Kent Blumberg

Of CEOs, Gen Y, Christine Kane, late bosses, Brand America and servant leadership

Links that intrigued me this week...

Marc Jampole writes in the Pittsburgh Business Times about what a company must do "When a CEO goes down."

Two tidbits about Gen Y.  Elizabeth Sanders writes in the Business Journal of Milwaukee about how Deloitte & Touche is appealing to the Gen Y need to make a difference to the world. And the Life of Learning blog (I can't find an author's name on the site yet - if you know who writes it, please let me know) presents data on Gen Y and some thoughts on how companies can attract and retain them.

Is your business prepared for disaster?

Here on the Gulf Coast of the US we are getting ready for the six month hurricane season, which kicks off on 1 June.  AT&T just released a study of the disaster preparedness of ten US cities, ranking New York at the top, followed by Houston.  According to an article in the Houston Business Journal, 78 percent of Houston's businesses are ready for a disaster.  Nationally, thirty percent of the surveyed businesses have no plan for disaster recovery.  Does yours?

What do you do when an employee wants more light at work?

This question arises from a post on Life of Learning, which linked to an article about a woman suing her employer for failing to accommodate her Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD).

Before you read the article, take a stab at this situation:

How Consumers Union built customer trust after making a huge mistake

When your organization makes a mistake, what do you do?  One of my hero organizations, Consumers Union (CU), made a huge mistake in January.  But the way they responded to their mistake has deepened my loyalty to them, rather than the other way around.

Cow-boys (boy cows)

One of my favorite shots from our six years in New Zealand.  Two young male cows on a farm in the upper North Island.  Shot with a Hasselblad medium format camera on Fuji's Velvia film.  No other technical data retained.

[Is "male cows" an oxymoron?  Are cows always female?  According to my Websters, yes they always are.  So my title is wrong.  Tough - that's what I've always called this snap!]

"The Demon Under the Microscope" - innovation lessons you can use

The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug, by Thomas Hager is the story of the discovery of sulfa drugs.  I listened to the unabridged CD version on this week's drive to Houston, TX and back, and picked up a few lessons on innovation that might be useful in your work.

Feedback, authenticity, Toronto, communicating with the boss, Executive Coaching

Here are some recent links I thought you might be interested in.

First, something fun:  http://howmanyofme.com/search/ will tell you how many people in the USA have your name.  According to the website, there is one of me, 50 thousand John Smiths and zero Phil Gerbyshaks.  I've met a real Phil Gerbyshak, so the site obviously isn't perfect (the site claims 81 percent of us will find ourselves on the site).  But it is fun.

"The Dip" by Seth Godin

Seth Godin's new book is The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick).  I listened to a condensed, 60 minute CD version and loved it.

Seth's main message is that you need to know when to quit.  It doesn't always pay to persevere, and sometimes,

"Quitting frees you up to excel at something else."

What do you do when the new job isn't what you expected?

It's the third Monday in your new job.  You current employer, Acme Training, hired you to open up a new office in Albuquerque - your home town.  Your job is to get the branch profitable by the end of the year.

New publication schedule

Beginning this week, I am adding to my publication schedule.  I have been posting a new article every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and a picture on Saturdays.  My new schedule will be:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday -  New articles, just as in the past.

Saturday - A snapshot, as in the past.

Tuesday - A tough question for which I don't have the answer.  This will be modeled on Liz Strauss' "Bloggy Life Questions" and are meant to stimulate discussion. 

Thursday - A roundup of five to ten interesting articles/blogs I have seen in the last week - hopefully stuff you haven't seen already.

Sunday (occasionally) - This is where I will respond to the various "memes" that float around - requests to list my five favorite authors, for example.

So, let's see how it goes.  Your visits and page views will tell me if these additions are great or just so-so.  And your comments are ALWAYS WELCOME.

Enjoy!