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 them? It vexes the best of us.

And one of the keys: you really don’t have to.

PLEASE NOTE: If you downloaded this show and got part 2 of the Meal Interviews series, I’m sorry. I’ve since corrected the problem. You should now get the correct show.

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. Meal interviews are becoming more and more common, even as they become ever less intelligent as a tool.

The cast is really just a long list of small tips – there is very little overarching strategy to share. The STRATEGY is clear, though, right? It’s an INTERVIEW!

This is perhaps the third most important interviewing question, after, “Tell me about yourself,” and behavioral questions. It can be a tough one if you haven’t done some thinking about how you lead and motivate others, and why others perform well when you are leading them.

In this cast, we walk through how to prepare to answer, and how to deliver an impressive answer. Finally, at the end of the show, we share a crucial test that your answer must pass. While you already know the answer to the test, it still catches most people off guard.

And, in this cast, we make a very exciting New Product Announcement!

The Link: Manager Tools Resume Service Description

I like quotes, but I failed to validate the provenance of this one. I won’t use it again.

I regret my error.

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 started when they were being interviewed. But the fact is, just like our elected leaders in a democracy, we get the people we deserve. If we hired them, we MUST have wanted them? Right?

Somehow, though, this kind of analysis is never done. While it’s probably not terribly helpful for those who leave the company after 20 years, there ought to be a way to evaluate managers’ abilities to find and hire good, talented people (”talent”) for the company.

And now there is: The Manager Tools Talent Scouting Average.

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, don’t listen to the doubts you’re feeling, don’t interview for the soft skills.

Of course, this is what happens far too often…and then when there are culture or discipline problems, everyone starts talking about changing the culture, or doing exit interviews. But the answer lies in smarter — and harder — hiring.

In this cast, we share a simple way for a hiring manager to make a decision about a candidate. You’ll probably hear a surprise or two, so listen in … and you’ll also hear Horstman’s Law of Bad Hiring!

This cast is one in a series to be called How to Hire, which is part of our larger set of series on Managing Talent.

Date: 16 May
Time: 7:30 - 9:30 pm
Where: Pizza Express, Hounslow Link To Map
Address Details:
Closest Tube is Hounslow East (zoom out one click on the map above)
About 35 mins from the West End on the Piccadilly Line.
About 20 mins from Heathrow Terminal 3 on the Piccadilly Line.

The plan is for all of us to chat from 7:30 to 8:30, and then Mark and Mike will answer questions in the second hour.

Please RSVP to this thread in the forums so we can plan the right amount of seats.

Hope you can make it!

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!

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 surprise some of our listeners, because it’s pretty counterintuitive. On the other hand, we have alluded to it in a few casts before. It’s just not what most people think it should be.

We’ll tell you as well what most managers do…and why they’re wrong.

The first in a series: The Manager Tools Guidelines For New Managers

I am a Manager in a [European] IT company and for 6 months I slogged with my 8 member team unknown and unrecognized in a small corner of the office.

Then last month our clients started reviewing all the teams that were servicing their account and were quite disappointed with the people management systems in place. Or rather the lack of them.

Until they reviewed our team.

They saw strange terms bandies about,like O3, Coaching, employee engagement surveys,constant feedback systems.

Guess what?

My VP promoted me to ‘Process Excellence Manager’ to ensure ALL teams followed the lead of the ‘Center of Excellence’ that my team is now recognized as.

All it is all because of 2 people in a distant country. You make a difference and maybe in the end that is all that matters.

A fan

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 a company without new products, without new distribution – think Tiffany’s, or coal mines. But not without delegation. (Delegation is ESPECIALLY important if you don’t have new products or distribution, and we don’t recommend either!)

Effective Managers know how to consciously and effectively delegate. Good delegation leads to more growth at less cost. How can we call ourselves professional managers unless we do something that we KNOW leads to profitable growth?

First, we got our first confessional email from a member who admitted to paying for premium content, downloading it all, and then unsubscribing.

Second, I re-read a column discussing how work is no longer fulfilling for knowledge workers because they don’t produce measurable/visible/knowable output. One guy said that because he resells energy futures, he envies electricians the fact that they can see their accomplishments, which may last a long time.

