Weekends are time when things slow down a little. Your weekend shouldn’t be two more regular work days. That’s a sure road to burnout. Take time to refresh yourself. Take time for something different. Take time for some of that reading you can’t find time for during the week.

Here are choice articles on hot leadership topics culled from the business schools, the business press and major consulting firms. This week there are articles about strategy.

From CBInsights: 21 Lessons From Jeff Bezos’ Annual Letters To Shareholders

“Since founding Amazon in 1994, Jeff Bezos has run his company according to an unconventional set of core principles: don’t worry about competitors, don’t worry about making money for shareholders, and don’t worry about the short-term. Focus on the customers, and everything else will fall into place.

Bezos broke all the rules when he built Amazon. In doing so, he carved out a unique way of looking at the world, at companies, and at tech in general. And nowhere is Bezos’ philosophy of business, technology, and leadership better articulated than in his annual shareholder letters, which he has written every year since the company’s IPO in 1997.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Roger L. Martin: The Big Lies of Strategy – Rotman School of Management

“You don’t need a 100-page strategic plan. Strategy is actually about making five specific choices.”

Thanks to Art Petty for pointing me to this article.

From Adrien Bron, Lars Dingemann, Josef Ming and Nicolas Bloch: What Gets in the Way of Great Strategy?

“* Bain research shows that most companies struggle to sustain profits over 10 years.

* We’ve identified seven common ways companies tend to undermine their own success.

* Turning mediocre strategy into great strategy is about focusing scarce resources on where a company can and should win”

From the London School of Economics: Smart and simple strategy decisions to minimise regret

“Why we should not try to pick the best option, but instead use simple rules to eliminate the worst choices – by Verena Stingl, Joana Geraldi and Josef Oehmen”

From David Lewis: Executing strategy: it’s okay to disagree

“What do diverse thinking and psychological safety have to do with strategy execution?”

Book Suggestions

Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World by Donald Sull and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt

Being Strategic: Plan for Success; Out-think Your Competitors; Stay Ahead of Change</em> by Erika Andersen

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt

Every week I share some recommendations of business books that I think are worth a look. Follow this link to the most recent list.

Every Monday, I do a blog post about business reading and business books. Follow this link to the most recent post.