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. I’m pointing you to articles about leadership, strategy, industries, innovation, women and work, and work and learning now an, d in the future. Highlights include five reasons why leaders fail, not-so-big oil, how blockchains could change the world, your gender matters at work — and that’s a good thing, and managing tomorrow’s workforce today.

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 Christine Barton, Martin Reeves, Frederik Lang, and Rachel Bergman: The Introverted Corporation

“Customer centricity is an imperative in a rapidly changing competitive environment, but many companies focus inward.”

From Nigel Nicholson: Five reasons why leaders fail

“Is the lesson from history that leaders succeed until they fail? You might think fixed-terms presidencies or other forced retirement options help to avoid eventual inevitable failure, allowing leaders such as Nelson Mandela to quit while they’re ahead. His laudable example is an exception; we often face leadership disappointment, even in the most promising people.”

From Manfred Kets De Vries: Evolving leadership in the digital age

“To have executives change character will always be an uphill struggle but they can learn to improve their behavioural reactions to difficult situations and develop greater emotional intelligence that will turn them into more effective leaders.”

Industries and Analysis

From Greg Trotter: Dietitian on aisle four: Grocery stores are calling in health experts

“Increasingly, grocery stores are investing in health and wellness professionals, including registered dietitians, to help customers navigate the myriad decisions on each shopping trip, industry experts say.”

From Craig Guillot: Manufacturing Jobs Are Returning to the U.S.

“The Reshoring Initiative estimates that over the past five years, more than 100,000 factory jobs have returned from overseas. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of manufacturing jobs that have been lost over the years, but experts say the tide is starting to turn.”

From the Economist: Not-so-Big Oil

“The supermajors are being forced to rethink their business model.”

Innovation and Technology

From Dan Tapscott: How blockchains could change the world

“Ignore Bitcoin’s challenges. In this interview, Don Tapscott explains why blockchains, the technology underpinning the cryptocurrency, have the potential to revolutionize the world economy.”

From John Plansky, Tim O’Donnell, and Kimberly Richards: A Strategist’s Guide to Blockchain

“The distributed ledger technology that started with bitcoin is rapidly becoming a crowdsourced system for all types of verification. Could it replace notary publics, manual vote recounts, and the way banks manage transactions?”

From Jeff John Roberts: Here’s What a U.S. Treasury Secretary Thinks of Bitcoin

“Larry Summers knows a thing or two about money. He ran the Treasury Department under President Clinton, and his signature is on the $20 bill. When he has a gripe about the price of something, it’s worth paying attention.”

Women and the Workplace

From DeAnne Aguirre, Per-Ola Karlsson, and Gary L. Neilson: 2015: Not the Year of the Woman CEO

“Last year, less than 3 percent of the CEOs hired by the world’s largest companies were female, the lowest share since 2011.”

From Bourree Lam: Bloomberg’s New Gender-Equality Index

“For investors who prioritize gender equality, new market data tools are emerging to help them assess a company’s efforts on this front. This week, Bloomberg launched an index that scores financial-service companies on how well they treat women and whether they are promoting gender equality. (At the moment, the index is only available via Bloomberg’s proprietary terminals.) The index, called the Bloomberg Financial Services Gender-Equality Index (BFGEI), rates companies not only based on programs like parental leave and flexible work arrangements—which together make up 70 percent of the score—but also whether a company has product offerings geared toward women and community engagement.”

From Georgene Huang: Your Gender Matters At Work — And That’s A Good Thing

“How much does gender matter in the workplace? For the over 50% of women who believe they do not receive equal opportunities to men in the workplace — it would seem to matter a great deal.”

Work and Learning Now and in the Future

From Carlo Ratti and Matthew Claudel: If Work Is Digital, Why Do We Still Go to the Office?

“What early digital commentators missed is that even if we can work from anywhere, that does not mean we want to. We strive for places that allow us to share knowledge, to generate ideas, and to pool talents and perspectives. Human aggregation, friction, and the interaction of our minds are vital aspects of work, especially in the creative industries. And that is why the quality of the physical workplace is becoming more crucial than ever — bringing along watershed changes.”

From Clare Allerton: Great Place to Work 2016 rankings reveal that a sense of purpose is key

“Great Place to Work 2016 rankings reveal that a sense of purpose is key.”

From Talent Management Magazine: Managing Tomorrow’s Workforce Today

“The company of 2025 will look very little like the company of 2000. Are you ready?”

More Leadership Posts from Wally Bock

Don’t worry about being humble, just do it

Humility is a virtue. You acquire it be acting humble. Here’s how to start.

Book Review: The Ten Commandments of Business Failure

My review of The Ten Commandments of Business Failure by Don Keough.

By and About Leaders: 5/3/16

Pointers to pieces by and about Mary Barra, Elon Musk, Janet Napolitano, Wendi Whitmore, and Manny Lopez.

From the Independent Business Blogs: 5/2/16

Pointers to posts by Lolly Daskal, Dan Rockwell, Mary Jo Asmus, Julie Winkle Giulioni, and Aad Boot.

Stories and Strategies from Real Life: 5/6/16

Pointers to stories about Danaher, Solavore, Apple, Nestle, and Harley Davidson.

Writing well gives you the edge in business and in life. 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.