But then a management consultant said that she envied her clients celebrating a clear accomplishment, and, “‘That must be a tremendous feeling […]one I will never know.’”

While I generally don’t like to define things in terms of negatives, these two items reminded me why Manager Tools exists.

First, Mike and I do spend time talking about how to protect our work, and we do try to be careful. We have a great IP lawyer. And, we generally refuse to work on protecting our stuff when it gets technically complicated OR when we think our best users are going to stumble over the protections. I am SURE that our biases here made it easy for the confessor to do so.

We’re sticking to our plan.

Some people are going to steal Manager Tools’ stuff. We think it’s wrong and reprehensible. We think our honor system rightly mirrors the honor system of managers. If you work for us, we’ll forgive you for cheating…and we will fire you. We believe in redemption AND trustworthiness.

But we’re not going to make it hard for the vast majority of folks to grow and develop because of a few who don’t share our view of honor.

Thanks to all of you, we can’t imagine not feeling a sense of accomplishment. We feel accomplishments every day, all the time! We love getting notes about how you’re doing and how we played a role. (And yes, we still think YOU deserve all the credit).

As we grow, we get more notes thanking us every day. I read each one multiple times. On bad days, I re-read many of them.

We want everyone to get better as managers, so much so we know we’re going to get cheated. And we know it’s working, because we feel it every day.

We would do this for free.

For you.

That’s why we do this.

For you.

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 week per direct to coach them. FIVE MINUTES A WEEK! Who would want to go to their boss and say, “I didn’t coach my people this YEAR, because over the course of the year it would have taken me 4 hours, and I didn’t want to spend that much time on it.”

Not if you worked for us. At least, not for long.

I told him I got that question a lot [for the wrong reasons, but whatever.] I told him that “feedback” started in the early 20th century, with the advent of microphones. Since inputs into the mics were “feeds”, and they were designed to only work with inputs, if there were “feeds” that came back through the system [usually from being too close to speakers], you’d get an awful noise. That awful noise was named “feedback”, because it was a “feed” that came “back” into the system.

Well, you’d have thought that he’d been handed the talking points of an opposing debating team. He attacked our model for using a term whose origins were legitimately associated with an awful noise. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that feedback was even then useful, and managers who don’t give feedback because they think it’s an awful noise just don’t realize how awful a noise their silence makes.

What I should have said, rather than taking his question literally (no, he did not use the word etymology), was that we use the word NOT because of its earliest origins, but rather because we’re engineers, and all good systems are built with feedback mechanisms built in. The word feedback is NOT inherently negative today, even though that’s how it began, and how managers who don’t want to do it define it themselves. The word usage has CHANGED, to incorporate the value of feedback into systems that touch all aspects of our lives.

Word usage DOES change. It used to be that Bethlehem hospital in London was a mental institution. It was initially derogatory slang to describe a completely chaotic situation as “bedlam”, but it got that name because that was how Bethlehem Hospital was pronounced.

Maybe you as a manager think of feedback as an awful noise, but you’re glad there’s feedback in other systems, we’re sure of that. When your automatic car window STOPS going up because the system has a new force put on it - FEEDBACK - your child’s hand doesn’t get crushed. When your automatic garage door STOPS going down because something interrupts the safety circuit, well, your child’s hand doesn’t get crushed. When someone says, “WHAT?!?!?” when you use a word they don’t understand, or they just don’t hear you, or YOU MISPRONOUNCE it, or you’re not using the language they’re most familiar…that TOO, is feedback.

When you do something, the world responds. That’s feedback, and we’re usually happy to have it.

And so are your directs.

So stop worrying about the WORD - or heaven forbid its HISTORY, and add a feedback mechanism to your directs’ performance.

Just like you want YOUR BOSS to do.

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 manager actually puts it into action.

This theme came out of many conversations we have had with managers about the value they were getting from our high level discussion of the Trinity at both Effective Manager Conferences and at onsite corporate client work.

We’re careful to make every cast actionable. This one IS. We make a specific recommendation regarding feedback delivery you don’t want to miss.

