Manager Tools Featured in The Wall Street Journal: A Special Edition Podcast

The Wall Street Journal Feature

• 📰 A special edition podcast features Mark Horseman reading The Wall Street Journal article that highlighted Manager Tools, covering its history, company, and customers.
• 💡 The article, published September 13th, 2016, details the journey of Mark Horseman and Mike Ozanne from their military discussions in the 1980s to their podcast's significant reach.
• 🚀 Manager Tools has garnered over a million downloads a month, attracting notable listeners and expanding into a full-fledged consulting firm with major corporate clients.

Core Management Principles

• 🗣️ The hosts' advice centers on the management trinity: open communication, frequent feedback, and continual coaching, with delegation as a fourth silent principle.
• 📝 Their guidance is presented as a "recipe" with step-by-step instructions, designed to be accessible and actionable for managers.
• 🎯 A common mistake for first-time managers is not developing relationships with direct employees and focusing too much on individual work over team development.

Podcast Origins and Growth

• 🎙️ The podcast began in 2005 after Mike Ozanne, impressed by Horseman's consulting work at MCI, suggested starting a podcast.
• 🎧 Despite Horseman often being on the road, the duo has produced over 900 episodes, with some of the most downloaded focusing on simple topics like shaking hands and one-on-one meetings.
• 💰 The founders' initial revenue model was to share all guidance for free via podcasts, aiming to help managers who couldn't afford typical consulting fees.

Behind the Article and Future Plans

• 🧐 Horseman clarifies that while much content is free, some products like the interviewing series and customized consulting require payment.
• 🌟 The reporter, Dalia Baz, was inspired to write the article by her own experience as a student newspaper editor who struggled with management and found Manager Tools through a Google search.
• ♾️ With over 3,000 podcast ideas collected, Manager Tools is set to continue delivering content for at least another 60 years, with the podcasts remaining free and independently owned.