We are proud to launch all the dates for MTD’s Management Training in 2012.

By clicking on MTD’s website, you can find out which programs would benefit you and your team.

For 2012, we have added two new open courses; Sales Management Skills and E-Selling Skills.

These are in addition to our highly-popular open courses on Essential Management Skills and Advanced Management Skills.

We look forward to you visiting our site and maybe seeing you on one of our courses soon.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Despite what television commercials would have you believe, depression is relatively common. The difference is that the majority of the population experiences some sort of situational depression (due to a relationship, illness, death, job issue, etc) and then works past it. Some need professional help and others do not. Others have hormonal imbalances that cause them to become depressed and, in many cases, seek regular medical attention.

Regardless of the cause, depression in any form is an illness, whether short term or long term. If your employees become depressed they may begin calling out of work, putting out work that is not the same high quality you are used to, or simply stop getting as much done. In the end, depression in the workforce causes organisations money.

People are people. It’s important to think about your employees rather than your bottom line. If you begin to notice the signs of depression in your employees you’ll need to take action. Here are a few things to consider:

• Make sure you educate your team about depression (preferrably before you notice it). Make sure your team members know that they will not be reprimanded or punished if they are diagnosed with a depressive disorder.
• Give your employees access to help. Your organisation may have an in-house physician that can help, or you may want to refer your employee to his own physician. Either way, let him know you’ll work with him (reasonably) while he obtains assistance.
• Know the difference between “burn out” and depression. While burn out may cause depression, it may not be the reason for your employee’s troubles.

With your help, your team members can recover and return to their previously productive selves. Be compassionate and show you care. They’ll always remember the helping hand you gave.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Management, to be honest, isn’t easy. Sure, there are pros and cons to becoming a manager but the reality of the situation is that you need to jump on the management path not only because someone thinks you’d be good at it, or because you think you’ll make more money, but because you really want to be a leader.

Any other reason is unacceptable and, in the end, if you’re not willing to be a leader you’re going to find yourself very frustrated with your career path. Let’s take a look at some of the negative and positive aspects of a career in management.

First, we’ll list some of the drawbacks:

• You won’t be able to develop as many close friendships with your team members because doing so will cloud your ability to make objective supervisory decisions. You may begin to feel lonely.
• You’ll receive very little immediate feedback about how you’re doing with your work. Most of your goals will be long-term. As such, you may feel unsure of yourself.
• Managers often have to sign legal documents, including employment contracts or contracts with customers and vendors. This means you can, on some level, be held legally liable if there is a problem.
• Management positions are competitive. There are more team members than there are managers -always. And there are always more people looking to move up than there are spots available. You may feel some tension as others vie for your job – or for those similar to yours.

There are, of course, plenty of positive aspects to management:

• Your status as a manager may earn you some sort of prestige – especially if people believe your title sounds powerful.
• Managers sometimes feel as though they have some sort of power. They do, on some levels, but it is important to remember that even managers have work delegated to them before they can delegate it to others.
• Managers, in most cases, receive better pay than those beneath them. There are instances in which this is not true. For example, some companies pay based on the value of your contributions. Who do you think gets paid more – a nuclear chemist or the guy who “manages” the plan in which he works. My guess is that the nuclear chemist is actually making a more valuable or important contribution to the overall goals of the organisation.

It’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons of management. If moving up the corporate ladder is something you’ve always dreamed of, then go for it. If not, do you really want to add that type of stress to your life?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

The other day I was reading a sales-related article but the point really translates back to any aspect of business – especially if you are a manager. The article talked about your voice and, more specifically, the tone of your voice.

So here’s a sales-related example first. You give a huge sales presentation and in the end your prospect asks you to get to the point. What’s the price? You hesitate. Your voice gets a bit softer. Perhaps you state the answer more as a question than a statement of fact. You seem unsure of yourself. The tone of your voice convinces your prospect that you aren’t sure your product is actually worth what you’re getting ready to charge. Suddenly, your prospect begins to question you and the value of your product. Maybe you aren’t the right choice.

As a manager, you have to be careful about the tone you use when answering employee questions – especially when it comes to matters pertaining to policies and procedures. Say, for example, an employee questions a time-off procedure and tries to get some time without giving proper notice. Are you going to hesitantly approve it (making you sound like a pushover), sternly warn the employee about not using the proper notice and give him one chance, or simply deny the request. What tone of voice will you use for each? Will you set a negative precedent? Will you establish your own level of authority?

The tone of your voice, from the beginning of your day until the end, will play a huge role in your success as a manager. Be calm, be fierce, and – most important – use a tone that is appropriate to each individual situation. Keep your mouth closed until you’re sure of what you’re about to say. The way you say it will make a huge difference!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

In the past we’ve had several conversations about knowledge and how to manage the knowledge you have within your ogranization. We’ve talked about auditing information, storing information, and even making sure it gets back out to those who need it.

Today I want to talk about what I consider the four fundamental priniciples of knowledge management. They include capturing knowledge, validating knowledge, accessing knowledge, and then scaling that knowledge down. What do I mean?

The idea of capturing knowledge is pretty simple – in theory, anyway. Capturing knowledge is the process by which you determine what knowledge is available and then bring it together into some form of documentation. Knowledge that isn’t documented can’t be shared or used.

After you capture knowledge you have to validate it. Validating knowledge is about ensuring that the information you have is accurate and relevant. It won’t do you any good to have incorrect facts in your database and it’s just as bad to have completely outdated information as well.

After you capture and validate the knowledge within your organisation you have to create a way that makes it easy for everyone to access the pieces they need at any given time. They shouldn’t have to sort through an entire database. It needst to be indexed so that it can be easily found and used.

Scaling information is the process of making the information you have into something usable regardless of the geographic location of your business. If you are part of an international business, for example, your employees in New York City and Tokyo may need to access the same database. An employee in NYC can’t use one method of capturing, validating, and accessing if an employee in Tokyo is doing something different. If that happens, you’ll end up with a database of jumbled information.

How do your knowledge databases look right now. Could they use some improvement?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”