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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In this cast, we recommend how to start setting annual goals, and why we do not like “SMART” goals. Many managers are going through goal setting efforts right now, for 2008. We get lots of questions about goals, and goal setting, this time of year. Sometimes, they’re dispiriting. Managers seem to spend an [...]

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Today, we finish our discussion on the fine art of Scheduling One-on-Ones.

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This cast describes how to schedule your One on Ones. We get lots of questions on One on Ones (O3s). And, we?re happy that we do, because O3s are the heart of the Management Trinity. We find a lot of managers struggle with when to have their one on ones, whose calendar takes precedence, [...]

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This cast describes a simple way to handle a group interview. Interviewing is one of the real tragedies in most companies. It?s so easy to do it well (once you get over the Horstman Curve), but so few are willing to take the time. Oh, sure, everyone wants to complain about lousy output (low [...]

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This is the second of our casts that describe our recommendations about calendar management. Last week, we covered some basics of calendar management the most important of which was that effective managers think about managing their priorities a WEEK at a time - thinking in terms of weeks is the most effective way to stay strategic, [...]

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This cast describes the first of our recommendations about calendar management. We spend a lot of time talking to executive clients about how they spend their time, and how they manage their priorities through their calendars. Several times over the past couple of years we?ve talked about how when we start coaching an executive, we [...]

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This cast reveals the most important concept a laid off manager must know: Finances Rule. it is the first in a series designed to help both prepare for and navigate through a layoff. Most of us fear being laid off. It?s a good fear to have, frankly - being laid off is a difficult [...]

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This cast describes the second part in our series how to think about being persuasive in a presentation.

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As many of you know, we recently announced our first European Effective Manager Conference, January 29-30 at the Sheraton Amsterdam Schiphol. Typically, we do a brief podcast with a brief review of the conference when we announce the conference … and this time is no different, although a bit late! However, our lateness comes [...]

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This cast describes how to think about being persuasive in a presentation. One of the most maligned arts in professional life today is persuasion. The classic case of persuasion falling out of favor is how often professional sales people are viewed as golfers with big expense accounts. Or, perhaps even more perniciously, why is [...]

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In this cast, we finish up our conversation on approaching compensation decisions during annual reviews. Listening to last week’s show first will help!

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This cast describes a way to approach compensation decisions during annual reviews. We?re in the last quarter of the calendar year, so effective managers are already thinking about performance reviews for their directs. (We don?t agree with delivering all reviews at the end of the calendar year, but we know it?s prevalent). When we [...]

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This cast describes how to leave an effective voicemail. If you?ve ever gotten a voicemail which sounded like, “[your name], this is [their name], call me,” you know why we?re doing this cast. Phone manners have been steadily decreasing for decades. When boys used to call for Mark?s daughter Kate, they would slouch verbally through, “Is [...]

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In this cast, we share what do effective managers do when a direct disagrees with the feedback you give them. As much as many of the managers in our community love how much more effective our tools (particularly the Trinity) make them, it does seem that every once in a while, something goes awry in perfect-manager-land. [...]

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In this cast, we describe how to be effective in everyday conversations. We?ve spent a great deal of time on managerial communications, and for good reason. Managers rely on communication to achieve the very basic requirement of their role: aligning and inspiring others to achieve more than they could do on their own. As [...]

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Today, we cover the 2nd in a two-part series on Horstman’s Wager. Last week we covered the basics as to why “Playing the Game” doesn’t work … today we get into the details of the dreaded Horstman’s Wager MATRIX. During the show, we refer to the printed matrix included in the slides for [...]

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This cast is about interview preparation, and the need for ethics and candor during the process. We’ve been pleased by the demand for our interviewing product - close to 1,000 purchases so far, and the early feedback has been quite powerful. If you would like to read what folks are saying, you can see that [...]

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Today, we finish up our conversation on how to be an effective mentor.

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This cast describes how to be an Effective Mentor. [We released two previous casts on how to be mentored: Basics of Mentoring - Part 1 and Basics of Mentoring - Part 2] In a departure from our normal planning, Mark wrote this week’s show based on his strong response to a recent WSJ article, “Career [...]

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More and more, companies are using psychological and behavioral tests as pre-employment screening devices. They supplement their interviewing processes in order to ensure less false-positives.This is wise, in our judgment, based on what we see of interviewing. Too many companies don’t screen rigorously enough, and have started enlisting more cerebral and/or technical techniques [...]

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If you are a regular listener, you know that each week we focus on specific actions you can take to improve your managerial effectiveness (i.e., what to DO vs. a bunch of theory). Well, today’s show is different … there is nothing “actionable” in here. Today, in this extra cast, we share our [...]

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I thought you all might enjoy another clip of Mark on Interviewing … This video is a brief 2 minute excerpt of Mark’s Interviewing Presentation, covering Horstman’s 2nd Law of Interviewing - “You Are Not As Good As You Think You Are:You?re As Good As The Recruiter Thinks You Are.”

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