Over 12 hours of training in the basics all in one affordable eBook.

Every course includes:

1.   Detailed explanations of the concepts and best practice principles,
2.   Case studies and situational examples,
3.   Action steps,
4.   Printable forms, tools and exercises
5.   Your own personal action plan for how you will implement what you have learned.

It’s not just theory. There are dozens of practical action items, tools and approaches that you can apply right away.

Whether you need a refresher or you are new to a position, these books are a tremendous value.  While these  courses are foundational, there is much that you can learn about proven best practices in management and supervision.

All of the courses in these books range from 30 minutes to to 2 hours to complete and are presented in an easy to read, straight-forward fashion.  Detailed descriptions of each course are provided further down this page.

All the courses are based on proven concepts that we have been offering in our classroom training programs for over 20 years.

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Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning is arguably the most critical of executive management responsibilities. It is really more than a “skill” – it i your assurance to employees, customers, and stockholders (if you have them) that you plan on being here tomorrow to meet their expectations. As important as strategic planning is, few companies have a standardized approach to developing and deploying their plan.  Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Describe the importance of developing a short and long-term strategic plan
•   •Follow a step by step process for identifying their Critical Business Driver (s)
•   •Complete a case study of one company’s experience using this business planning process

This course takes approximately 1:15 hours to 1:30 hours to complete.

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Reward and Recognition Programs
Reward and Recognition programs are one important facet in providing employees with a satisfying, motivating work environment. Satisfied, motivated employees mean fewer problems for managers and more time to deal with other priorities. Many companies attempt R&R programs – but designed incorrectly they can actually have a detrimental effect on employees. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Design their own Reward and Recognition program
•   •Identify critical “Do’s and Don’ts” for designing an effective Reward and Recognition Program

This course takes approximately 25 to 30 minutes to complete.

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Conducting Career Discussion
As a manager or business owner you’ll face the challenge of finding and keeping good employees. In a booming economy good candidates may jump from job to job just for the salary increase. Even if they don’t – you can bet your competition will at least find ways to tempt them! While every person must take ultimate responsibility for their career as a manager you should be capable of providing effective career guidance. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Describe the best way and time for conducting career discussions.
•   •Explain the responsibility of the manager and the employee in career planning.
•   •Identify how to compare someone’s ability and motivations to the requirements of a job.
•   •Describe horizontal vs. vertical job opportunities and identify why they are critical to retaining employees

This course takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

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Effective Interviewing
Interviewing is not only the skill of choosing the right candidate for a job – it’s avoiding the wrong one! There are some key points to interviewing that every manager must know. This course explores these key points. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Identify how to link job requirements to the interview
•   •Describe a step by step process for preparing and conducting interviews
•   •Use an interviewing matrix for comparing candidates in a standard format
•   •Describe a process for preparing and conducting interviews
•   •Use and adapt sample tools for comparing interview candidates
•   •Follow the SOAR method for interviewing candidates
•   •Complete a self assessment to assess their interview skills

This course takes approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete.

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Facilitating Group Dynamics
We’ve all been in meetings where a topic is being discussed on the surface but just below the surface there’s a powerful struggle going on. Participants square off defending their own ideas, assertive members take up the most time while less assertive ones never share their ideas, decisions are made that no one really commits to, the group goes off on tangents and never seems to make progress towards the meeting objective – if one is even defined. Who’s directing the process? The amount of time, energy and money wasted during ineffective meetings is staggering. This module will provide you with tips on how to manage both the content and process of a meeting. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Complete seven case studies of difficult group situations commonly encountered by managers and facilitators as well as tips on how to handle them
•   •Identify general suggestions and considerations when facilitating groups

The course takes approximately 55 to 65 minutes to complete.

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Get off my back! Is your manager a micro-manager?
One of the most common criticisms of management is that employees feel their manager spends too much time policing their work, asking questions, following up, interrupting etc. Basically micro-managing. As a manager you’re in a no win situation. An employee’s need for direction and supervision fluctuates based on the task at hand, the employee’s stage of development and motivation and their confidence. Of course you’re expected to know exactly the right amount of “management” to provide every time!  Upon completion of these course, you will be able to:

•   •Identify specific examples of micro-management to watch out for
•   •Explain why some managers are micro-managers
•   •Explain the powerful relationship between Adaptive Leadership and micro-management
•   •Identify ways a manager can avoid unnecessary micro-management
•   •Discuss the concept of “managerial power”

 

The course takes approximately 30 minutes to 45 minutes to complete.

