This cast describes how to give a decision briefing to your manager.

We need a decision from our boss, and we can't get one. What do most of us do? Complain to our peers. This is not a recipe for success, nor changed behavior on your boss's part.

Usually, bosses don't make decisions because there's less pain associated with not making it than there is in making it. Once a boss makes a decision, she has the risk of being wrong. But until she makes the decision, very possibly the negative is that we get less time to take action because we're waiting on the decision. In other words, "no" pain for the boss.

How do we get our bosses to make a decision? How can we present a chance to take a decision in a way that maximizes our chances of getting one?

1. Use The Career Tools Decision Brief Model: SOCRR
2. Situation
3. Options
4. Comparison
5. Recommendation
6. Request
7. Always Consider Two Hidden Factors: Time and Risk
8. Use SOCRR Always – Longer or Shorter, Versus Important Enough or Not
9. Effective Decision Briefs Are Virtually ALWAYS Pre-Wired

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This cast recommends what every professional ought to know about your organization's basic financial health.

There are some things everybody ought to know about the financial health of the place where you work. It's really that simple. We've heard too many stories about people being surprised by layoffs, or reduced bonuses, or lack of pay raises, or tighter budgets to believe that everyone seeks out and learns what they need to know about how healthy their firm is financially.

We know it's hard to connect what you might be doing to the larger picture. On the other hand, if you're a manager, if you don't know that you better figure it out and you damn well better figure it out for your directs too. So if it's hard to see your connection to the big picture, we do understand that it's hard to recognize the impact of the big picture on you. [Until tighter budgets, flatter pay, smaller bonuses or layoffs suggest a hint of it.]

On the other hand, it's not that hard to find out. Here's what to know and how to know it.

1. Need To Know: Annual and Quarterly Revenue
2. Need To Know: Annual and Quarterly Profits
3. Need To Know: Annual and Quarterly Industry Norms
4. How To Know: Public Company
5. How To Know: Small Company, Or a Private Company?

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This cast describes how to determine your boss's preferred communication style, and how to be more effective knowing it.

We periodically get asked by corporate clients to help not just managers, but also individual contributors. Sometimes it's a highly effective performer who has relationship issues, and sometimes it's helping an entire organization, getting the directs on board with what their managers are doing with One on Ones, or Feedback, or even organizational change.

When we do work with groups other than managers, we get all kinds of questions about working with their boss. The first question we get, is how do I give feedback to my boss? For you long time listeners, you know the answer to that one – you don't. The question we don't often get, one we think is really good, is how can I influence my boss?

And the answer to that question starts with knowing how he or she communicates. Here's how to learn what's best for your boss and how to be more effective with it.

1. Bosses (and Everyone Else) Tend to Be Either Readers or Listeners
2. How To Tell Which Your Boss Is
3. How To Be More Effective Knowing It

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This cast describes how to ask for advice, and increase your chances of not only being successful in obtaining advice from this person once, but many times.

One of the joys of being in this position we are in, is that we are able to help tens of thousands of managers and individual contributors each month through our podcasts. But we also get hundreds of emails each month asking for more specific advice, and though we appreciate all our members and their trust in us, there is a SHOCKING lack of understanding of the etiquette of asking for advice, leaving us feeling a little – dare we say – used?

So, this cast is purely selfish, in that it lets our members know what the etiquette is. The reason for etiquette, in a broader sense, is that it smoothes human communication, reducing the friction between us. If you use these recommendations in other situations where you need advice, the friction is reduced and you’re much more likely to get what you want and need.

1. Remember, No-one Owes You Anything
2. Decide You’re Going To Be Open Minded
3. BLUF And THEN Additional Detail
4. Say Thank You
5. Follow Up

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This cast describes Career Tools' recommendations for how to attend a meeting when your boss asks you to go in his/her place.

Your boss asks you to go to a meeting. What do you do? You sort of have three options. You can ask a million questions. Okay, you have two options. You can do what most directs do and go and then wait for the boss to ask for a debrief. Or, you can do a couple of simple things which take about five minutes, and impress the stuffing out of your boss. Here's how to do THAT.

1. Before You Go, Ask Three Questions
   1. Am I Presenting and If So, How?
   2. Key Agenda Items
   3. Topics or Discussions To Watch Out For
2. During the Meeting, Stay Quiet and Take GOOD Notes
3. After the Meeting, Report Efficiently
   1. Capture And Send Your Notes From Where The Meeting Was
   2. Do NOT Send Minutes
   3. Think About Your Boss's Receiving Style
   4. Include Attendees and Non-Attendees
   5. Highlight Deliverables

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This cast concludes our conversation on how to change jobs between states, countries or industries.

1. Making This Kind of Change Is Harder
2. Smaller Steps are Better
3. A Foothold in The New Place Helps
4. You Will Need More Help
5. Demonstrate Real Reasons and a Longer Term Goal
6. You Need To Interview 10x Better Than Anyone Else

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This cast explains how to change jobs between states, countries or industries.

One of the most difficult things to do in one's career is to change locations across the country, between countries or between industries. It's also something many people want to do. Whether it's moving to be with a spouse, the adventure of travel or moving out of an industry that has got stale or is in a downward spiral, there are often good reasons for wanting to do something so hard.

Unfortunately, this cast does not provide the silver bullet which will make these changes possible for everyone. There is none. It WILL give you some actions to take to make the change more possible for you.

1. Making This Kind of Change Is Harder
2. Smaller Steps are Better
3. A Foothold in The New Place Helps
4. You Will Need More Help
5. Demonstrate Real Reasons and a Longer Term Goal
6. You Need To Interview 10x Better Than Anyone Else

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This cast concludes our Career Tools' recommendations for textual communications on portable devices.

1. Put Your Device Away When You Are Addressed
2. Don't Touch Your Device When Conversing
3. Rare – RARE – Urgency Trumps This
4. Ask To Be Excused
5. And Finally, Interrupt Politely

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This cast describes Career Tools' recommendations for textual communications on portable devices.

If you've ever been talking to someone who was distracted and then proceeded to answer a text message, send an email, post on Facebook, "Tweet", or in any other way use their cell phone, smart phone, pager, or any other mobile device to communicate, this cast is for you. Feel free to start playing this cast for the offender, on your own mobile device, and then hit them over the head with it.

Here is Career Tools simple guidance for using mobile phones and messaging devices.

1. Put Your Device Away When You Are Addressed
2. Don't Touch Your Device When Conversing
3. Rare – RARE – Urgency Trumps This
4. Ask To Be Excused
5. And Finally, Interrupt Politely

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This cast concludes our conversation on recommendations for what to do when you make a mistake.

1. Admit It Quickly and Emphatically…and Actively
2. What Happened?
3. What Are The Consequences?
4. Who Else Needs to Know?
5. How Are You Going To Fix It?
6. How Are You Going To Prevent Reoccurrence?

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