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 food and the future.

From Shana Lynch: The Future of Food

“Today’s technology is rushing into one of the last traditional industries: agriculture.”

From David Merrefield: Big Three Set the Table for the Future of Food

“As food retailing’s big three go, so goes all of food retailing. That’s not as extravagant a claim as it might seem. Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons together sell the vast majority of all food and related consumables in the nation. And all three are all on the move in response to competitive pressures, and are leading their competitors in many ways. The smaller brands will play catch-up if they can, or risk withering away.”

From Eddie Yoon: The Grocery Industry Confronts a New Problem: Only 10% of Americans Love Cooking

“The supermarket and grocery business is likely to suffer strong headwinds in the future, due to long-term shifts in consumer behavior. Although many people don’t realize it yet, grocery shopping and cooking are in a long-term decline. They are shifting from a mass category, based on a daily activity, to a niche activity that a few people do only some of the time.”

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 Christopher Doering: As robots invade the grocery aisle, a promising but uncertain future awaits

“Automating everything from stock checks to floor scrubbing could save retailers money, but even cute googly-eyed robots have their detractors.”

Thanks to Smartbrief on Leadership for pointing me to this story

From Stuart Farrimond: The future of food: what we’ll eat in 2028

“We’ve all heard that the future menu may involve less meat and dairy. But don’t worry, we could have customised diets, outlandish vegetables, robot chefs and guilt-free gorging to look forward to instead. And we reckon that makes up for missing out on the odd sausage.”

Book Suggestions

Superconsumers: A Simple, Speedy, and Sustainable Path to Superior Growth by Eddie Yoon

The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food by Dan Barber

The Science of Cooking: Every Question Answered to Perfect Your Cooking by Dr. Stuart Farrimond

Charleston Receipts

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.