Management has never been more challenging. When you are asking people to deliver more in an economy that is increasingly challenging, your management skills will be stretched to the very limit.

What is an exceptional manager?

I would say that it’s someone who can get exceptional results from ordinary people?

But people are complex and they don’t come with an operating manual. It can take years to try and figure some people out.

But imagine there was an operating manual. Imagine each new employee arrived with it on their first day. Would this not save you years of “suck it and see”? Wouldn’t you rather know today what will work best and not have to spend years using trial and error?

Well that’s what the PeopleMAps Manager App does for you. It provides you with the operating manual for each person you manage.

As expected each manual is specific to the individual as people are all different. What works for one person, will not work for the next. This is one of the reasons Management is so difficult.  You finally figure out what works with Joe, then try it on Bob and discover it doesn’t work at all.

The Manager Application is a personality report that tells you exactly what you need to know about Joe. It will tell you how to communicate with him. It will explain how to go about reprimanding him without reducing Joe’s performance in the process.

It will even explain how to delegate to Joe more effectively. Did you know that delegation is a personality issue?

With the Manager Application you can remove the trial and error and immediately enjoy higher productivity.

Take it for a free test drive at http://apps.peoplemaps.com/peoplemaps/manager/

I have a new mother-in-law. Well it’s actually still Janice but I see her quite differently.

If you were to ask Janice she would tell you without hesitation that she is an introvert but we have been spending a lot of time together recently and I am convinced she is extravert and not marginally either.

Is it possible that an individual wouldn’t know if they were introvert or extravert?

When I do workshops we test this and at least 50% of people get this wrong.

Remember what you are is determined by where you draw your energy. What I have observed recently about Janice is that she is energised by contact with people.

So where does the confusion stem from? Why does Janice see herself as an introvert?

Well it’s simply because she is a bit shy and the thought of new people and new situations make her anxious. Yes extraverts can be shy and they get anxious.

This can make life a little difficult for an extravert because the “need” to interact with people is always there. That’s where they get their energy.

A change in circumstances has thrown Janice into some new environments and new groups of people. She had no choice. Had she been given a choice she would not have done so. She would have stayed at home.

But you can clearly see that Janice is energised from the contact with new people.

Just because our psyche has certain needs doesn’t mean that we can easily meet our own needs. It’s not easy for Janice to meet new people.

Extraverts can be shy and introverts can be confident. These are just a couple of reasons that we have difficulty understanding what makes us tick.

The truth is that we don’t usually know what’s good for us. It’s hard to separate the needs of our psyche from what we want or don’t want to do.

You will shortly see some big changes at www.peoplemaps.com and a new personality test to celebrate the new look.

This new personality report is not about careers but delves into other corners of your psyche, corners that you have never explored.

In this new personality test you will discover new things that up till now, you were oblivious to.

Keep watching for updates as there with be giveaways.

We are making a little history here as this is a personality-centric publication.

Not only is it packed full of advice on how to make a successful career change, it is personality-centric- It’s about you.

Career Change is found at www.careerpsychometrics.com which has had a make over and is now the definitive place to find career development advice. And it leads with the new Career Change eBook.

The site has had over 1,500 comments left and is packed full of career development advice.

You see personality affects every aspects of your life but we have gone a step further to make sure that when it comes to career development, you are getting the most cutting edge career advice.

If you have tried to change careers and found yourself knocking on a brick wall instead of an interview room, then you know what I am talking about.

If you have decided to change careers then you will know it to be the most frustrating exercise. In the book you will discover why that is and what to do about it.

Have a read at the book reviews before you make a decision to buy anything. And of course this comes with a money back guarantee. I think you will really enjoy the new site and the new book.

As you are about to embark on some new year resolutions, which may include career related ones, I would ask you to hold off till you read the new eBook, “Career Change”

http://www.careerpsychometrics.com/2011/12/06/career-change-ebook-coming-soon/

It’s packed full of tricks and stuff no one is talking about. In it you will discover why career change is so difficult and what you need to do differently to make it happen.

It’s also personality centric and contains stacks of personality content specifically about you.

A quick update for everyone who has applied to become peoplemaps licensed.

I had to close doors early as the demand was so high. I will be taking on a handful of new applicants shortly so make sure you have registered on the home page.

So today I sat down to do some piano practice and whilst flicking through an old music book I came across a quote from Jung I thought I would share.

“the cinema, like the detective story, makes it possible to experience without danger all the excitement, passion and desirousness which must be suppressed in humanitarian ordering of society.”

I love the movies. There are an unhealthy number of foreign language and art house films that pass across my giant TV.

Recently Ruaridh and I have been studying them to help him with his book and this is great fun. The psychoanalysis of a movie and it’s characters is just as interesting as the real thing.

I love that watching movies is part of my job and that Jung himself has practically sanctioned it.

Incidentally this weeks best film for exploring human nature and behaviour is The Way, starring Martin Sheen. Watch the interviews too.

It’s been a hectic week and I still have only managed to get a blether with a handful of the new licensees.

Delighted to see licensees from so many countries including;

Poland
China
New Zealand
USA
Israel
Spain

I’m sure I’ve missed a couple so apologies to anyone I’ve missed.

Everyone has been head down, nose buried in the training course and I’m delighted to see that everyone is as fascinated by human nature as I am.

Despite all this activity we are still managing to develop and release new products such as the new report “What kind of interviewer are you.”

And there’s more to come, so watch out for a big announcement in a week or so.

Well to my surprise and delight I had to close the doors on applications to become PeopleMaps Licensed. I filled all available slots and a few more within a few days of opening.

We will open the doors for another intake at some point in the future, so don’t worry if you missed out this time round.

Individuals looking to start their own business or existing businesses are welcome to apply to become licensed. Once licensed you are able to sell PeopleMaps to others. Full training and everything you need to conduct business is provided. This is an excellent way to hit the ground running as everything is provided for you.

Keep you eye our for more news on this and make sure you have added your name to the “Request and info pack” form on the PeopleMaps home page.

We already have licensees on three continents and welcome anyone from any country. Make sure you are on the list and I will keep you posted.

Do you know how to interview someone for a job?

Even if you have had a lot of experience at interviewing, I suspect there is room for improvement.

You may find this short article useful. It’s cleverly titled “How to interview someone for a job”

It says what it does on the tin.

PeopleMAps has been helping employers make better hiring decisions for many years. This is good for employers and candidates alike. There are too many bad recruitment decisions being made and everyone suffers as a result. PeopleMaps can help you with this.