I have some great links to add to those I gave you last Saturday.

Another article from McKinsey shines a spotlight on managers’ need to “master the disciplines of uncertainty,” because it isn’t going away any time soon.

The market may have torpedoed you and me, but it’s done far less damage to the corner office. “Compensation for top executives at many of the nation’s largest publicly traded firms was essentially unchanged last year, even as the stock market plummeted.” Why are we not surprised?

What has changed? An article in the WSJ Online tells us that COO positions are going the way of the dodo bird because CEOs want to be closer to the action and more involved in day-to-day operations. But Jay Galbraith says, “One unspoken reason COOs’ numbers may be falling may be simple fear. As the pressure on CEOs heats up, at least a few simply don’t want such an obvious successor in place.” Again, why are we not surprised?

Economics is one of the few business area that make my eyes glaze over; not from boredom, but from an inability to understand it—believe me I’ve tried. Last week I said that How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? is a must read to understanding what happened to the global economy. For those who wish to dig deeper, two new books on the oft-maligned John Maynard Keynes were reviewed in Business Week (they do understand economics:). “John Maynard Keynes ought to be named Man of the Year. Governments around the world have successfully, if messily, resurrected many of his insights from the 1930s to thwart economic collapse. Foremost is his idea that easy money and government spending can rescue an economy in free fall—with credit frozen, businesses panicked, and consumers paralyzed.” I’m sure this won’t be popular with the free market crowd.

Enjoy!

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Grab a cup of coffee (or a beer it the sun is over the yardarm) because I have 4 superb items for you today.

First up is McKinsey’s Economic Survey one year after the official meltdown. You may have to register (it’s free), but it’s worth it.

Next is a must read article from Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist and professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University in which he explains, as Bruce Nussbaum says, “how economists, especially the math-based, market-manic Chicago-school economists, have hurt the US and much of the rest of the world.” The title is How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? and it’s a must read.

Third is an interview with Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs. Blankfein talks abut management and how Goldman survived the financial crisis—this is not your typical imperial Wall Street CEO. You have a choice between a video of the interview or the transcript.

Finally, for some fun and a good laugh, check out this slide show of specially designed T-shirts and the CEOs who inspired them.

Enjoy!

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Have you ever registered to receive McKinsey reports? It’s free (my favorite price) and it’s valuable (my favorite requirement). I like it because I choose the categories I want and am not inundated with stuff I don’t want.

Today there are only two, because both are heavy on the meat, which requires more time and thought to digest and make use of.

The first is a global survey on how executives dealing with the recession as opposed to the thoughts and feelings of middle management. It makes for fascinating reading and offers up some interesting surprises.

The second discusses better ways to utilize frontline managers. “Instead of administrative work and meetings, they should focus on coaching their employees and on constantly improving quality.” Notice it says ‘instead‘, not ‘in addition to’, a not-so-subtle point that is missed by many higher level managers and executives. McKinsey also set up a discussion forum on Facebook and the author responded here.

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As I wrote last week, the days of telling women (or men) to choose between career and life are numbered.

Globally and domestically women are taking the bull by the horns, banding together and forcing change.

It may seem to be at a glacial rate, but change is change and you can see it more clearly in hindsight.

Recent studies show that women may be more likely to blow the whistle, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think.

But the best news for women is found in numbers crunched in Europe—having them is profitable.

“European firms with the highest proportion of women in power saw their stock value climb by 64 percent over two years, compared with an average of 47 percent, according to a 2007 study by the consulting firm McKinsey and Company.”

That’s good news, because selling management on profit is far easier than selling them on doing something because it’s the right thing to do.

And be sure to check out Forbes list of the most highly paid corporate women, you may find some surprises.

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As you all know, I’m a corporate culture addict; I follow stories on culture the way most people follow celebrities. I have three to share today.

As anyone who follows business news knows Alan G. Lafley, CEO pf P&G for the last nine years is stepping down. Read this McKinsey interview with Lafley from 2005 and compare it to what he did. This is a guy who walks his talk. Then take a look at this short comparison by Bruce Nussbaum of Lafley and Bob Nardelli and decide which one you’d rather channel.

Want to read a short short story about changing corporate culture? Good, because here is one.

Last is a fascinating story on how to innovate from the outside in. Which leads you to Innocentive and the opportunity to innovate on your own and get paid for it. Don’t laugh, real creativity doesn’t have a job title, nor do colleges offer degrees in ingenuity.

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Today is about an author, by an author and ideas for you to tweak and author for your company.

Do you know who Ray Bradbury is? An icon in the science fiction world, writer of screenplays, and hater of the internet and lover of libraries. “When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.”

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last offers a new look at why companies with everything going for them blow it. Check out this review; if you’re looking for some good summer reading you could do a lot worse than How the Mighty Fall … and Why Some Companies Never Give In.

Last, but certainly not least, is a white paper from McKinsey on creating a performance culture. It’s good reading and you’ll come away with ideas even if you aren’t ‘the boss’.

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Tuesday, in Barrett’s Briefing, Pat Lynch, Ph.D., CEO of Business Alignment Strategies, said “employees’ perceptions of how their employer treats them on a daily basis” and Richard reminded us that how a remark is interpreted depends heavily upon the context you bring to it.

In other words, everything you hear, see or do is filtered through your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and you’ll act on it according to your perceptions, whether they reflect the actual intent or not.

And we all know that what one person says and the other guy hears may have nothing to do with each other.

In a new article from the strategy practice at McKinsey discusses the need to change the public’s perception of business.

“Senior executives are acutely aware of how serious today’s reputational challenge is. Most recognize the perception that some companies in certain sectors (particularly financial services) have violated their social contract with consumers, shareholders, regulators, and taxpayers. They also know that this perception seems to have spilled over to business more broadly.”

