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 Nina Simosko, Karin Hurt, Art Petty, Kate Nasser, and Chris Edmonds.

From Nina Simosko: Accelerating the Speed of Innovation

“But there are three things we can be certain of in life – death, taxes and change – and change has swept through the business world with an unrelenting fury. The sturdy, dependable, scalable systems that ERP implanted into our organizational DNA have given us a platform to connect – but rarely does that platform allow us to innovate. And with leaders facing an increasing need to innovate, we are finding that what worked in the 1990s and 2000s no longer works for the world we now find ourselves in.”

From Karin Hurt: How Do I Get My Peers to Trust Me?

“Honestly, I wish I learned this sooner. Having a tight network of trusted peers is as vital (and often trumps) your relationship with your boss and your direct reports. Trust matters even more with your peers because it’s TECHNICALLY optional and therefore more meaningful and sticky. There’s no ‘official’ accountability levers. It’s easy to put them last on your trust-building priority list.”

From Art Petty: When It Comes to Toxic Employees, Don’t Hesitate

“A few of the most contentious (and job threatening) moments in my career have come when I’ve gone to the mat on dealing with toxic employees.”

From Kate Nasser: 6 Reasons Leaders Are Harsh vs. Strong

“New leaders often act tough and harsh. Many outgrow the extremes through experience. Others don’t.”

From Chris Edmonds: Is Your Company a ‘Best Place to Work’?

“24/7 Wall Street just released their 2015 ‘America’s Best Companies to Work For’ list. They studied current and former employees’ company ratings and testimonials on Glassdoor.com to establish the top 54 best places to work.”

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 why humble narcissists make great leaders, why stores are the new black, Robert Tucker’s list of the ten most innovative companies, Jena McGregor on a gender-equality club, run by men, and five things you need to know about the future of work.

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.

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