This cast makes the case for the most important thing you do at the beginning of your professional life: get good grades in College/University.   This is the first in a series of what surely will be many Career Tools casts about college and university as preparation for one?s professional adult life. As with so many other [...]

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This cast describes how to interview effectively during a downturn, particularly for difficult to fill positions. When you get to fill a position during a down market, it usually means it’s a critical position, and/or one that’s been open a long time. Because you’re in a buyer’s market, it’s usually pretty easy to find a [...]

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This cast describes a simple way to handle the interviewing question, “What’s your location preference?” Many people lose great job opportunities because they don’t know how to talk about WHERE they want to work without scaring the recruiter. There’s a right way to do it. It’s okay to prefer a certain location … but [...]

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This cast describes effective ways to provide references when asked. Your directs and former directs are going to ask you to provide them references. Yet you’ve probably heard that providing references is generally frowned upon. More and more, HR says you can’t. But you can.

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This cast explains a simple technique to consider the impact of decisions on multiple stakeholders. Decision-making (which is more than choosing!) is a core part of our jobs as managers. But yet again, there?s not a lot of training or development spent on it. Everyone hates learning it on their own?but then they visit [...]

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This cast shows how to facilitate the capture of Ground Rules when starting a meeting.    Finally we return to discussing presentations!  Both Mark and Mike have recently been in the audience  for professional presentations, and it was an eye opening experience for both of us.  We think every  manager ? and by definition if you?re a manager you have to assume you?re going to be a presenter ?  ought to have presentation training.    And we think we?re the ones to do it. ;?) 

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This cast describes how to make a decision effective by NOT working on other actions or plans after you?ve decided. Too many of us feel good about a ?decision? we?ve made (when actually it was a choice, and not a decision), and then we mess up the ?decision? by failing to act aggressively on it. [...]

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This cast describes a way to approximate One on Ones (O3s) with your boss. We?ve been asked this question so many times, it?s really amazing that we?ve waited this long to publicize widely the same answer we?ve given so many listeners and members. We know, we know: you want to have One on [...]

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During this show, we conclude our conversation on “Race, Don’t Chase”.

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I’m sure there are going to be a few people very upset with me. I frankly don’t care. I do not like Twitter. I’ve used it, and I don’t like it, and I’ll tell you why. Because if you’re a manager, and as we like to say, if you’re an executive, which is not as exclusive [...]

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Most any manager can manage well, or at least look good managing, when times are good. Retention is as easy as it will ever be, budgets tend to grow to hide lack of controls, and others want to join your team, so hiring is easy too. But during tough economic times, the professional manager has to [...]

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At some point, we are going to do a couple of podcasts, perhaps 10, 20, 30, I don’t know, regarding culture in the workplace. A big part of culture at the workplace is stories we tell one another. I read a “Harvard Business Review article” a while ago, it may have been over a year ago, [...]

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Mark has been re-reading Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive for the billionth time lately. Every time he reads it, something different strikes him. This time he was looking to get some validation that Drucker believed that consensus is overrated (it is), and he stumbled across this gem. It’s two simple sentences, but as [...]

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Some of you have probably heard me talk about this before. Email is a scourge on all of us, most days. I see all kinds of email behavior, all the time - at clients, everywhere I go. And the one thing that surprises me the most, and this goes back to some comments I made [...]

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In today’s cast, we conclude our conversation on Horstman’s 3rd Law of Interviewing. As always, if you’re new to Manager Tools and haven’t listened to the first part, you may wish to go back and listen to that first.

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And the answer really is folks: they don’t work. When you think about almost any economic system that exists today, there is a buyer and a seller. The seller has something the buyer wants and the buyer expects the seller to give him or her a fair price. There is an inherent negotiation that happens [...]

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This cast describes your initial communications with a friend or associate whose career is at risk, for whatever reason. We read in the Wall Street Journal this week about a bank failure in the US due to the mortgage/debt crisis the markets are facing. As it turns out, we have several Manager Tools members there, [...]

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Manager Tools will present a FREE, one day Career Crisis Skills Conference, on 18 October, to help those affected by the financial and credit market troubles. We will conduct the training/seminar at the Marriott East Side in Manhattan (map, sw corner 49th and Lex), from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be room for 300 attendees [...]

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The Audio Blog is going to be a regular installment of Manager Tools. Our intent is to provide you information on about a weekly basis about things that interest us that we find different or amusing or surprising about management that perhaps don’t make a strong enough case to be a podcast, or in many [...]

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Lately, we’ve gotten lots of questions from our 28,000+ members about our interviewing series. Because of the uncertainties many are facing today, we thought it might be helpful to return to our guidance on interviewing. Horstman’s 3rd Law of Interviewing: We’ll Take 90% Less Ability for 10% More Attitude Every Day of the Week. When the market [...]

