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 and in the future. Highlights include whether you can learn to be a CEO, advertising and technology, how Minecraft became an innovation powerhouse, why most leadership development programs for women fail, and “hot desking” trend grows.

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 Joel Trammell: 7 CEOs Weigh In: What Surprised You Most About The CEO Role?

“These CEOs all lead tech companies, but their lessons apply to chief executives of all types of organizations. Their CEO experience ranges from less than one year to 22 years. Several are still in their first CEO role. You’ll see multiple themes and issues common to all CEOs emerge from their answers, such as:”

From Stanislav Shekshnia, Kirill Kravchenko, and Nadezda Kokotovic: Can You Learn to Be a CEO?

“Is it time for a CEO school to train leaders for the top job or is it even a profession one can be schooled in?”

From Dina Gerdeman: Become a Value Creator

“Managers who adopt a mindset to create value hold the key to becoming truly successful leaders, says Brian Hall.”

Industries and Analysis

From Anne D’Innocenzio: Jeans industry is feeling the blues

“Jeans long have been a go-to staple in closets across the country. After all, not many pieces of clothing are so comfortable they can be worn daily, yet versatile enough to be dressed up or down. But sales of the popular blues fell 6% during the past year after decades of almost steady growth. Why? People more often are sporting yoga pants and leggings instead of traditional denim.”

From Stephanie Strom: Cereals Begin to Lose Their Snap, Crackle and Pop

“The cereal business has been in steady decline for a decade as consumers opt for healthier options or food easier to eat on the run in the morning.”

From the Economist: Everything people do online is avidly followed by advertisers and third-party trackers

“The internet has made it much easier to gather data about users because they leave traces wherever they go. Facebook and Twitter accumulate heaps of information, including ages, friends and interests, about people who sign up for accounts and spend time on their sites. Some of it is collected without users being aware of it.”

Wally’s Comment: This article is part of an Economist Special Report on advertising and technology.

Innovations and Technology

From Mick Simonelli: Culture Eats Innovation for Lunch

“An organization’s culture must support the seeds of innovation if the innovation is to bear fruit.”

From Ilan Mochari: How Minecraft Became an Innovation Powerhouse

“How did the company behind Minecraft grow into a potential $2-billion acquisition for Microsoft? By mastering a crucial page in the innovation playbook.”

From Shane Snow: The Innovator’s Question: What Would Fosbury Do?

“Fosbury’s breakthrough took his sport to a new level. He did it not by working harder or developing bigger muscles than his competitors, but by recognizing that a convention of his sport was not a rule.”

Women and the Workplace

From Joelle K. Jay: Why Most Leadership Development Programs For Women Fail And How To Change That

“Behind the veneer of enthusiasm, the numbers of women in the top leadership positions at most companies remain largely the same. In America’s top companies, only 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEO positions and 16.9% of corporate board positions are currently held by women–numbers that have barely moved in a decade.”

From Arselia Gales: More women launching businesses, including in male-dominated fields

“Nationally, women are launching 1,200 businesses a day, up from an average of 740 a day in 2013, according to the fourth annual OPEN State of Women-Owned Business report, released this year.”

From Candida Brush: The Power of Investing in Women Entrepreneurs

“The data is in! Investing in women entrepreneurs results in new jobs, revenues and contributions to communities, according to our report, Investing in the Power of Women: a Progress Report on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program.”

Work and Learning Now and in the Future

From Julie Winkle Giulioni: Looking for Lasting Commitment… Beyond Engagement

“Maybe it’s time to re-think our expectations… to reframe the issue… to take the next logical step. What’s beyond engagement? Well, in life outside of work, it’s typically marriage.”

From Brian Kennell: Change: A CEO’s Job In The 21st Century

“A quick scan of recent top business lingo lists–an attention-grabbing feature frequently posted at sites such as the Harvard Business Review and Forbes–shows that none included some of the most relevant words of the moment: speed, uncertainty and change. Unlike many buzzwords in vogue today (think transparency, actionable, authentic and synergy), these are direct and comprehensible. More significantly, they capture the realities of doing business right now, for the marketplace is changing with breakneck speed and becoming exponentially more complex, diverse and unpredictable than ever before.”

From Garry Marr: “Hot desking” trend grows: No offices or assigned seating at new Deloitte headquarters

“It’s the office building without any offices. When professional services firm Deloitte unveils its new massive Toronto headquarters in late 2015, not only will it have no offices, there will not be any permanently assigned desks.”

More Leadership Posts from Wally Bock

Dan Nigro and a Lesson from 9/11

9/11 gave us many heroes. Some labored out of the limelight. This is the story of one of them.

By and About Leaders: 9/9/14

Pointers to pieces by and about Yves Carcelle, Michael Bloomberg, Ken Ungar, Jack Ma, and S. Truett Cathy.

From the Independent Business Blogs: 9/10/14

Pointers to posts by Chris Edmonds, Les Hayman, Steve Roesler, Mary Jo Asmus, and Ed Batista.

Stories and Strategies from Real Life: 9/12/14

Pointers to stories about Louis Vuitton, Lego, PPG Industries, Hard Rock Cafe, and Lynchburg General Hospital.

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.