Online Management Training

Ive been managing people off and on for about 14 years. Last few years more and more people as many as 18. Its not my dream job by any means and my personality isnt the greatest for being the worlds best boss. Im stuck in the job (family biz, ive created the size of the biz so mostly to blame. No I cannot quit and play with puppies all day)Im trying to learn new ways to manage/ guide people. I have associates degree in Automotive(no help here) and zero formal training for owning and managing a biz. I fly by the seat of my pants and my own judgement. Its worked this far but want to improve and find better ways at guiding employees to be more efficient. Other than the school of hard knocks is there anything worth seeing out there?

nitrousmudbogger said:

Ive been managing people off and on for about 14 years. Last few years more and more people as many as 18. Its not my dream job by any means and my personality isnt the greatest for being the worlds best boss. Im stuck in the job (family biz, ive created the size of the biz so mostly to blame. No I cannot quit and play with puppies all day)Im trying to learn new ways to manage/ guide people. I have associates degree in Automotive(no help here) and zero formal training for owning and managing a biz. I fly by the seat of my pants and my own judgement. Its worked this far but want to improve and find better ways at guiding employees to be more efficient. Other than the school of hard knocks is there anything worth seeing out there?

Click to expand...

If you have 14 years of surviving and growing, you have to be somewhat better at it than just "good enough". You will be looking for value-for-money boosters of capability, not some kind of life-changing rapture.

May seem like an odd suggestion, but for "online"? National borders don't much matter. "Culture" may do.

Have a look:

Online courses - Curtin University

Nobody is perfect, but the Aussies are a "leaner" culture than the US.
They've not had the luxury - nor inclination - of supporting as many things that don't Just Firmly Work.

The several Curtin grads in OUR HKG family are all "dollar-millionaires", and several times over. I can't argue with that.

Mind - they ALSO had similar basic starting material to begin with.
Proven competence. Significant and relevant experience.

2CW

My 2 cents...

You can watch videos (have you tried YouTube?) and read articles until you are blue in the face..

What I suggest is getting yourself (and possibly your underlings with supervisory power) to some
seminars.. I had a boss years ago that sent us "supervisory underlings" to some of these seminars,
and they helped a TON!!

You hang out all day or for a few days with other people that are trying
to do the same thing you are (get the most out of people)... You get to interact with others that
are trying to learn the same stuff you are, and there are folks there that try to help you figure
it all out..

What I particuarly found helpful.. You are away from the job/shop/workplace. You aren't concerned
about getting the job out, you can concentrate on learning how to manipulate people** to do their
job better.

**MANIPULATE... That's what management is.. Manipulation.. "manipulation" sounds like you are
doing something devious, and you sort of are... You need happy people, because happy people are
productive people... You need to manipulate your people to be happy... And making people
happy isn't a bad thing... Its essentially treating people well, and that doesn't cost anything.

Quicky example. Joe Nitwit scraps an entire days run of parts.. Obviously Joe needs to know he
fucked up royally.

"Joe you fucking idiot, what the fuck is your problem, Don't YOU know how to read a micrometer!!
Do this again and you're out of here"...

Joe isn't going to work very hard tomorrow is he? And he might stick a rock through your windshield
on his way to his truck today...

"Joe, come here, WE got a problem... All the parts made yesterday were scrap (not all the parts YOU
made yesterday). WE need to figure out what happened and WE need to figure out what to do so this
doesn't happen again. What do YOU (the YOU here gives him ownership of the solution) think
WE should do? Go home and get a good nights sleep, and WE'll come up with some solutions in the morning"

Joe is going to leave work that day, and not break your windshield. If he's not a psychopath, he's going to
be thankful that you didn't rip him a new one, even though he knows you should have.. Joe probably isn't
going to get a good nights sleep, he's going to try to figure out how he fucked up(Joe knows) and he's going
to think about things that would have prevented him from fucking up..

