses the keys to Sir Alex's long-time success."

5/11/13: Wally's Posts on Leadership and Talent Development

Wally Bock — 2013-05-11T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

Here's a review of my posts on leadership and talent development this week. There were posts on big data, the wonder of "I wonder," talent development as pinball, and wondering about what happened to Ron. There were also pointers to other resources by and about leaders, on talent development, to top posts from the independent business blogs, and my Boss's Tips of the Day.

My posts at Three Star Leadership on Leadership and Becoming a Better Boss

5/5/13: Big Data
Big Data means big promises but also big danger. Here are some articles and posts to help you think about Big Data and what it means for you and for all of us.

5/5/13: Leadership Reading to Start Your Week
Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms, to start off your work week. They're about leadership and strategy, success and failure and important issues of the day. This week, I'm pointing you to articles about leadership, Tim Cook, innovation, product management, serendipity, professors as brands, eliminating long lines, and the workplace of the future. There's also a special piece on Charles Handy.

The Wonder of "I wonder"
Innovative companies and teams respect the power of curiosity.

What happened to Ron?
Once upon a time, everyone thought Ron was going to be a star.

My posts at Results vs. Activities on Talent Development

Talent Development as Pinball
I spent an awful lot of time standing in front of a pinball machine, feeding it nickels, flipping the flippers, watching the ball, and listening to the score ring up. Scores on most machines reached astronomical levels, but pinball wasn't about the score as much as getting to play again.

5/9/13: Top Talent Development Posts this Week
Every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you'll find pointers to pieces on redesigning your leadership development program, recruiting, why human-capital-smart manufacturers outperform their peers, and big data in hiring.

When you follow me on Twitter you'll receive a stream of pointers to interesting blog posts, articles, and resources throughout each business day.

Client Projects

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.

What can I do for you?

Information Products

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

5/10/13: Stories and Strategies from Real Life

Wally Bock — 2013-05-10T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

From the NY Times: New Chief at Intel Aims to Expand Chip Making
"Brian Krzanich takes over a company dominant in PC chips but lagging in making chips for hot products like smartphones and tablet devices."

From the Mercury News: Intel's CEO history: Only six leaders in 45 years
"Santa Clara semiconductor giant Intel named Brian Krzanich its new CEO on Thursday, making him just the sixth leader of the Silicon Valley company in its storied 45-year history."

From Mike Cassidy at the Mercury News: Will Hewlett-Packard survive its missteps?
"Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen was absolutely right last week when he talked about Hewlett-Packard's sacred place in Silicon Valley. Andreessen, a valley golden boy and an HP board member, knows the company's place as well as anyone. And he spoke of it on Bloomberg TV with a sentimentality that is rare in tech circles and especially rare in venture capital circles."

From the LA Times: Small-town movie theaters threatened by shift to digital cinema
"Built from a World War II Quonset hut and adorned with murals from local artists, the Rio has been screening films in this town of about 1,200 people since 1950. Located in the wine country north of San Francisco off the Bohemian Highway, a few miles away from the Bodega Bay filming location of Alfred Hitchcock's classic "The Birds," the Rio has survived fires, floods and multiple owners. But it may not survive the latest threat — the digitization of the film industry. By the end of this year, Hollywood's major studios will stop delivering film prints to movie theaters, replacing them with cheaper digital hard drives."

From the Star Tribune: Donaldson Co. distills new ideas for filters
"Donaldson Co. has challenged employees to boost sales by 2016. Finding new uses for its existing technology is the key to achieving that goal."

From the Wall Street Journal: Sony's Long Road to Recovery
"By returning Sony Corp. to the black for the fiscal year that recently ended, Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai cleared one obstacle in his pledge to turn around the electronics maker. But what the company does this year is more likely to determine whether Sony is firmly on the road to recovery."

Boss's Tip of the Day: Devil's Advocate

Wally Bock — 2013-05-10T13:28:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

Devil's Advocate

When the Roman Catholic Church considers a person for sainthood, they appoint a Promoter of the Faith, popularly called the Devil's Advocate, to argue against sainthood. When you're considering a major change you should appoint a Devil's Advocate to argue against it.

Your team members may develop counterarguments, too. But appointing a Devil's Advocate gives you three important benefits.

You have one person on the team whose job is to take the contrary position.

A Devil's Advocate breaks the shackles of groupthink and gives others permission to oppose an idea.

A Devil's Advocate is likely to come up with facts, examples, and arguments that should be considered.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

What happened to Ron?

Wally Bock — 2013-05-09T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

I often wonder what happened to Ron. There was a time when everyone, including Ron, thought he was going to be a star.

He was certainly a star in his company's Management Training program. He aced the exams. He was great at class participation. He was good at role play. He finished first in his class.

I was working with his company at the time, and on every visit I seemed to hear more good things about Ron. His results were great. Top management had noticed. He was destined for big things.

