Hmmmm, Am I in Competition with Manager Tools?
The mysterious but obviously astute blogger Quiller mentioned our little show in his blog the other day…he compared us to Manager Tools, which many of you listen to already. He compared our shows, which I think is fair- fairer still cause i suspect he likes us a mite better.
Check out the blog posting here….
I haven’t spoken much about the other shows out there mainly because you don’t care what I think…most of you have checked them out, and many of you listen to both. Heck, I listen to Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne’s show as well and look forward to Mark being on the show as a guest again soon.
I also think we’re the two most interesting management podcasts out there, and on opposite poles of the “what podcasts can be” spectrum.
Occasionally, I’m jealous of their success- Manager Tools has (at last count) at least 5 times as many listeners as I do. It’s also been nominated for a Podcasting Award in both the best business podcast and “People’s choice” categories…which means M-T has an awful lot of passionate fans out there who vote and spread the word.
So am I in competition with Manager Tools? Okay, my ego certainly is. But this is the important part- we’re different shows.
They are a serious, “how-to” with a very specific approach to the job of being a managerand Mark makes a fine, believable guru. He also has a budget, a mailing list and the time to dedicate to growing his audience through very professional and successful marketing.
The Cranky Middle Manager is meant to be the equivalent of the “3-beer, after the meeting, what’s-it- all- about” conversation. Sometimes we tackle the big issues, sometimes the more mundane, but mostly it’s about being a place to laugh and commiserate about the crazy world we live and work in. It’s also done on borrowed time and no budget. In fact my wife, The Duchess, will tell you it’s a money pit. Management Tools knows exactly what it is and they’re great at it. I still haven’t figured out what I want to do with this show or how to make a buck at it yet. (Anyone want to sponsor a show with 7,000 intelligent and discriminating listeners a month?)
Humor being an acquired taste, and mine more than most, I wouldn’t expect to have the popularity that the boys in Texas have. Of course if the weak sales of Meet Like You Mean It are any indication, I have a long way to go and maybe longer than I thought.
What I am is insanely grateful to each and every one of you and constantly surprised at how generous, vocal and supportive you all are.
So thank you Quiller, thank you Mark and Mike for setting the bar so high and for introducing new listeners to the medium of podcasting, and thank you to all of you in every corner of the world who listen.