Weekend Digest: ‘General’ Observations

“THEY BELIEVE THE RULES DON'T APPLY TO THEM”
It's happened to CEO's, politicians, and now it's happened to General Petraeus.  According to Harvard Business Review the root of their misbehavior stems from being “narcissistic leaders”.

Narcissistic leaders, as research by Stanford colleague Charles O'Reilly and colleagues notes, are characterized by the traits of dominance, self-confidence, a sense of entitlement, grandiosity, and low empathy.

And Harvard Business Review believes narcissism has risen over time, and “a possible answer for why leaders today are getting into more trouble than in the past.”

Maybe that is because of more public scrutiny and the operation of social media. But maybe something else is going on — namely we are choosing more narcissistic leaders and the misbehavior is not just the consequence of power but also of excessive narcissism.

Go inside the Review story to see why narcissistic personalities “contain the seeds of their own self-destruction”?

Click here to find out.

IS SOCIAL MEDIA MAKING YOU A SMARTER LEADER?
Harvard Business Review thinks so and despite criticism of how social media can be distracting to productivity, the Review writer disagrees.

“I believe it's actually prompting us to become better people and smarter leaders. Here are three often-overlooked results I've seen in my own life, and in professionals I admire.”

You can find out what those three results are by clicking here.
 
BLACK FRIDAY WALKOUT ON SCHEDULE
It's official according to CNN Money.  A group of disgruntled Wal-Mart employees upset about working Thanksgiving night plan to walkout.

The walkout builds on an October strike that started at a Wal-Mart in Los Angeles and spread to stores in 12 other cities. More than 100 workers joined in the October actions.

CNN Money says 1,000 stores across the country may be affected.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the number of workers who are raising concerns is very small and don't represent the views of the vast majority of its workforce of 1.3 million.

Do experts agree with that company analysis and how are these Wal-Mart employees organizing?

CNN Money has the full story.

21 CENTS WORTH
Imagine you are a musician and you open up your mail to find a royalty check for 21 cents. As ludicrous as that seems, it is not unusual says Damon Krukowski, “once of the band Galaxie 500 and now half of a duo called Damon & Naomi.”

Krukowski took on the complicated and apparently pitiful fee structure in a recent post for Pitchfork.

“Galaxie 500's 'Tugboat' was played 7,800 times on Pandora in the first quarter of 2012, for which its three songwriters were paid a collective total of 21 cents, or seven cents each.”

Why is this happening to artists and who then is actually raking in money within the music industry?

Picking up on Krukowski's Pitchfork story, Marketplace Business offers its insight into this ugly state-of affairs for songwriters and explains how the Internet has turned what was once a simple royalty system into an accounting nightmare.

BLOG FOR CASH (LOTS OF IT)
“I'm sure your're familiar with the names Mashable, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, LifeHacker, and the like.  These are just a few of today's biggest blogs. Most people have probably heard, or at least can guess that most of the big names in blogging started in 10×10 dorm rooms, small bedrooms, or a corner in the attic at the family home.”

That's according to ProBlogger, but how did those bloggers manage to get wealthy off their hobbies?

Here's what one blogger did:  He combined creativity, beauty, and a great idea.

But surprisingly as ProBlogger points out, although content is “super-important” it's not always the key to success.  Then what is?

Click here to find out more about success stories of bloggers and the secrets to their six-figure incomes.