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 by Tanveer Naseer, Jesse Lyn Stoner, Art Petty, Jennifer Kahnweiler, and Mary Jo Asmus.

From Tanveer Naseer: A Prescription For Empowering Employees To Succeed And Grow

“When I was 18 years old, my uncle got me a job working in the warehouse of a pharmaceutical dispensary near his house in the Toronto suburbs. I was excited and nervous about taking on the job; excited because the pay was really good, but nervous because it meant giving up spending any time with my friends back in Montreal.

My boss, Mr. Hainsworth – the owner of this and another pharmaceutical dispensary in Southern Ontario – was what many people would call a straight shooter; you always knew where you stood with him so if he had a problem with something you did, he’d be sure to let you know.”

From Jesse Lyn Stoner: Why Smart People Make Dumb Decisions

“Here are 8 reasons smart people make dumb decisions. As you think about a time you ignored the signals, was it for any of these reasons?”

From Art Petty: Why We All Need to Get Good at “Next”

“Seeking next is the new state of normal for most of us in our careers and almost all of us in our businesses.”

From Jennifer Kahnweiler: Reclaiming Random Conversations

“The art of random, spontaneous conversation has been replaced by that phone in our pockets. We wait on line at the grocery store and out it comes. We sit on the airport runway, heads down, engaging with our screen rather than with each other.”

From Mary Jo Asmus: From change management to change leadership

“Lately, your habitual ways of leading aren’t landing well. For some reason, your team isn’t exhibiting the level of enthusiasm you’ve seen from them in the past. This is the time to consider a shift in how you lead.”

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 about strategy, innovation, women and the workplace, and work now and in the future. Highlights from the last issue include the double game of digital management: managing in times of big data and analytics, how mobile games rake in billions, forecasting the success of innovations, why women feel more stress at work, and how you can ride the wave of change.

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 a better job and live a better life. At the The 360 Degree Feedback blog, I join other bloggers with posts on leadership development. And, at Wally Bock’s Writing Edge, I share tools and insights to help you write better.

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