Happy Monday everyone. My family had nice little “stay-cation” right here in Houston. A weekend of hotel, restaurants, hotel pool, etc. I think everybody had a great time. Now back to business. And to start with, here’s my weekly summary of some great articles from the last week or so. Enjoy!

• This article listed some tools your small business could really use: entm.ag/2atZYyd
• How to make your startup more professional, more mature without killing its energy and creativity: bit.ly/2aA2EtB
• Remember these tips for how to use great content to drive website traffic:bit.ly/2ajRPLJ
• I thought this was very interesting. It turns out that brainstorming may be a bad way to come up with new ideas: bit.ly/2akDtrR
• Some good ideas for breaking through preconceived notions about you and crafting a solid message: bit.ly/2aKzIgn
• When presenting information, the colors you use can make a real difference. This article discusses how to choose the most effective colors: bit.ly/2auGcCh
• It’s always interesting o think about what makes a great company to work for a great company to work for. In short, this article says the offer employees a more meaningful, more engaging environment: bit.ly/2a4TVMk
• Trying to understand why Verizon is buying Yahoo? They’re building a new media empire. bit.ly/2aHlGMx
• I think this is a really useful article with tips on how to get the most from what you publish on LinkedIn: bit.ly/2arIuUj
• This article looks inside Tesla’s updated, broader, more mature strategy (and why it just might make sense). Agree with it or disagree with it, I like how it reflects a specific vision. bit.ly/2andYrW
• Does having a Plan B get in the way of you achieving Plan A? Sometimes by having a backup plan can be a hindrance. bit.ly/2asyOZc
• Who made the first drone deliveries? 7-Eleven! (and, yes, Slurpees included.) Sorry Amazon.  tcrn.ch/2apBSFN
• This article outlined a good framework for a really solid marketing strategy to follow. entm.ag/2a09B3q
• Department stores are struggling. This article touched on how Nordstrom handling those struggles. lat.ms/2aeI9TD

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As you also know I publish some of my own ideas. Last week I was really focused on the differences between leaders and managers – and how someone can successfully make the shift from manager to leader. A few tips I shared:

• As a leader, become comfortable being the outward “face” representing your organization.
• One way to transition from manager to leader is to become comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.
• Always make sure the operational decisions you make are aligned with the company’s long-term vision, strategic goals.
• A leader demonstrates vision in a way that others will want to help make it a reality. Are you sharing your vision?

And I dug into those issues a little deeper. I shared my thoughts about how to make that transition more smooth: “6 Ways to Stop Managing and Start Leading“. I’d love to hear if you have other ideas. Please feel free to leave your thoughts!