Good to Great (3) Superior Results

Deliver superior performance vis-a-vis purpose, mission or target

Make a clear difference for people in the community

Build endurance and ensure success for the long haul

Reference: Jim Collins.

Good to Great (2) People First

Make sure you have the right people on the bus

Make sure the wrong people are off the bus

Make sure people are on the right seats in the bus

Reference: Jim Collins.

Good to Great (1) Fierce Leadership

Great leaders are ambitious for the cause, organization and work, not for themselves

Great leaders have fierce resolve to realize these ambitions

Great leaders balance personal humility and professional determination

Reference: Jim Collins.

Leadership Breakthrough (3) Anne Sweeney

Anne Sweeney, President of Disney-ABC Television Group, may not be able to explain it entirely.  But while her team apparently used the best of their analytic and planning skills, she drew on a moment of insight, maybe from her gut, that they all had to go faster.  Her approach, as she describes it, was understated but pivotal:  She put it on the table for her team to mull over and come back to.  She didn't impose it, she didn't demand it, and she didn't cheer-lead around it.  The team came back, and must have drawn up the road map for getting it done on an accelerated time frame, and ended up having an exciting year in the process.

Leadership Breakthrough (2) Anne-Marie Slaughter

What Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of the New America Foundation, relates is a perfect counter-argument to our social media preoccupation with Likes, pluses, and endorsements.  Sometimes to do the right thing means subjecting oneself to criticism, opposition or dismissal.  But one must hold steadfast and go forward, as she did.

Leadership Breakthrough (1) Annie Young-Scrivner

Annie Young-Scrivner, President of Starbucks Canada and also Executive Vice President at the company, points to a number of key things about leadership teams, which are easier said than done.  For one, it isn't just a matter of her team agreeing with what they have to do, but they also have to buy into it heart and soul.  Moreover, she appreciates the fact that at the same time they must different from her, leverage their skill sets and personality styles, and work collaboratively and forthrightly toward a tough target (e.g., drastically altering a growth trajectory).

Lewis Howes Relates Oscar Wilde

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David Karp on Essence of Tumblr Advertising

Tumblr Founder and CEO David Karp discusses his company's business model and mobile strategy. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Market Makers."

I am skeptical about the Yahoo! acquisition of Tumblr, and its efforts to monetize its platform.  But while he was cagey a bit, David Karp relates the essence of its business model vis-a-vis advertising: more like TV and print.  Not hyper-targeting, not Big Data and analytics driven.  But via brands that aim to impact us more evocatively, more sustainably.

Self Reflect Well Before You Start Your Week

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The title is catchy and pertinent enough for many of us - 15 Things Successful People Do on Monday Mornings.  So we run through it, in however way we run through articles like this.  It's meant to be run through, that is, quickly, as the points are in bold and their discussion a model of brevity.  

But its flaw is apparent from the get-go.  If your pattern, or inclination, is to get up at a certain time, and to work out at a certain time, and neither is early in the morning, then you are not likely to wake up earlier for exercise.  

The flaw is that an article like this neglects to ask how your Monday mornings go to begin with; what if any problems or aims you weigh at the beginning of the week; and what works best for your purpose, personality or circumstance.  Moreover, in the Middle East, the work week begins on Sunday, so it misses possible cultural and regional factors.

Beginning with these questions via a self-reflection, for instance, perhaps over the weekend, helps to ensure that you can have the best possible start to your week and in the long run carve out the best possible success vis-a-vis your purpose.

The Need for Speed, the Need for Context

Retail is built on customer service, but even top retailers sometimes have to pick their battles. Here's how these top 10 retailers perform in answering phones, resolving email inquiries, delivering packages and processing refunds.

I reminded others, when I posted this, that customers may value speed above all, but brand, convenience and cost are no doubt part of the purchasing choices.

I detest simplistic points of view on matters that defy simplicity.  I don't begrudge creators or editors for producing simplistic content, because that may be all that we as viewers or consumers can handle intellectually.

That said, this trailer for the new flick `Need for Speed dominated ESPN advertising for several weeks, it seemed.  So perhaps Forbes had an ulterior motive of letting a piece of content, that is, the above video, resonate with a popular film and thereby maximize its own viewership.