Mark recently blogged about the crazy advice being given - by the Wall Street Journal! - about how to handle the perennial interviewing question, “Tell me about a weakness.” He was stunned by how wrong some of the suggestions were, as well as the implication that a clever interviewee could trick the interviewing manager into accepting a non-responsive answer. We think it’s funny how many folks think that “they” can fool “their” interviewer, but of course, if “they” were the one “interviewing”, why, “that would be different”.

Yeah right.

In this cast, we share one of the best interviewing answer templates you’ll ever hear. It’s simple, elegant, easy to deliver, and surprise, surprise: it directly answers the question.

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 use these basic principles all the time to make themselves, their teams, and their organizations more effective.

All of the behaviors and habits in the Management Trinity are simple to understand, relatively easy to do, and give exceptional returns on a manager’s investment.

And that’s why we recommend them.

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 are quite good at running their OWN O3s aren’t very good at getting the most out of their time with their boss. Frankly, we think that if they reported to themselves, they’d be disappointed in their direct.

We’ve been watching managers for years, and we have some recommendations for how you can be most effective when you’re the direct.

(But to be clear: We never recommend managing your boss. Never.)

One additional note here: If you are NEW to Manager Tools, the concept of the One on One may not be completely familiar. If so, we recommend you go back and listen to those casts first. While you’re at it, you may want to reference the Manager Tools “Basics” series for the core podcasts outlining our basic thoughts and fundamental practices of effective management.

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, in a sense, done away with. And certainly the world of commerce has changed how people interact, making much of our lives less formal than perhaps they were before.

But at the same time, we’ve also noticed that the blurring of work and family time means more of us are exposed, AT WORK, to situations that call on basic rules of social courtesy. Those managers who do well in these situations are seen as more polished and as better communicators - in short, better future executives.

So, don’t think of this cast as one about “etiquette”. It’s not. It’s about courtesy … and getting promoted.

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 with the dreaded “SMART” goal standard, which hopefully we successfully put paid to in the previous casts.

MT Goals are much more clear, and frankly just plain EASIER than “SMART” goals. Managers spend too much time making bad goals into ones that pass a misguided test, while other managers are told that goals that are impressive and well-targeted aren’t of the right format. It’s silly and terribly counterproductive.

But after our last three casts, some managers have asked for examples. If you need help turning your goals into MT goals, this is the cast for you.

Even better than two great American conferences?

Yep, even better.

Our European members and listeners who attended our Amsterdam conference had to fight through some language barriers. There were 17 different countries represented - with almost as many languages. And yet, BECAUSE of the language challenge, this group was MORE attentive and more focused.

Yet again, every meal was FILLED with questions during Open Q&A, and we stayed until close to 7 p.m. Wednesday evening answering questions…even though the conference ended at 5:30. 40 of our 55 attendees were still in the room at 7!

We came to Europe (we are still in London recuperating) because managers are everywhere, and we are HUMBLED by the desire, professionalism, and kindness of our European members.

And if you don’t believe me, please go to the forums and read what the attendees themselves are saying: Amsterdam Feedback Forum

We’re ready NOW to come back!

The fact is, we did not expect three years ago to get such positive responses to our casts and advice on careers and career management. We SHOULD have seen it, but we didn’t (and you’ll learn why in this week’s cast). But we are listening, and thus this week’s cast.

In the same way that “Finances Rule” when it comes to being laid off, PREPARATION makes the entire process so much easier. Both of these recommendations stem from a simple principle: decisions of import made under pressure are dangerous.

So, this week: our Annual Layoff Immunization Guidelines.

What: Manager Tools Meet Up
When: Saturday, 2 Feb, 7:00 - 9:30
Where: Pizza Express, Haymarket
26 Panton House,
London, SW1Y 4EN
Telephone - 020 7930 8044
Google Map

This will be our first international meet up (if you don’t count the Amsterdam conference!) and we’re excited to meet our UK friends, listeners and members. We’re hosting everyone for dinner.

Please rsvp with your intent in a blog comment. We’d like to know how many to plan for. Wendii Lord is helping us with the venue.

Cheers!

As Mike and I prepare to host the first international Effective Manager Conference, we’re humbled that our community has grown so large. We’re honored to be among a group of professionals working on improving themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

It’s a privilege to serve ALL of you.

