Some returning CEOs carry on the policies of their successors, but investors often have more confidence in the original leader to execute those plans. Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks Corp.  in 2008 after serving for CEO from 1987 to 2000, and continued an aggressive expansion program that began in his absence. However, he also vowed to close underperforming locations and cut down on the bureaucracy, expanded into tea and premium juices and opened a flagship store in New Delhi. The shares have risen from $20 when Schultz returned to around $58 today. “Clear communication, shared values and unwavering direction made it work,” says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and director of professional opportunities at DePauw University

The text notes, “Women currently hold 97, or 18%, of the 535 seats in Congress: 20 of the 100 seats in the Senate (an all-time high), and 77 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. By contrast, just 4% of women hold CEO positions in Fortune 1,000 companies.”

The piece concludes, “And it should be noted that for all of women’s advances in politics, no woman even been nominated for a presidential run by one of the two major parties. Even at a state level, says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and director of professional opportunities at DePauw University, ‘we’re not going to see that equity between men and women for a long time.’ “

“Has a colleague ever pitched your idea as his own? It’s only natural to get angry,” notes U.S. News & World Report. Ritika Trikha writes, “don’t get too hung up on the incident. According to Steve Langerud, director of professional opportunities at DePauw University, letting people take credit for your work is one of the best ways to succeed and advance in your career. (Full disclosure: Langerud is a glass-half-full type of person.)”The advice Langerud offers in the column includes, “Your value as a selfless team member sky rockets when you take one for the team.”

Read Ritika’s article

This week’s move by Samsung to name two more individuals to the post of chief executive officer — giving the company three CEOs — is making news on MarketWatch, which reports, “And experts say there’s good reason to be optimistic about such moves.”Steve Langerud, director of professional opportunities at DePauw University, says, “I see co-CEOs as a viable and strategic advantage to both employees and shareholders.” Quentin Fottrell writes, “But (Langerud) says it’s ‘critical’ to develop a structure for implementing the company’s strategy, and to craft distinct agendas for each CEO.”

The piece notes, “Research suggests shareholders tend to like joint CEOs — at least at first. In a study of over 100 public companies with co-CEOs published last year, the stock rose a cumulative average of 6% in the day before and after the announcement of a dual leadership. But the survey, by Stephen P. Ferris, a professor at the University of Missouri business school, found that only 45% of these joint company CEOs had complimentary educations and job responsibilities.”

Read Quentin’s story.

“As cardinals from all over the world gather to decide on the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, the use of cellphones is strictly forbidden,” reports MarketWatch today. “Call it the cardinal rule: The digital wall of silence surrounding the papal conclave may be catching on in the corporate world, as well.”

Increasingly, companies are banning the use of smartphones and other devices during important meetings, writes Quentin Fottrell. “The bottom line, says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and director of professional opportunities at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., is that the word in the board room at many companies is now, ‘If you’re going to be present for meetings, leave your phone in your office.’ Obviously, going cold turkey on Facebook and Twitter — even during important staff or board meetings — isn’t easy for some. Employees rely on their phones much like a virtual security blanket, Langerud says, as well as using tablets and smartphones for work.”

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“Many of the greatest high-fliers (Warren Buffett and the late Steve Jobs, for example) have rallied behind the idea that, in order to lead a satisfying life, your occupation must be something you absolutely love,” begins an article offering career advice. “You must follow your passion to be happy, they say.”

Ritika Trikha writes, “Steve Langerud, counselor and director of professional opportunities at DePauw University, has a passion for bicycles — so he bought a bicycle company! ‘You would think this would have put me in bliss,’ he says. ‘Well, I learned that I love bicycles, but only a very small niche. The bigger picture of dealing with customers, insurance, vendors was far more important to making that business succeed than my simple love of bicycles.’ “

Trikha notes, “Although this experience gave Langerud some valuable skills that he uses to this day, he advises you to ask yourself: Will living your passion through a job enhance or detract from from that passion?”

Read Ritika’s article! 

Lisa Trigg’s report notes that Langerud “works with employers around the nation as a career and workplace expert, and he said that employers look at three things.

• Can a person do the job? Does the candidate have the basic education, intelligence and the ability to learn?
• Will the person do the job? Is the person dependable, and will he or she show up on time ready to work?
• And, will the person embarrass the company? Is this a person of good character who is involved in the community and will be a good representative of the company? Or will the person behave in a way that will be an embarrassment to the employer?”

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