Registering (x2)

We've gotten a couple of notes recently indicating that Mike and I could have done a better job of explaining some of the ways our site and services work. Specifically, "new members" have said things like, "I didn't know about the monthly cast feed," and, "you mean I have to register twice in order to use the forums?"

And my answers are "Sorry we weren't more clear!" and "Yes... And, sorry!"

If you don't know it, Manager Tools is more than the weekly casts we have (posted in this blog Sunday night/Monday morning. Herewith, a brief overview.

1. The Weekly Manager Tools Podcast. The bread and butter of Manager Tools. You can listen to our future-award-winning ;-) cast either right here in your browser, or by downloading it to your PC directly. You can also subscribe by using our RSS feed of that cast. (I'll be covering more of the technical stuff in the coming days).

This cast will always be free, and will always be dedicated to making managers more effective.

2. The Monthly Members Only Podcast. Mike and I added this additional cast to encourage listeners to join our community more fully. Registering essentially gets you an extra free show every month. Last year we had casts on how to run an introductory meeting, how to run a "hot-wash" after action meeting, and a very well received series on working with the four major behavioral styles in the DiSC profile we like so much.

You must first register, by going here. Once you register, you'll be able to go to the page where we archive all those monthly shows, and you can also access the feed if you choose to use RSS.

This year, we're going to be focusing on your career with the monthly casts, with topics like how to prepare for your own monthly review, how to prepare for being acquired/merged with another company, etc.

3. The Discussion Forums. There's a link on this page that says "Go To the Discussion Forums". The Forums are even less well known than our monthly cast, and that's too bad. Post any management or career question, and we'll answer them, usually with all the detail you need. There are over 1200 posts from close to 400 members. Often, you'll get multiple answers to your question. If you think you can add value to someone else's problem, please share you experience and/or insights with them.

There aren't that many places where you can get 24 hour turnaround on your managerial problems from a management consultant. In some cases, you'll get a response within an hour. (Yes, there are times when I also miss a post, and I catch it a week later, but it's rare.) I would really appreciate it if a few members who spend time on the forums would share their thoughts as comments to the value they've gotten from the Forums. Mike and I think it's an under-utilized part of the Manager Tools suite of services.

We' are sorry you have to register twice - we're working on that. We didn't start the forums until March, I think, so we only have 400 or so members there. I think the double registration catches some folks. Fight through!!!!

4. This blog. I finally got comfortable with blogging, and our sense is that it's working well. Mike tells me I blog "a LOT" with my Tuesdays Thursdays Saturdays schedule, 3-4 times each of those days. Well, that's okay to me - I've got lots to say. I really enjoy asking questions and getting insights. My recent post on resumes was a HUGE change in how I see them... glad I had a forum to reach thousands. Someone needs to keep an eye out for the good managers who don't know how to handle their transitions.

I'm completely comfortable with disagreements, and kudos, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts as comments.

5. Corporate Clients. We alluded to this in our anniversary show. We haven't advertised it, but organizations are hiring us more frequently, and it's tougher balancing all that we do because of that, let alone our "other" jobs. If you think your firm might want to engage us, to further spread the Manager Tools message of basic professional managerial blocking and tackling, just send us a mail. We do both standard consulting engagements and private podcasts.

6. Coming Soon: Premium Subscriptions. Still in pre-release. We will be offering collateral content for every show to all paid subscribers. Our thoughts now are $15 - $20 a month for both a transcript and a slideshow covering the points in a detailed outline form, as well as any forms that are tied to the cast. This will include the monthly casts as well. We get requests for both types of collateral. You will be able to keep and print all documents, and they will be yours forever. (For personal use - they'll be copyrighted).

We have yet more coming. We are discovering that all of the cobbled-together systems that podcasters use sometimes don't scale well for some of our efforts, and Mike is creating custom solutions for some of this.