Happy Anniversary - A Look Back Over Two Years

Dateline: 04/12/99

Two years ago this month The Mining Company (MiningCo.Com) opened its doors to the public. My site didn't complete the certification process until a week later, but I still look on April 21, 1997 as our anniversary.

A lot has happened over that time. We have grown from a great idea into one of the most heavily trafficked sites on the Internet. This week we will look back over the range of material we have covered on the Management GuideSite during those two years.

(As always, if there is a subject you would like to see us cover, please email me or post it on our Bulletin Board.)

How-To Articles
Most of the feature articles I write could be classified as short "How-To" articles. They are aimed at helping new managers get started and helping experienced managers get better. One of my favorites is "Managing the Talent Pool". One of the most popular has been "Why Annual Performance Reviews Are A Waste Of Time".

What's HOT!
Sometimes the feature article deals with some aspect of the news as it relates to managers and management. In "Are You A Fayed?" we looked at the management lesson to be learned from the death of Princess Diana and her escort Dodi Fayed. In "Sleeping With The Boss" we avoided President Clinton's guilt or innocence and instead looked at the perils of in-office fraternization. (This should not be confused with a recent feature, "Napping at Work is OK?".) Last year, at the start of the major league baseball season we ran "What Professional Baseball Can Teach Professional Managers".

From time to time, the feature article focuses on a current management trend. An article that generated a lot of posts to the Bulletin Board was an article about brightsizing, "The Latest Management Trend and Why it is Dangerous to Your Organization". In a lighter vein, the article "Buzzword Bingo" showed how to turn a trendy employee game into a management tool.

Your Input Matters
This site provides you a number of opportunities to feedback your thoughts on what I have done on this site as well as what you would like to see done. Most of these are available from the front page , including feedback, the bulletin board, and email. In addition, I ran a feature last year (which is still available) called "What's In It For Me", a 'guided tour' of the resources available on this site for you. This year I added a user survey "Your Turn" in which I solicited your answers to six short questions about the site.

Multi-Part Series
About once a year, I run a multi-part series of weekly articles to address a larger topic. The 3-part Mentoring series begins with "Mentors" and looks a what a mentor is, how to find one, and how to be one.

Last year, we did a 4-part series on Developing an Internet Strategy for Your Company that explored the Internet, intranets and extranets as business tools.

At the beginning of this year, we looked at business fundamentals in a 4-part series analyzing and improving your company. Starting with "What Are We Doing?" we looked at mission statements, goal setting, and leadership.

How to Find More
The front page of this site contains a link to all my "Previous Feature Articles". That links you to http://management.about.com/library/weekly/mpreviss.htm, a page with all of this year's feature articles and links to every previous year. If there is a subject you are interested in, which is not covered in any of these features, let me know by sending me email or by posting it on our Bulletin Board.

Coming Next
We have an interesting and informative interview on 'Customer Service' coming next that features the wisdom and experience of a noted expert in the field. Check back for that, or sign up for the FREE newsletter "Management Update" to be notified in advance.

John Reh--

If you have any questions or comments about this article, or if there is an issue you would like us to address, please email them to me or post them on our Conference Room Bulletin Board to share with the entire group.

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