Manager Tools

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!

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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

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 [...]

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!

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.”