Flash in the pan or the real thing

Pro Hockey scouts must discern whether a potentially good player is sick or having a bad day -- or if an average prospect is having the night of his life.  Some uncertainty can be alleviated by watching a player several times and consulting coaches, but even in the best of circumstances, determining the future NHL potential of a teenage player is tricky business.

Angela Ahrendts management style

Unlike corporate chiefs who favor an inaccessible, imperial style, Ahrendts seems comfortable with dissent; her executives joke easily with her, and aren't afraid to press their points.  "She wouldn't know how to be undermining,  "EVP Stacey Cartwright says.

"She gets people to work harder than they ever have just by letting them know how important they are, how much the team relies on them", says Supply Chain VP Andy Janowski.

"It's easy to run a company while the economy is expanding, and easy to get lazy," says Ahrendts.  "A sharp downturn tends to focus the mind.  I was taught never to waste a good recession," she says.

Linda Wachner (ex-chief of Warnaco) on Angela Ahrendts (chief of Burberry)

"She was one of the few people who knew not to take things personally.  She never flinched, never whined, never shirked.  She was a class act, and I can't say that about too many people."

Please Say It

Daniela during her recovery process:

Dr. Esquenazi didn't sugarcoat her situation.  "You will always miss your hands.  Nothing we do here will ever be like what you lost.  But you have a choice.  You can hide in a corner, or you can rise to the moment and do the best you can with what you have.  Your life will be what you do with it."

After her recovery, she finished medical school and returned to the same place she went for rehabilitation, as a doctor.  The staff describes her as having an unbelievable ability to wholeheartedly accept the present moment.  She never focuses on what was lost, and she never lets her injuries define her.

No Headlines here

Daniela, a medical student, being wheeled into the emergency room after suffering a terrible accident in which she lost all 4 of her limbs, was awake and scared, asking "Am I going to be okay?"  The stricken looks on the nurses' faces as they turned away without answering filled her with fear.  Finally, in the elevator up to the operating room, she saw a gowned doctor with kind eyes and a beard.  "Am I going to be okay?" she asked once again.  He held her eyes, smiled, and said, "You are going to be just fine."

For the 1st time since the accident, she could relax.  She closed her eyes.

One tough cookie

Alex Smith, quarterback for the 49er's has been through the worst situation possible -- five offensive systems in his first five years, two shoulder surgeries, a former head coach who questioned his toughness, an offensive coordinator who tried to break him mentally because he believed Smith had been pampered, and a $17 million pay cut -- yet his will and confidence remain intact.

With all the non-believers and troublemakers gone, working hard with his current qb coach in improving his fundamentals and techniques and convinced that Singletary and company believes in him and has his back, he's determined to propel himself to the next level.

Once again, Chemistry matters

Kurt Warner, quarterback for the Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald, receiver for the Cardinals shared a special synergy and trust.  Warner could count on Fitz to be at a particular spot at a particular time, and Fitz could count on Warner to deliver the ball in stride.

Warner has since retired and new quarterback Matt Leinart took over.  Fitz invited Leinart to join him at his wide-outs camp in Minnesota during the off-season, but Leinart declined because he wanted to practice in LA.  On 9/4, the Cardinals coach bid adios to Leinart.