Why blog?

Rick Klau says it's for "business relationships I'm building as a direct result of the contributions I make to the blog and the content I read from other blogs." "Put your business where your blog is."

Malcolm Gladwell on the talent myth. Q&A.

Obvious measures are rarely the ones that matter. True in sports. True in business.

Here's a test:

You have just been promoted to head of an important department in your organization. The previous head has been transferred to an equivalent position in a less important department. Your understanding of the reason for the move is that the performance of the department as a whole has been mediocre. There have not been any glaring deficiencies, just a perception of the department as so-so rather than very good. Your charge is to shape up the department. Results are expected quickly. Rate the quality of the following strategies for succeeding at your new position.

• Always delegate to the most junior person who can be trusted with the task.
• Give your superiors frequent progress reports.
• Announce a major reorganization of the department that includes getting rid of whomever you believe to be "dead wood."
• Concentrate more on your people than on the tasks to be done.
• Make people feel completely responsible for their work.

The answers given by good managers and bad ones aren't predicted by resume material and training.

Gladwell:

The broader failing of McKinsey and its acolytes at Enron is their assumption that an organization's intelligence is simply a function of the intelligence of its employees. They believe in stars, because they don't believe in systems.

Collective intelligence, social capital, and shared knowledge beat star power for endurance and tollerance of change.

Folks in this thread beat up Dave Winer and supported him.

I always thought "curmudgeon" was part of Dave's charm, personality, and brand.

A Ryze colleague asked me "How are blogs qualified?" In other words, how do you tell good sources from bad?

This thread is the answer. Talmudic debate, sometimes on one page, sometimes spread across blogs, we engage in collective media criticism. All points exposed, explored; feelings vented and boils lanced. More than sixty posts in a vigorous debate spanning five days so far.

And on the record. Can you imagine journalists wading through posts like these?

What is the tone of this conversation? Maybe a packet of physicists arguing over beer; blending ad hominem, sophistry, and deep insight; all enjoying the experience, the flow, the style and substance, respecting the openness of the place, the medium we call home.

Conference registration. Agenda. Tracks:

• For Corporate Recruiters: Best Practices for Effective Talent Management
• For 3rd Party Professionals: Redefine Your Purpose as a New Era Emerges
• For HR Executives: New Responsibilities, New Opportunities

New York, NY - August 28-29, 2002.
Schedule. Seminars. Sponsors.