Over the weekend, my wife and I had friends over for pizza and game night. We talked while our kindergarteners played. While we talked about many things, work played a not so minor character. I was asked if I like being a manager. Because of you and your team, I could confidently respond in the affirmative. Eleven years ago, I was promoted within my team to manager. I was given more money, more responsibility, and some training. I fell into the trap of thinking that I needed to tell people what to do leveraging my role power. Most everyone quit shortly after. I struggled with every managerial task. Somehow I stumbled on Manager Tools and never turned back. MT is my on-demand learning resource, my source of continuous inspiration, and my favorite email every Wednesday. I cannot overstate how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, my career, my team, my company, and my community. When you shared that management was a skill to learn, it opened up possibilities that I never knew before.

David Barnard