You said the SAME EXACT thing in 2 different ways.. One way, you have a broken windshield and probably
some stolen tools.. The other way, the guys at home, not sleeping, trying to figure out how to make your
business better, and how he can do a better job. (saving his job is making your business better).

A lot of "management" is stupid shit, little mental mind tricks, and spending a few days concentrating
on those stupid little mental mind tricks is helpful.. Or at least I thouht so.


The fact that you are even asking gives you a leg up on the competition.

I've had the pleasure of reading & listening to about 10-15 books about business etc. over the past year. By far the best of the year, and 100% applicable to what you're trying to accomplish, is...

"How to win friends & Influence people" By Dale Carnegie.

This book was originally written in the 30's and has been revised several times throughout the 20th century. It is basically a collection of very simple, basic ideas, mainly tied to good manners and kind, sincere behavior. It is 100% about what Bobw just described in his post above.

I cannot recommend it more highly. It is easy to read, and the chapters are fairly short, easy to grasp, and easy to implement that same day. I bought my paper-back copy at a Target store for $15 bucks. You can find audio versions as well, and simply listen to it while you're driving to work, or running a machine, etc. But I would recommend the paper version, so that you can highlight & underline important points, and actually "study" it...

If you don't learn something usefull, I'll mail you $15 bucks cash in the mail, and I mean it. Like I said, I cannot recommend it more highly. (No, I don't get any sort of kickback for making this recommendation either...)



If you enjoy the book, there is further training that can be done as well, including some online training it looks like. I have no experience with this training, and can't give any recommendation nor feedback on the post-book training. Just pointing out that if you want more, it looks like it's available.

How to Win Friends & Influence People: Dale Carnegie: 8937485994: Amazon.com: Books

http://www.dalecarnegie.com/

In addition to on-line, as Jashley has described, there are all sorts of books. Hundreds, maybe thousands, on leadership / management / building a successful company / etc. My experience is limited compared to many, but I'll throw in my $0.02 anyway - many of these books have worthwhile things to say, IF you filter out the drink-the-koolade hyperbole. That is to say, they all seem to promote the idea that THIS is THE SECRET, which no one else has ever even come close to thinking of.

But in fact, a lot of the ideas overlap in various ways, and/or they address different aspects of the same task. Some approach the issue of effective leadership from the standpoint of what the leader brings to the task. (Strengths-based leadership is an example.) Some approach the issue from the perspective of what followers need to be effective (Situational leadership is an example). Some approach the issue from an organizational perspective (Good to Great for example). Some focus on practical how-to-manage goal setting and evaluation (One Minute Manager for example). Some focus on the emotional/relational systems that can get in the way of working rationally and effectively (family systems for example). And so on ...

In the end, some/many of these can be very helpful in calling your attention to things that you may have felt instinctively, but not known how to put your finger on. But much of the best of any of these is common sense plus an understanding of what makes people tick - including yourself. And NONE of them is a one-size-fits-all prescription for any and every situation.

If I had to pick just ONE book for a manager too short on time to even breathe reg'lar like?

The effective Executive Peter Drucker.

It makes finding ways, means, time and MONEY to read the other tens of thousands of books much easier.

DAMHIKT.

Ditto to what BobW said. I have had my fair share of managers. Some good, some bad, and a few mediocre.

A good manager brings out the best in people and helps them "succeed" at their job. I know that sounds cheesy and cliche buts its the truth. A good manager exudes a positive attitude that infects those around him. I remember a few where I genuinely gave 110% just to see them happy.

Mistakes are treated as a learning experience. Lousy managers never walk the talk. Turn and burn should have been their Motto. Being an asshole to people only creates resentment and turnover. A good Boss / manager is someone who leads by example. That behavior is emulated by lower level employees be it positive or negative.

Thanks Guys!

I have been reading some books, right now "Unforgettable Boss" and as many of you said most books overlap concepts.

