The Simpsons and riots at the LSE, with Mario Monti.

Italy’s new prime minister, Mario Monti, had a busy day last Wednesday (18th Jan). He first spoke at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and later, early evening, he gave a speech at another LSE, this time the London School of Economics. 3000 people had applied for the 400 available tickets to watch Monti speak about Europe’s role in the global economy and his audience massively outnumbered the handful of protesters who were outside, complaining about his government of technocrats.

 Remote-control leadership

Managing remote and virtual workers has become the new skill for managers. But, with no one teaching this competency, managers and workers need to pick it up on their own. Doing it successfully requires several strategies. Companies are becoming leaner and the virtual worker is becoming more prevalent, providing services either from home, or from a separate office location. There are many plusses to remote working. You can wear whatever you want and you don’t have to put up with office politics.