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This cast describes steps to take when you realize early in a job that you don’t like it. One of the things that has changed as individuals have had to take over their own career management is more mistakes made by younger professionals. Years ago, larger organizations had a more complete HR approach, and managed their [...]

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This cast describes a simple verbal tool for addressing tension, conflict or other ineffective emotions in the workplace. Mark has finally gotten around to writing this cast down! Every time Mark teaches this technique to an executive or manager, he turns to Mike and says, “we gotta make this a cast.” And then he doesn’t. When [...]

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This cast includes Part 4 of our discussion on how to implement the Manager Tools’ Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching).

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November 11 - 12 , 2008 - Renaissance Concourse Hotel, Atlanta “I have attended Dale Carnegie, American Management Association, etc conferences and the MT conference blew them away!” - Jeff Vose, 2007 Conference Attendee Mark and I are pleased to announce our Effective Manager Conference, November 11 - 12, at the Renaissance Concourse Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia. We guarantee it [...]

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This cast includes Part 3 of our discussion on how to implement the Manager Tools’ Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching).

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This cast includes Part 2 of our discussion on how to implement the Manager Tools’ Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching - and Delegation!).

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This cast describes how to gradually implement Manager Tools’ Management Trinity (One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching - and Delegation!). We’ve been asked a thousand questions about what to do and when to do it when it comes to the Management Trinity, and we’ve finally gotten frustrated enough to do something about it. We assumed that [...]

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This cast describes how to use the Manager Tools Meeting Introduction Tool For Large Groups - up to 100 Attendees! We get asked all the time, “how big a group have you ever used the Meeting Introduction Tool with?” The answer is 110. It is Mark’s favorite Manager Tool because everyone can use it, it [...]

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For years pundits have been predicting that technology (videoconferencing, etc.) will lead to the decline and death of business travel. We here at Manager Tools don?t agree. We’re human, and humans do better with face to face connections to ensure a complex project does well. Technology has led to the globalization of [...]

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[Note: This is a repost of a previous corrupt podcast file.] This cast describes how to increase your chances of re-hiring someone who has left your organization. They’re called Boomerangs! There really IS a war for talent going on today. Demographics are in many ways working against us, reducing the labor pool, as well as changing [...]

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In today’s cast, we conclude our conversation on Myspace and social networks. As always, if you’re new to Manager Tools and haven’t listened to the first part, you may wish to go back and listen to that first.

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This cast gives guidance for managers’ use of Social Networking Sites like MySpace and FaceBook. If you’re one of our younger listeners, members, or premium subscribers, with less than 5 years in the workforce, chances are you have a MySpace or a FaceBook page. You stay in touch with friends, let people know what you’re [...]

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This cast tells you how to handle requests for your references when engaged in a job search. Even though “References Available Upon Request” is no longer a good idea, reference CHECKING is on the rise and will only increase in the coming years. It seems like since resumes don’t include the age-old line — the why [...]

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On today’s cast, we complete our discussion on coaching directs on interpersonal skills. Of course, if you haven’t listened to last week’s cast, you may want to start there.

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This cast tells you how to begin a process of coaching a direct on interpersonal skills. Soft Skills! How many times have you heard, “hired for technical skills, fired for (lack of) people skills”? It may be common wisdom (an oxymoron if there ever was one), but it’s still true. The path to greater success [...]

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We’ve been asked a number of times recently for more information about the Effective Manager Conference we’re holding in San Francisco, July 22 - 23. Although we used to put out a special cast each time we hosted a conference, we haven’t done that of late. So, for those who asked, here you go. [...]

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In this cast, we finish our conversation on how to manage effectively in a Matrix Organization. By now, you know why matrix organizations exist (and why we don’t like them). In today’s cast, we talk about what you DO to be effective in matrix organizations.

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September 9-10, 2008 ? Hilton Palacio Del Rio Hotel, San Antonio, TX “Communication is What The Listener Does” - Peter Drucker We are pleased to announced our first ever Effective Communications Conference! Communication is so critical to every manager, and yet so few seem to do it well. Join us in San Antonio to learn how to be [...]

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This cast describes how to manage effectively in a Matrix Organization. (Not that we recommend it ) We’ve finally succumbed to the steady drumbeat of requests for “The Manager Tools Way” of dealing with how to survive and thrive in a matrix organization. A couple of years ago, Mark said he’d never [...]

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This cast describes how to create a simple behavioral interview question. We believe that behavioral interviewing is the best systemic form of interviewing evaluation a manager can use. There’s nothing that even comes CLOSE. Sure, there are those who think testing is important, and we don’t disagree. But we also think that a [...]

