It is almost the weekend, so here’s my final round-up of articles that caught my eye this week.

Excellent advice from Dave Taylor at intuitive systems: Why successful startups never outsource their business plan

FusionBrand: Branding’s Black Hole This is a favorite topic of mind: measuring marketing and sales results. My previous comments here and definitely expect more in the coming weeks. The issue of lead tracking and ROI has circled back into my radarscope this week for many reasons. 

public(MIND) — overall, an interesting blog by Hans Henrik H. Heming with a definite inclination toward issues surrounding creativity (and that’s not really the right word) but just check out his blog for a different perspective. Full disclosure: I’m also partial to Hans because he was one of the first readers to subscribe to my blog on Bloglines. Thanks Hans!!

Great post by Dan Gillmor: Where Newspapers can Start the Conversation. Gives specific examples of how newspapers can do what I talk about in my earlier post today: reach out and engage with their readers (customers).