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 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.

May 12, 2008 13:48 GMT Update: iTunes has now refreshed the feed. If you downloaded the wrong show (sorry), you may delete the show within iTunes, refresh the podcast list (alt/option click the disclosure triangle next to the Manager Tools podcast), then download the podcast again by selecting the “Get” button next to the latest show. Sorry for the troubles!

This podcast is the second of two on the subtleties associated with being interviewed during a meal.

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. 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 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

Recently one of our great members, Doug Bardwell, was kind enough to point out that the “quote” I recently used from Petronius Arbiter is not accurate. There is no credible evidence that it is Arbiter’s, or anyone else’s, for that matter. It really was too good to be true.

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

I regret my error.

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 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.

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, 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.

We will be back in Europe in May, and Rowley Maggs in the UK has arranged for our second London MT Meet Up. Details:

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!

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 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