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 Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie, Tanmay Vora, Susan Mazza, Kate Nasser, and Bob Burg.

From Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie: My Great Leadership Discovery: The Utter Simplicity At The Heart Of Any Business

“In 2007, while SVP of Operations for Bresnan Communications, a cable TV company with 300,000 customers in 4 Rocky Mountain states, I was searching for a solution to a problem that had been eluding me for many years – a simple way to connect the 1,100 employees I was responsible for around a higher cause that went beyond profit.”

From Tanmay Vora: Insights on Becoming an Effective Learner

“We learn the most from that which challenges us the most. I remember having learned server side scripting many years back completely on my own. I had no special resources, no advanced tools and no external guidance – just a lot of willingness to pick up the skill. It wasn’t easy and that made it all the more interesting.”

From Susan Mazza: 2 Things Success Stories have in Common

“Behind every success story are a few, if not many, stories of failure along the way. Just this week I listened to Nancy Whelan Eichler, VP of Global Digital at Brownie Brittle, LLC share her personal story as well as the ups and downs of the Brownie Brittle brand launch. Among many things she shared, one that struck me about the ultimate success story of the Brownie Brittle brand is just how hard it is to be a small player in a huge marketplace. Yet the reality is we ALL start out as small players in some respect.”

From Kate Nasser: New Leaders: Essential People Skills to Use on Day One

“I’ve written before about the people skills and traits that give rise to your career. Now I turn my attention to the people skills that new leaders and managers must use on day one or learn quickly!”

From Bob Burg: Advice for Future Leaders?

“Recently, for a magazine article on leadership, I was asked for my top three pieces of advice to future leaders:”

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 evolving leadership in the Digital Age, how the mall is evolving, design thinking meets lean startup for the enterprise, the time-consuming activities that stall women’s careers, and work-life balance is easier when your manager knows how to assess performance.

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.