Although “merely” a story, don’t fool yourself … there are valuable lessons in there!

I apologize for the late notice, but tonight we’ll be doing a site upgrade and will be down for up to 2 hours staring at approximately 10pm Eastern.

The upgrade, assuming all goes well, will be a fairly significant upgrade in hardware — the first step in more upgrades to come. Although at first you’ll simply see a “snappier” website, we have plenty in more in store for the future … stay tune!

Thanks for your patience while we complete these upgrades!

Regards,
Mike

Jan 13, 2008 Update

9:19am EasternAlthough most functions appear to be working, we’re still working through a few issues (access to password protected RSS feeds and premium content links, for example). We think we’ve identified the issue and should have it working shortly.

1:15pm Eastern Thanks for your patience … with the exception of a few cosmetic issues, everything should be fully functional now. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you see any issues!

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.”

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 awful lot of time word-smithing their intent into corporate frameworks. All that time would be FAR better spent thinking about the goals themselves, and how the achievement of those goals will help the organization.

A lot of managers have to create goals that are “SMART”, and we don’t recommend your doing so unless you have to. We dislike them SO much we almost called this cast, “SMART Goals are Stupid.” (We REALLY don’t like them). In fact, we spend a good bit of time in our introduction talking about SMART goals, so beware. The fact that the technique is so widespread and so often ineffective causes us to want to address it fully.

And hey, who would have thought that our answer would be “MT Goals”?

Cool.

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, what days of the week are best, etc.

In this cast, we talk about ALL those factors, as well as the benefits of varying techniques that we’ve seen different managers use to schedule their O3s.

We finish with the single most important guidance regarding O3 scheduling you’ll ever hear, so stay tuned.

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 retention, poor performance, attitude difficulties, etc.), but no one seems to be willing to think systemically about the problems.

Come to think of it, there are thousands of companies who never get to the idea that turnover, low morale, and poor performance might just be the output of a broken process: interviewing.

And one of the worst ideas in interviewing is GROUP interviews.

But, since you may very well get one at some point, we have a simple (three key points!) set of suggestions to help you make it through.

The Plant Manager had been named to his role for a newly acquired facility, at which many of the employees spoke Spanish primarily. The GM rightly surmised that leadership and management require excellent communication, and the language barrier was significant. So, the GM set an objective for the Plant Manager, which met the standard of a “SMART” goal:

“You and I will have lunch - entirely in Spanish - by (date).”

I’ve owed you an update for quite a while, and here it is.

After missing the initial goal (more on this later), the GM and his Plant Manager DID have lunch, entirely in Spanish.

We at Manager Tools believe that the setting of a goal with a measurable outcome [”entirely” and “in Spanish” do that quite nicely] and a clear deadline [the lunch was on both calendars] is a significant motivator of managerial behavior.

Interestingly, the Plant Manager missed the first deadline. He did so in part because he was knee deep in pressing plant issues, issues that the GM and I and others completely AGREED were pressing and worthwhile efforts. But working on other pressing issues is ALWAYS possible, and an oft-used reason for failing to achieve a goal. Those other issues are the very reason for the clarity of the goal to begin with.

(And a postscript: we don’t subscribe to SMART goals, but this client used them, and many of you are forced to work with them. We have a future cast on SMART goals, and the Manager Tools better alternative. - H)

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, and therefore effective.

We then covered our first, and perhaps most surprising point - Family First. Simple in practice … schedule time for your family ON YOUR CALENDAR first. And then give THAT commitment the same level of focus as your other priorities.

This week, we cover our remaining points relative to managing your calendar …

• Schedule time for email
• Nail down your strategic objectives
• Block out one-on-ones
• Schedule time for a weekly network building lunch

Now there is.

To the left, in our “Products” section, you’ll see a link: Manager Tools Gifts. Clicking on that link will take you to a page that gives anyone the option to buy one of 4 gift certificates, with amounts in parentheses:

- The Manager Tools Interviewing Series - ($150.00)
- Manager Tools Annual Premium Subscription - ($165.00)
- $25 Gift Toward Any Non-Recurring Product - ($25.00)
- $50 Gift Purchase Toward Any Non-Recurring Product - ($50)

Purchasers will get a coupon code, and sharing that coupon code with the gift recipient will allow the recipient to enter it during checkout when purchasing a non-recurring product, reducing the price by the amount of the certificate.

