Hi All,
Like every poster I've read on the site M-T has been a major part of my development as a manager. I've taken great delight in the benefits it has brought me and even greater delight listening to my directs stop by and talk about the wins they have had using the tools.
I love being a manager, love having the chance to be a positive influence in other peoples careers and want to take it to the next stage by starting up my own business.
I'm working with a government sponsored agency who assist start-ups but have really learned the benefit of actionable advice from M&M.
Does anyone know if such a thing exists? 'Startup-Tools' perhaps :-)
Stephen
Don't underestimate the value
Stephen,
I've spend most of my career working with startup and early stage technology companies.
Most of Manager Tools is applicable, more than might seem at first glance. Let's see....
- One on ones? absolutely applicable.
- Feedback? of course!
- Coaching? you betcha!
- How to hire? critically important for a startup!
- Virtual teams? Layoffs? Running effective meetings? Effective writing? Managerial Communications?
Look at it this way: what do you think <em>doesn't</em> apply to startups?
John Hack
The Unknowns and the Unknown Unknowns
Hi John,
I completely agree that all the above are applicable. I'd go even further and say that it's actioning the advice and guidance from MT that has taken me to the point where I believe that I have the potential to start and run a successful business.
But...
There's a lot about starting a business I have not had hands-on experience with such as
* Business plans
* Credit control
* Marketing
* Funding
* Sales
I know about them, I've written MBA assignments on some of them but I have never used any of them in the 'real world'.
And those are the things I know I don't know a lot about. Every time I pick up reading material about start-ups there's even more areas to consider.
Before signing up for MT I suffered from what I've best heard described as 'benign incompetence'. I was told I was a good person to work for but not a great boss. I'd been to training courses, read a lot of books, but nothing had made the connection from the classroom to daily operations.
MT made the connection for me. My performance reviews and peer feedback has improved dramatically. More importantly the feedback from my team in weekly one-on-one's supports that while I was liked as someone to work for, they much prefer having me as a 'proper manager'.
In an ideal world I'd be able to pick up a source of information on starting up a new business that tells me what I should be doing and how it should be done, Manager-Tools style. I'd like to avoid my benign incompetence phase and focus on getting a proper business right from the start.
With the above in mind I should rephrase my question to...
'For topics not currently covered by MT where do I find the best advice and guidance on starting a new business?'
Regards
Stephen
Don't know
Stephen,
I can't point you anywhere... anyone else out there have a link?
John Hack
My pick would be
My pick would be Entrepreneur magazine. Their website has a huge section of free articles. While it's nothing like Manager Tools, it is a pretty good source.
Better late...
Have you tried Ycombinator? http://www.ycombinator.com
Not so much like manager tools but they do focus on tech start-up content and have a great community.
M Nikolic