The first inkling that things might not be so grand happened, when I told his boss, John, that it must feel good having a star working for him. The look on John's face told me something was wrong.

"I don't know," he said, "let's go get some coffee. Maybe someone outside the company can help me sort this out."

Over coffee John laid out the situation as he saw it. Results were great. But two of Ron's direct reports had come to John complaining about the way Ron treated them.

John was a great boss. He talked to Ron about how he was working with people.

"He had all the right answers," John told me, "but I just can't shake the thought that he was just saying what I wanted to hear. I don't think he's going to change."

Ron didn't change. John went to his own boss about Ron's issues. John's boss told him not to worry. Ron was a top performer, so what if he "ruffled a few feathers?"

Ron got promoted and moved to another part of the company. His results were great, but his problems became more and more obvious. People asked to be transferred to other managers. Some left the company.

Ron's bosses and their bosses began to notice. They talked about what they should do.

Ron solved the issue for them by getting a job with another company. He didn't last long there. That company wasn't as tolerant of his methods, but he quickly got another job on the basis of his verifiable performance. That job didn't last long, either. He got another job that didn't work out. I lost track of him after that.

But I've always wondered how it turned out for Ron. Did he finally "get it?"

Boss's Bottom Line

Results matter. So does how you get those results and how you treat the people on your team.

Boss's Tip of the Day: What's the story?

Wally Bock — 2013-05-09T13:31:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit .

What's the story?

Power questions can help you and the team improve performance. "What's the story?" is the power question that will help you learn a lot about a situation.

Don't just ask what the problem is. Get the story of the problem, too.

Getting the story is a great way to deepen your understanding of a situation. That's because people naturally embed a lot of detail in the stories they tell. A story will also give you details of how a situation developed.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."

5/8/13: A Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs

Wally Bock — 2013-05-08T20:00:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

This week, I'm pointing you to posts on lessons learned the hard way, honoring yourself, thinking about the humans, making leadership more human, and how to take an interest in people.

From Art Petty: 10 Things I Learned the Hard Way About Leading
"Experience is clearly the best teacher when it comes to learning to lead. However, there are a few items that I wish someone would have pointed out before I tripped all over myself earlier in my career. Forewarned is forearmed! At Least 10 Things I Discovered the Hard Way About Leading:"

From Lolly Daskal: Honor Yourself
"Today I ask you to honor yourself. I know what you are probably thinking: that the best leaders are the ones who are of service to others. But in the work I do with CEOs and organizations, I have found that most masterful leaders, the ones who lead with heart, are the ones who begin with honoring themselves."

From Karin Hurt: 10,000 Human Beings
"Fred (not his real name) has a beautiful habit. Every time we discuss a strategy, policy, or project, he stops and asks about the “human beings.” His words are transformative. Fred doesn’t speak of “resources,” “headcount” “people” “employees” or even “team members.” He talks about humans."

From Terry "Starbucker" St. Marie: Why Leadership Needs To Be More Human
"Communication from the pedestal is made by words and sounds, both written and spoken. But words and sounds aren’t enough. They’re not human enough. In fact, they’re barely human.:

From Mary Jo Asmus: How to take an interest in people
"Patti Stanger is the Millionaire Matchmaker in a reality show who finds love matches for millionaires. She has some important rules and guidelines for them as they meet and date their potential matches. My favorite is her continual admonition at the mixer parties she holds for the millionaires to “stop talking about yourself”. The most successful matches come for those millionaires who are willing to take an interest in the people in the room."

Carnivals and Such

Leadership Development Carnival hosted by Karin Hurt

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" points you to choice articles from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. The last issue had pointers to articles about leadership, Tim Cook, innovation, product management, serendipity, professors as brands, eliminating long lines, and the workplace of the future. There's also a special piece on Charles Handy.

How I Select Posts for this Midweek 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.

Boss's Tip of the Day: What should I stop doing?

Wally Bock — 2013-05-08T13:26:00Z

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Working Supervisor's Support Kit A collection of tools and information that will help you do a better job as a boss.

Contact Wally about coaching, consulting, or speaking to your group.

If you're a boss, you know that every day is a challenge to do better. This tip is based on the same research I used to develop my programs and the Working Supervisor's Support Kit

What should I stop doing?

Power questions can help you and the team improve performance. "What should I stop doing?" is a power question that can keep you humble. Ask "What should I stop doing?" when you're having a regular one-on-one progress review meeting.

The fact is that most bosses meddle more than we need to. The fact also is that you probably won't get an honest answer to this question the first few times you ask it. Ultimately, though, someone will muster up the courage to answer honestly.

Thank them. Tell them you need to think about what they said. Then do that thinking. The odds are that you'll want to stop what you're doing. So, go back to your team member. Tell him or her that you're going to work on it and you want their help keeping score.

This is not easy to do, but it will make you a better boss and help your team be more productive.

If you have a copy of the Working Supervisor's Support Kit , you'll find more on this in the chapter titled "Some Basic Principles."