Forward, March

Leadership isn't just about controlling the marketing message. We can call ourselves thought leaders, but whether we really influence someone else's thoughts probably has more to do with our actions as leaders. Instead, leadership is about doing -- and doing the right thing for the company and the team.

It helps to be in reality and not be too selfish. "Never appear to be warmer than your troops" is one of the main tenets of a good military leader. It means the higher up is aware of what the foot soldiers are going though, and he or she knows that personal actions can have a positive or detrimental effect on the foot soldiers' morale. Also, that the foot soldier is important to the whole effort.

As our career engineer, Ruth Glover, shows in her second post of a two-part blog on leadership, being aware of the troops is only one aspect. Other things like "vision," planning, confidence, and even charisma, come into it. In her post, Glover brings in more quotes from her informal poll -- you'll find each pearl of wisdom adds to the whole picture of how we often think a good leader should behave.

Using a freight train for a supply chain may be normal for the continental US, where passenger trains are delayed by what really has the right-away -- freight. But with the China-to-Europe connection, it surprised our Jennifer Baljko that land travel might be superior to air or sea, as she describes a train service using an ancient trade route in Sending Parts From China to Europe? Try the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Plus, more from Brian Fuller on the unintended impacts on supply chains, and Kimberly Bagley writes more about the daily challenges and surprises of the startup.

Have a good weekend,
-- Susan Rambo, interim editor