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We’re all in meetings all the time, right? So how come there’s not an instruction manual? We all complain about them. But no one seems able or willing to do something about it. We will. We shared - 3 years ago - our recommendations on how to RUN an Effective Meeting. [...]

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This cast shares a simple technique for managers to be kind to their directs. Many of our casts address specific problems that managers face. It’s easy to forget that management is an inherently human endeavor. And when it comes to our humanity, all the technology in our modern world doesn’t take the place of [...]

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This show describes a couple of simple techniques to help you remember people’s names. Whether we like it or not, other people are part of our professional lives. And, as Dale Carnegie sagely noted, “A person’s name, to that person, is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” But how to remember [...]

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This podcast is the second of two on the subtleties associated with being interviewed during a meal.

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This podcast details all the subtleties associated with being interviewed during a meal. We have NO EXCUSE for why we didn’t do this podcast 2 years ago. We get this question all the time, so much so that we’re making it part of the standard weekly show rather than restricting it to the interview tool. [...]

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This cast updates one of our most popular casts Your Resume Stinks [October 31, 2005] with learnings from our community and some timely recommendations regarding recent trends. And, in this cast, we make a very exciting New Product Announcement! The Link: Manager Tools Resume Service Description

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This cast describes a technique for measuring your team and/or organization’s ability to recognize talent. Many managers mistakenly fail to connect the process of hiring with the later successes and failures of the organization. When someone doesn’t work out, particularly if it’s 3-5 years after they were hired, very few managers think that the problem [...]

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This cast explains how to capture interview results in a fast and simple meeting. One of the things we have learned over the years is that bad hiring is easy, and good hiring is hard. It’s easy to hire someone who isn’t going to work out ? just do one interview, don’t dig for details, [...]

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This cast describes how to give feedback about your employees’ attire. Mark once was asked to adjudicate a discussion between two managers (one new, one experienced). The issue? “Should a manager give feedback about the clothes an employee is wearing?” Mark sided with the manager who said no, you shouldn?t. If you’re surprised, listen in!

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In this cast, we share the First Rule For New Managers: the most important recommendation for someone taking over a team. We have been asked hundreds of times for guidance on what to do as a new manager, and we’re finally ready to start rolling out this series of casts. This first cast will probably [...]

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This cast explains our rationale for why Delegation is the 4th Member of our Management Trinity. Ah, the FOURTH member of the Trinity. We did this for two reasons ? one, to make it easier to remember. Two, because you simply cannot grow an organization profitably without Delegation. You can grow the profitability of [...]

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This cast describes the role of Coaching in the Management Trinity, and makes a KEY recommendation regarding development of directs and performance management. This week, we cover the Coaching Model’s inclusion in the Management Trinity. It?s BY FAR the least used of the Trinity. That’s too bad, because it only takes 5 minutes a [...]

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This show describes the The Feedback Model’s inclusion in the Management Trinity. We continue here our recent theme of revisiting the high level rationale and actions involved in the Management Trinity. In our discussion of feedback, we talk about the basics, of course: What the Feedback Model gives the effective manager, and how the effective [...]

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This cast begins our series on the the Management Trinity, and our reasons for each of its three (four) components: One on Ones, Feedback, Coaching and Delegation. We?ve talked about the Management Trinity for nearly three years, but we?ve never really laid out specifically how and why it works. The best managers we know [...]

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How can you have a great One on One with your boss? How can you get the the most out of the most valuable recurring communication investment you make? This is an important question … and it seems that a lot of managers DO NOT ask it. Some of the managers who [...]

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This cast explains how to introduce one person to another in social and business settings. We surprised some of our members a couple of years ago when we included podcasts on how to attend a party, and how to introduce oneself to someone else. Some saw this as “etiquette”, which the modern business world had, [...]

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This cast gives numerous simple examples of Manager Tools’ ‘MT Goals’: Goals that are Measurable and Time-Based. Our MT Goals 3-part cast generated a great deal of enthusiasm. A lot of managers are thinking right now about what their goals are or will be for this calendar year. And, a lot of managers struggle [...]

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This week, we conclude our conversation on the Manager Tools Annual Layoff Immunization Guidelines.

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We received lots of comments and email regarding our show regarding the first rule of layoffs. While our recommendation struck some folks the wrong way - “finances rule??” - those who HAD been laid off told us we were dead solid perfect. The fact is, we did not expect three years ago to get [...]

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In this cast, we complete our series on setting annual goals with Mark’s story of John and the Gate Guards. Although “merely” a story, don’t fool yourself … there are valuable lessons in there!

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In this cast, we continue our conversation on setting annual goals. Last week we discussed our general thoughts on Goals, and particularly our thinly-veiled disdain for SMART goals. Today, we continue our conversation and discuss our core rules for setting goals. Next week, we’ll conclude the series with our story of “John and the Gate Guards.”

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