My pick of this weeks change leadership related web content:

• GM: cultural changes are apparently under way according to this article from the Detroit Free Press. A less formal dress code, “dress appropriately”, has been decided to encourage personal decision-making; it’s probably a good initiative when you think that one person called HR 2 or 3 times to ask if he could wear jeans! Other changes include new names for conference rooms such as “groovy room” or “zen room” apparently to encourage risk-taking. One wonders though whether there is real change beyond the cosmetical side of these new decisions? Yes, according to Susan Docherty, VP of US Sales, who describes how the decision to cancel a new product after bad initial customer feedback, was taken fast by a small number of top executives.
• 3M: On Paul Williams’ excellent innovation blog, which I’ve already mentioned, an interesting insider look at 3M’s innovation story and its 6 pillars of innovation: R&D, Corporate Culture, Diversified Technologies, Networking, Recognition, Measurement, Connection to the Customer. What I like about these pillars is the way they cover a wide range of technological, management and more human aspects of business