It's been my privilege to create SmartBrief on Leadership each morning for much of its young life. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to see it succeed.

As one blogger and satisfied reader put it: "It's a great resource for looking smart, being smart and sounding smart."

It's been especially intriguing to see what stories grab your attention. Leadership was certainly in the news a lot in 2008. We've watched political leaders around the globe wrestle with the credit crisis, CEOs adjust their strategies to cope with economic fallout, and American voters elect a new leader. We've brought you stories about the struggles and triumphs of other CEOs, innovations in business practices that we figured you'd want to know about, and wise words from academics who we thought had fresh perspectives on the art and craft of leadership.

But we're not here to sugar-coat your news. Some of our most clicked-on stories were those detailing corporate faults and deficiencies.

We've also sought to bring you stories about cultural trends and technology advances, and we've looked beyond the usual sources for undiscovered gems. I've taken particular pleasure in choosing one story a day -- the diversion -- just for its power to intrigue or delight.

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you find a great story or blog post you think we should run, pass it along.

And now, here are the most popular stories of 2008.