But don’t hold your breath. In spite of all the talk executive pay is still going up, so, no matter how much spin, perceptions aren’t likely to change any time soon.

I’ve written in the past about the fragility of a company’s street rep, especially in the brave new internet world of instant, global, anonymous communication.

Perceptions are a constantly moving target that are distorted by a variety of circumstances—from as minor as feeling out of sorts to the global economic meltdown; as a result the communications that were understood today may not work tomorrow.

Whether company or individual you need to actively manage perceptions.

Experts constantly bandy such words as ‘authentic’, ‘honest’, ‘sincere’ and similar terms in talking about how to change perceptions, when, in fact, there are only two things working together that actually accomplish perceptional change.

Those two things are actions and time.

If over time actions don’t back up whatever is said, then perceptions won’t change.

This is especially true regarding employee perceptions of company culture.

If a CEO wants to institute a cultural change then every manager at every level needs to support that cultural change or employee perceptions won’t change—but don’t expect it to happen overnight.

The greater the change the greater the cynicism as to how real and how sustainable it actually is, so don’t expect instant buy-in.

Communicate what you’re going to do and then do it consistently over and over forever—and watch perceptions change.

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Do you subscribe to The McKinsey Quarterly? They have a great selection of topics depending on your interests. I mention this because you may have to register to read the following, but no worry, it’s free.

McKinsey has done a great interview with Stanford prof and management guru Robert Sutton, he of The No Asshole Rule fame.

In his McKinsey interview Sutton talks about how to be a “Good Boss in Bad Times.” Take a moment and see the video interview  or read the transcript (sorry, the video won’t embed).

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Three great interviews on tap today with lots to learn.Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the embed code to work for either video (the Washington Post and McKinsey may need lessons from YouTube:), but they’re both worth clicking over to watch.

First up is Anne Mulcahy, chairwoman and chief executive of Xerox Corporation, a company that she took over on the brink of extinction and turned around. “In 2002 this company lost almost $300 million, and by 2006 we were making over $1 billion.” Now that’s a turn around!

When asked what the secret was, Mulcahy said, “It isn’t a secret sauce. It’s actually fundamental communications, in terms of your ability to really get out there and be with your people, tell a story. People really have to begin to believe in a story to get passionate about the direction the company is going in, which hopefully you’ve been able to do through the way you articulate it, simplifying the complex so that people can get their arms around it and see how they can make a difference. There’s nothing quite as powerful as people feeling they can have impact and make a difference. When you’ve got that going for you, I think it’s a very powerful way to implement change.”

Next is a video interview with John Chambers of Cisco Systems. The dot com bomb blasted Cisco and Chambers brought it back. In the interview Chambers talks about managing in this downturn, how collaboration is the next phase of management style, change, and identifying market transitions. He also discusses how business leaders need to “earn back” public trust, how he is adapting the company and why he’s “far from a perfect leader.”

Finally is a great McKinsey print and video interview with venture philanthropist Jacqueline Novogratz.

“As a venture philanthropist, Acumen Fund’s Jacqueline Novogratz leads entrepreneurial projects across the globe—many of which put women at the helm of emerging local businesses. In this video interview, she discusses her experience developing other women leaders, the way they have shaped her own approach to leadership, and the different leadership cultures she sees at play in the public and private sectors.”

Fabulous. Do click over to see the video and read the print part, also.

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“Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.”

Last year I wrote about the global glass ceiling; today I have seven fascinating articles on corporate women. More of the same—or are things changing?

Kids don’t think so; in fact they’re more pessimistic.

“The percentage of girls who say they believe that today both men and women have an equal chance of getting a leadership position has declined from 35 percent to 24 percent between 2007 and 2008.”

And the guys still seem to have problems if women “get tough” (like them), especially in male-dominated fields.

“Speak lowly and slowly, but smile frequently…This advice…was based on my observation that women must adhere to a narrow band of behavior in order to be effective in mostly male settings.”

WSJ Online republished an article from 2005 looking at the difference between how most women relate to numbers vs. most men and its effect on earnings. Sadly, it hasn’t really changed.

“Female M.B.A.s have a bias to nurturing and team building and male M.B.A.s to a more analytically driven focus on success and independence. My advice is that both should develop more well-rounded skills.”

And then there’s ‘that vision thing’

“Studies show that in almost all measures of executive performance women are equal to or outperform men, with one exception: vision. Ibarra’s review of the 360 degree reviews of nearly 3,000 women revealed that, in general, they were seen as less visionary.”

McKinsey, however, presents a trenchant case (requires free registration) on why women are important, not in terms of political correctness, but to the bottom line.

“The gender gap isn’t just an image problem: our research suggests that it can have real implications for company performance. Some companies have taken effective steps to achieve greater parity.”

But the world turns and times change. When the ruling class screws up big time, people often embrace the opposition.

Iceland’s meltdown is leading to a revolt by the country’s women.

“Icelandic women, however, are more likely to be studying the financial news than the recipes – and more likely to be thinking about how to put right the mess their men have made of the banking system than about cooking them comfort food. … But for a generation of fortysomething women, the havoc is translating into an opportunity to step into the positions vacated by the men blamed for the crisis, and to play a leading role in creating a more balanced economy, which, they argue, should incorporate overtly feminine values.”

And the same attitude is surfacing across Europe.

“John Coates, a researcher at Cambridge University concluded that traders made the highest profits when they had the highest levels of testosterone in their spit. The downside, he said, was that elevated testosterone also led to riskier behavior, a formula for disaster as well as profit.”

What do you think? Would the bankers have played derivative Russian roulette if there had been more women in the in the halls of Wall Street power?

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