I want the business to grow and see im the limiting factor and why I want to improve or find people to improve the business to get there.

how to better manage people, sort of is THE question of business.....with graduate degrees and lifetimes of experience and practice its still foggy and a probability exercise at best. Sort of a study in group psychology....and we know how good psychologist are at even figuring out one person.

The task is really to bring out the best in each person. Some random thoughts....

Anecdote. Yesterday morning started riding with a tow truck driver. Chatting and answering questions I explained I had this business, blah blah blah. Later, I had a call with a Sr Project Manager about getting an quote done right away. He saw his day filled with higher priorities. I listened to his concerns and told him stuff he didn't have visibility on came up with a plan. The tow truck drivers says, "you're the boss, why didn't you just tell him get it done". The answer is I need to listen to them as it might be really important and secondly, more importantly I have to treat people properly, listen to them, so that 1) the feel confident to challenge me (that is BEST for the organization) and 2) they feel respected and an important part of the process and company (which they are) So suggestion 1, treat each of your people with respect and listen to their ideas, its how you bring out the best in them.

Are you familiar with the Hawthorne experiment? Its a famous industrial psychology thing on productivity from the '20's - they gradually turned the lights up and found productivity went up. Later when the lowered the lights again, they found to their surprise productivity went up again. At the end of the experiment productivity sagged. The Hawthorne effect then is just the fact that the interest shown in productivity and their environment was the real cause of the gain.

The take away is you being interested, reading and learning and taking an active role in trying to make your management and organizational better, will get noticed and have a positive effect. The Hawthorne thing suggest that ultimately that is more important than what you do - you don't have read the single one 'right book', you just need keep reading and learning so there's a flow of ideas.

So the key is not one course or seminar, but ongoing, read, be interested etc.....better managing is a process not an event. Within business Organizational Behaviour is subject area, there's an endless parade of books on it and management.

Here's the most important bit. Ego. A great manager has a servants heart, which is why there are so few of them. All people have ego needs, to feel good about themselves etc. Because being a manager gives one authority or potential power over others, its the ego's seductive den of iniquity. Maybe the most common flaw of business people. Your ego (sub conscious) wants to look at the mirror in the morning and ask "what can they do for me today". You have to try and force it down and silence it and ask "what can I do for them to day.

Post the stuff you learn so we can too can do better

nitrousmudbogger said:

I want the business to grow and see im the limiting factor and why I want to improve or find people to improve the business to get there.

Click to expand...

If you understand this (and all business leaders need to understand this, myself included) you're already on the right path.

I second reading ANYTHING by Drucker. If you have a longer commute like me, you may find podcasts another good resource. I listen to the EntreLeadership podcast, and find it to be one of the best, if not the best for people in your position.

There are about 18 million 'business' and 'leadership' books out there, and lots of them are worthwhile. It will be a matter of finding the one or two things from each book that help you. I also have a list of books I read at least once a year, and 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' is near the top. 'Start with Why' by Simon Sinek is another great read, and you would probably find 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins to be extremely worthwhile right now.

You might give some thought to coaching, instead of taking classes. I know it sounds all corporate gimmicky, but I've known a couple of guys who spent good money for coaching on how to be better leaders, and they swear it changed their lives and businesses.

Johnny SolidWorks said:

I also have a list of books I read at least once a year, and 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' is near the top. 'Start with Why' by Simon Sinek is another great read, and you would probably find 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins to be extremely worthwhile right now.

Click to expand...

I listened to those other two books on audio version. "Good to great" was a good "listen" as well, and so was "great by choice" also by Jim Collins. His books would certainly qualify for the "listen again" category, and he actually narrates the books himself, which I think adds to his books as well, as he adds some passion that might not come through with a 3rd party narrator.

BTW - "Great by choice" was about businesses that were started, and performed/grew at "great" levels, despite being started in difficult times, in difficult industries, and under difficult circumstances. It borrowed a lot from the "good to great" research philosophy, but covered some different material, and I thought it was very insightful. It might actually be a good parallel to where the machining & manufacturing industry is right now in the USA, and even globally.