Please do note that you can’t yet apply these gift certificates/coupons to recurring products, such as the monthly Premium Content Subscription. That’s much harder behind the scenes; we’re working on it.

Hope this makes many of your holidays happier!

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 ask for two things immediately: an accounting of what they consider their priorities, and a print out of their calendar.

They almost NEVER match, except with CEOs and COOs.

If you’re a thinking manager, you’re not asking, “why?” but rather, “what can I do to avoid that?”

There are a few simple rules that get most effective executives (thank you Mr. Drucker) started off well, and they start with thinking a week at a time.

Most of us fear being laid off. It’s a good fear to have, frankly - being laid off is a difficult passage for anyone. The fear of being re-employed, the fear of loss of status, the loss of income, risk to one’s family. All good reasons to be scared.

And yet, those who have been laid off express very different emotions than those of us who have not. When those who have been laid off are asked about it, it becomes clear why. It’s not JUST that they’ve, “been through it once and I made it.” It’s what they THEN say: “I’m ready this time.”

And that’s why you’re scared: you’re not ready.

This cast tells you how to start getting ready. And, our entire series about layoffs will be geared to helping everyone get prepared, and helping those that DO get laid off make it through successfully.

Frankly, we know we’re falling down here. We’re looking at our priorities, and we do think we have them right, but we have stuff not getting done. So, we worry that there are managers out there who might benefit from our content, and we’re not working hard enough to reach them. (Trust me, we’re working hard enough in general, but just not on marketing.)

And then it hit us: why not just give the word of mouth a megaphone?

Here, then, is our first installment of an email note from a member about their experience with the Interviewing Tool. (We also want to market free stuff, too - we’re not just trying to sell Interviewing Tools with this post). If you care to share, please write us a note (showAT…), and tell us if we can use your name or not. Please share in the spirit of letting OTHERS know why you’re a fan, a member or premium content subscriber.

************

Dear Mike / Mark

I just wanted to let you guys know that I just landed a VP job at a company that was at the very top of my short list of career companies. I landed the job as an outside candidate in an environment where they prefer to recruit from the inside. It was also a very hotly contested job.

Without question the interviewing podcasts and content you provided made the absolute difference. I followed probably 85% of what you outlined. Had I not followed this advice I would not have had the level of confidence to perform the way I did throughout the interview process. I was so well prepared I was able to be at ease and operate at another level.

So thank you. I trust you guys know that you are making a difference – all my direct reports listen to your content, and all my new reports will in the future.

Also, I am one of the people that had to cancel out of your very first conference and you refunded my money – even though you didn’t have to. You are a class act.

Many thanks and may Manager Tools continue to thrive.

*********

We do this for you all. It’s a privilege to serve.

You have a meeting coming up. Not only do you need to make a presentation, you need to make the presentation to your bosses boss. Perhaps you need to present to your bosses boss, but also all her directs at her next staff meeting. How do you prepare for that? How do you ensure that you don’t walk across any land-mines during the presentation? What can you do NOW to make that presentation a slam-dunk?

Listen up … in this members-only cast, with obvious links to our weekly podcast discussion on persuasion, we’re going to show you!

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 with a benefit … we’re extending the early registration period by two weeks (ending on November 16).

So here’s a brief discussion about our upcoming Amsterdam Effective Manager Conference!

For more details, our agenda, and logistics, please go to the Effective Manager Conference page.

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 it that all of the sales roles in technology firms are called “Business Development”? Sales is associated with persuasion, and that taint keeps far too many managers from embracing the real value of persuasion.

But we all know that we have to do it, right? Admit it: you know that you’re going to be called upon to persuade others. Just because you wish you could just MAKE people do what you want, or that they would “just see it my way!” doesn’t change the fact that every manager is expected to be persuasive.

Here’s how to begin to think about it.

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 delivered our podcasts on reviews, we didn’t discuss compensation, and this cast we cover it for the first time.

