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Recommended: Manager Tools Podcast & Forums

I’m loving the Manager Tools podcast and forum, which I came across recently. The current podcast topic is company strategy and SWOT analysis… worth a listen. (Part 1 | Part 2)

The forums are also stellar. There’s a great conversation going on right now about the positives and negatives of having ex-military managers. Here’s a gem of a quote from one of the members, which he picked up from his manager, a former Marine of 12 years:

“Direct orders are for combat operations, insubordination, new recruits and delivering public policy. For everything else, define the job and let good people do that job. And the best part of it is that not only is that the most effective way to lead, it’s also the easiest.”

There’s also some information on the DiSC assessment, which is a tool for understanding your behavioral styles and preferences when interacting with others. It seems that DiSC is a particularly effective tool to use when providing feedback to your direct reports and peers. I’ve never heard of DiSC before, but it’s certainly on my radar screen now.

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One Comment, Comment or Ping

  1. Nice link to the military discussion Josh.

    Leaders I admire share the same traits whether they learned them in the service or elsewhere. It seems to me that there are some things about leadership that are universal—things like integrity, and setting a good example.

    I put this link together about the Marine Corps’ approach to teaching leadership.

    http://www.squidoo.com/USMC/

    I’m not sure how the other services teach leadership, but I’d be interested to find out if anyone wants to shed some light on it.

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