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Group Decision Making
When the responsibility for a decision is spread across members of a group the effectiveness of the decision making process can be severely corrupted. While the group enjoys a sense of unity and consensus, powerful underlying dynamics may have steered them into the wrong decision. Though typically associated with larger companies the impact is no less a hazard to small companies. This topic is a must for any manager who needs to gather input from other sources when making important decisions or when a group is faced with making a significant decision. Upon completion of this modules, participants will be able to:

•   •Describe common obstacles and dynamics that interfere with a group’s ability to make effective decisions
•   •Identify methods for testing the decision making process of a group for true consensus
•   •Complete a case study of one company’s mismanagement of a decision making process and the costly outcome.

The course takes approximately 1:15 hours to 1:30 hours to complete.

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Conducting a Job Analysis
A job analysis is the process of identifying the actual responsibilities (tasks, attitudes, skills and work environment) related to a job. Most managers would say; “I know what each job entails. I don’t need to do a job analysis.” or “Everybody just does everything.” That may seem to be working, but truth is, you could manage a lot more efficiently if you knew specifically what each job entailed. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Describe the components of a job analysis
•   •Follow an outline for conducting a job analysis
•   •Apply tools and techniques for gathering job related information
•   •Explain how the job analysis impacts other critical functions in the company

The course takes approximately 30 minutes to 45 minutes to complete.

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Meeting Management
Most managers would agree they spend too much time in meetings and not enough time doing real work. Meetings are supposed to be the launching pad for making decisions and planning. Instead they become black holes of productivity. Ironically, when productivity drops, a meeting is called to find out why. The whole thing becomes a vicious cycle. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Describe the common problems that make meetings inefficient and identify how to avoid them
•   •Identify how to effectively plan, conduct, and follow up on a meeting
•   •Evaluate the effectiveness of their meetings.

The course takes approximately 50 minutes to 60 minutes to complete.

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Orientation Programs
The first few weeks can make or break a new hire. If they don’t receive a good orientation to their new job responsibilities they will become demoralized and you’ll be left fixing their mistakes. Your intent should be to get them up and running on their own as soon as possible so you can get back to other priorities. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Design their own orientation program
•   •Use and adapt a sample “checklist” for getting a new hire up and running quickly
•   •Complete a sample assessment tool for new hires to evaluate their existing orientation program

The course takes approximately 30 minutes to 45 minutes to complete.

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Time Management
There’s a limit to how much time you can throw at your business or job. If you keep going in earlier and getting home later, after awhile you’re going to get burned out. As the old saying goes you have to work smarter, not harder. Time management skills are the key to getting more done and delivering quality results in a reasonable timeframe. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Describe how to determine work priorities so you can maintain focus
•   •Identify where in their daily routine they are wasting time
•   •Apply tips and techniques for managing both personal time and work time
•   •Complete a personal Time Management Assessment
•   •Perform an audit of how they spend their time
•   •Apply tips for Time Management at home

The course takes approximately 1 hour to 1:30 hours to complete.

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Self Directed Work Teams: An Overview
This course is only intended to familiarize you with SDWTs so you can decide if your department would like to pursue them. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Describe what self directed work teams are and how they can benefit an organization
•   •Explain specific actions a manager can take to implement and support self directed work teams in his/her company
•   •Use an assessment tool for determining whether or not their company is ready for an employee empowerment initiative such as self directed work teams.

The course takes approximately 45 to 50 minutes to complete.

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Making Effective Presentations
If you aspire to higher positions of responsibility, along your career path, you’ll no doubt be required to make presentations. They may be few, they may be informal or it may become a regular part of your job to stand in front of hundreds of people. The ability to speak effectively in public speaking is a powerful asset – one that’s very often equated with leadership. Your ability to influence others is directly tied to the effectiveness of your presentation skills. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

•   •Describe the common pitfalls to avoid when planning or making a presentation
•   •Provide an outline for designing an effective presentation
•   •Identify how to reduce the anxiety associated with making a presentation

The course takes approximately 45 to 50 minutes to complete.

Management Training: By The Book II 

ONLY  15.00