MARISSA MAYER'S OFF WEEK – The Yahoo CEO has had a tough week in France, where she was visiting, like much of tech and media's top brass, for the Cannes Lions advertising festival. First, Mayer gave an underwhelming presentation that earned her jeers and heckles on Twitter for giving a canned speech and a sales pitch, while flattering advertising execs who weren't duped. Then came a second, equally disappointing presentation at WPP's Stream conference, which CEO Sir Martin Sorrell apparently didn't take kindly to. Business Insider tells of a harrowing conversation:

After giving another canned presentation, Sorrell hammered her. First he asked her what it would take for her to return an email. When she responded she returns every email, he stated that she hadn't returned his, that Sheryl Sandberg returns his instantly and should he take it personally that she doesn't. Then he asked her what her relationship with Dan Loeb was. When she responded "very good," Sorrell chimed in, "That's not what Dan tells me." This is front of every key WPP executive and many of her peers. (Read the full story.)

And finally, at a dinner scheduled that night with execs from ad agency IPG and major marketers, Mayer showed up 90 minutes late... because she overslept. That's according to reporting by Business Insider and The Wall Street Journal that have alighted the Internet. Says a source to the WSJ's Suzanne Vranica:

If it were an investor meeting, a board meeting or a potential acquisition, I am sure she or someone from her team would have woken her up. (...) It is another instance where she demonstrated that she doesn’t understand the value of clients, ad revenue or agencies.” (Read the full story.)

One thing it does demonstrate too is the physical demands of modern business leadership and the madness of the executive schedule. And adding grist to Arianna Huffington's mill that to lean in, you've got to lean back – and sleep.

MEET ME IN THE PARKING LOT – A column in the New York Times just became much bigger when its subject decided to fight back, and the author fought that back. Or, in PR, is it sometimes better to let it slide? New York Times columnist Tim Egan wrote a scathing indictment of Walmart last week as "a net drain on taxpayers, forcing employeers into public assistance with its poverty-wage structure." Egan's argument is that because Walmart pays its employees so little, the community is left to pick up the tab for food stamps, health care and other necessities that a living wage should normally cover. That is a common argument in the fight for raising the minimum wage and certainly not the first time Walmart executives hear it. But this time, the retailer's VP of corporate communications, David Tovar, decided to fight back. So like a dutiful teacher, he took up his red pen (and because this is 2014, posted the below on the corporate blog):

(Yes, this is highly shareable and I realize I'm playing their hand by including in full. That's what you get when you do intelligent PR.) Today, Egan is fighting back. He emailed Business Insider – which, let's face it, has all the good stories today – with his retort:

My central point was how much their business model costs taxpayers, and makes the income gap worse," Egan told Business Insider. "Exhibit A is what they pay their executive and what average employees make. I cited a Democratic study on Wisconsin, where they actually went through [Wal-Mart's] payroll and found how many Wal-Mart workers were on some form of public assistance. Also, for what it's worth, I did hear from a number of Wal-Mart workers who wrote and told me I only scratched the surface on how miserly they are." (Read Tim Egan's full response.)

WHAT DO YOU DO? – Speaking of miserly... BI worked with CareerBliss to identify the most miserable jobs in America. The jobs where you dread Monday morning and look at the clock all day in between confrontations with coworkers and mind-numbing tasks. The list of unsatisfying professions is varied, from analyst, ranked most miserable in America, to pharmacy tech, teacher (sadly), clerk, registered nurse, driver and... engineer, really? Though none go into the six figures (there's another list for that), the jobs aren't necessarily poorly paid. In fact, the two reasons for job dissatisfaction that are cited again and again are growth opportunities and company culture. Whatever the money, give people a chance to rise and to enjoy themselves, the rankings scream. How do you do that? Dozens of companies are sharing their experience in Slideshare's Culture Code campaign. Join them.

IF YOU READ JUST ONE STORY – Here's one company you can't accuse of lacking a strong culture: Apple. Former Burberry CEO and LinkedIn Influencer Angela Ahrendts entered the hallowed halls of Cupertino a few weeks ago as senior VP of retail. In a new post, she shares what it takes to transition into a new company and even industry – "Silicon Valley can feel like a country unto itself!" she writes, and how true that is! – and make the most of entering a new job.

Never will your objectivity be as clear or your instincts sharper than in the first 30-90 days. Cherish this time and fight the urge to overthink. Real human dialogue and interaction where you can feel and be felt will be invaluable as your vision, enabled by your instincts, becomes clearer.(Read Angela Ahrendts' full post.)

Has lack of sleep messed with your career? What's your advice for transitioning into a new job, or building a strong company culture? If you have insider knowledge of these or other topics in the news today, write your own post explaining what's happening. Share the URL here in the comments mentioning me or tweet @LinkedInPulse. (Want to write, but don't yet have access? Leave your info here.)

Photo: JD Lasica/Flickr