The fact is, the compensation decision is truly separate from the performance analysis that precedes the preparation of the review. Nevertheless, managers often have to deliver the results of both at the same time, so it’s prudent to be thinking about compensation in Q4.

If you don’t know the bucket theory of compensation, you’ll need to listen in.

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 Kate there?” and Mark would answer, “Yes,” and hang up. He safely assumed that any person who asked that question was a boy, and not enough of a gentleman to be allowed to speak with her. (At first she rolled her eyes, but later she liked the hurdle that Mark’s demand created: those boys that never got it ended up being…well, boys.)

What about at work? The “Bob this is Joe call me” is only one example. It ranks right up there with “saw that you called, what’s up?” answered with, “did you, errrrr…listen to my voicemail?”

In this cast, we have recommendations for how to leave a voicemail. We think of this as the first cast on phone skills…out of several hundred to come.

I apologize, but I made some terrible errors on the email that went out on the Amsterdam Conference.

First, the early registration period ends on November 2, not October 2. No, time travel is not required to get the early registration discount.

Second, the US dollar did not all of a sudden make dramatic gains against the euro. The early registration price is 1500 euros (again, until November 2), and the regular price is 1750 euros.

your (very) humble servant,
Mike

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. A meeting still gets hijacked (even with a parking lot!), a struggling direct still fails (even with late stage coaching).

What do you do when a direct disagrees with your feedback? We think many newer managers – and particularly newer managers who are rookies with the feedback model – are stunned into a kind of affronted muteness. “What?!?”, you think. She must not understand that I have just delivered the sine qua non of development guidance, in a form palatable for all. How DARE she argue. I am … The MANAGER. This is… FEEDBACK. It is… SUPPOSED to work. Mike and Mark…SAID SO!

But it does happen, for a couple of reasons, and it’s really not a big deal.

And we have the answer for you in this, the The Shot Across The Bow show.

We’re thrilled with how our attendees felt about their experiences this year at conferences:

“It’s really simple: If you’re a manager, you need manager-tools, you need to hear Mark and Mike, and if you have the opportunity to EXPERIENCE Mark, Mike, & company, DON’T MISS IT.

This was hands-down the best training I’ve ever attended.”

Fran McTernan

The basics: It’s January 29-30, at the Sheraton Amsterdam Schiphol.

For more details, our agenda, and logistics, please go to the Effective Manager Conference page.

If you’re ready now, go to our conference registration page to register now.

We have limited space to 75 attendees (NOT 100!). We have presented in Europe before, and we know that our lack of fluency means more practice and more time on key subjects.

“This Manager Tools conference was the most effective two days of training that I have ever had. I have taken away so much from this conference above what I was getting out of the pod casts. In addition to presentations and practice, which were excellent, I got a lot out of the Q&A’s during the meals and the informal discussions after dinner and between breaks. It also makes all of the difference in the world to be at a training seminar with so many other people that actually want to be there.

I can’t wait until I get back to work to put some of what I learned to action. I am absolutely convinced that this will have a major positive impact on my team.”

So, for all our European members begging us for a conference: here it is. Your turn!

We hope to see you in January.

We’re doing this because many members have asked us for an extension for various reasons, and we don’t want to exclude them arbitrarily. Also, we had said that we would remind everyone about the deadline, and we haven’t done that. We don’t want our lack of follow through to cause people to be disappointed about the offer being closed.

Our lack of follow through is due both to an explosion of corporate requests and to planning conference dates and venues for 2008. I will not spend 7 days at home in a row until after Thanksgiving, and Mike is traveling a great deal more.

We will communicate more this month regarding planning, products, and pricing. Thanks for your understanding!

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 a former boss of mine was fond of saying, “you may be smarter than me, but you’re not smarter than WE.”

But, there are a lot of different kinds of communication. We’ve talked about meetings, and feedback, and coaching, and late stage coaching, and delivering reviews…and there are hundreds more.

Including plain old conversations.

Conversations are our most FREQUENTLY used verbal communication form, aren’t they? So why does everyone want to know the right way to do all those other managerial communications – like feedback: “do I REALLY have to say FEEDBACK?!?” - but nobody seems to ask about conversations?

In this cast, we’ll share the MOST V