Podcast Summary: Manager Tools – "Three Current Modern Management Scams – Part 1" (March 2, 2026)

Overview

In this episode, hosts Sarah and Mark dive deep into the world of "management scams"—popular but fundamentally flawed management trends that misguide both companies and managers. They critically examine three widespread modern management practices: generational management, employee engagement, and feedback dialogue/conversations (the last saved for part 2). Their goal is to arm listeners with the knowledge to recognize these "scams," understand their origins, and focus on what truly effective management looks like.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why “Management Scams” Happen

• Source of Scams: Most management advice comes either from inexperienced individuals (often young professionals leveraging social media) or from large training companies whose primary aim is to sell new programs rather than improve management effectiveness. Neither are grounded in real evidence or practice (02:19–03:13).
• Business Model of Training Firms: Big training firms “don’t know anything about management. Their goal is not to learn more about… management. They’re looking to meet their next quarter’s revenue and profit numbers and therefore they will latch onto any idea they can sell…” – Sarah (03:23)
• Bandwagon Mentality: Large firms buy programs because everyone else is doing it, justifying choices by social proof rather than actual results: “It might also be called more pejoratively, the bandwagon effect. Hey, they’re doing it, so we’re going to do it.” – Mark (05:31)
• Cycle of Fads: Training companies quickly drop the “old thing” and start selling a “new thing,” creating a perpetual churn of management hype (07:03).

[08:00] Scam #1: Generational Management

Definition:
Generational management suggests managers should adapt their leadership style based on the age cohort of their employees (e.g., Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z).

Hosts’ Take:

• It’s Discrimination, Not Management:
  “Generational management is a total scam. It's totally false and it's ugly, frankly. It attempts to group people based on age…this is rank discrimination.” – Mark (08:12)
• False Beliefs Across Time:
  Common claims attributed to younger generations (like seeking work-life balance or rapid advancement) have been repeated about every new generation — sometimes verbatim.
  Memorable Example:

  “The young professional men of today want to come in late, want to take long lunches, want to leave early, and expect rapid promotions as well.” – Letter to the NYT, 1895 (11:36)

• The Curse of Knowledge:
  Older professionals forget their own naivety at the start of their careers:

  “The fact is folks…all 40 year olds have always thought all 20 year olds are stupid and entitled. And all 60 year olds have always thought that both groups were stupid and entitled. This is because of a real thing in psychology called the curse of knowledge.” – Mark (12:06)

• Managers Must Manage Individuals, Not Groups:

  “You cannot manage people based on their age any more than you can based on gender, skin color, or place of origin. Managing others is about learning each individual’s strengths and weaknesses…” – Sarah (15:34)

• Manager Tools Guidance:
  Focus on building trust with each direct report as an individual (see Manager Tools “One on Ones” approach and related “Managing Culture, Cultural Diversity, the Windy Curve” episode).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Generational management, touted extensively by the large management training and HR firms looking for fresh approaches to sell to their large clients, has always been incorrect and always will be incorrect.” – Mark (11:21)
• “When you know a process so deeply…if you said those words to a person who was unfamiliar, they’d have no idea what you were talking about.” – Sarah (14:09)

[17:23] Scam #2: Employee Engagement

Origin:
The modern “employee engagement” movement started with psychologist William Kahn’s 1990 paper, which was based on interviews with 12 camp counselors and 12 employees from a small firm.

Critique of Engagement:

• Weak Foundation:

  “His [Kahn’s] original paper was a theory…The start of engagement was tested on 12 camp counselors and staff and 12…architectural firm employees…” – Mark (19:11; 22:45)

• Productivity Before Engagement:
  Modern engagement efforts get cause and effect backward. Productive employees become happy/engaged, not the other way around.

  “Don’t try to make your employees happy and hope they become productive… your job is to drive productivity, and since your job is not to manage the emotional state of your directs, you’re supposed to teach them to be happy from their productiveness.” – Mark (19:11)

• Snowball Effect:
  As the academic idea spread, HR firms started marketing and selling “engagement surveys” and consulting, rarely tied to original research (24:27–25:42).
• Gallup as Case Study:
  Gallup’s Q12 is about as good as engagement surveys get, but even Gallup’s approach is different from other engagement vendors.

  “They all say they’re measuring the same thing, engagement, but none of them are because they can’t infringe on competitors’ surveys. And engagement is impossible to define unless you create something…” – Mark (26:40)

• Industry Problem:
  Companies spend huge resources on countless, often lengthy, surveys, but what’s actually being measured is inconsistent and ambiguous (27:00).
• Engagement Survey Fatigue:
  One firm required everyone to take a 45-minute survey at their desks in the middle of the day; “think about that in terms of the time… spent filling out an engagement survey.” – Mark (27:31)

Key Timestamps

• [08:00] Scam #1: Generational management—definition and ethical critique
• [11:36] Historical quote (1895 NYT letter) demolishing the “new generation is different” myth
• [12:06] The curse of knowledge and communication gaps
• [15:34] Guidance: Always manage individuals, not groups
• [17:23] Scam #2: Employee engagement—history, origins, flawed logic
• [19:11] Original Kahn study—how engagement research began
• [26:40] The problem with engagement surveys: Different definitions, questionable metrics, and waste of time

Tone & Style

The discussion is direct, practical, and occasionally irreverent—reflecting the Manager Tools hallmarks of “no-nonsense, actionable guidance.” The hosts are candid about naming names, citing their own experience, and highlighting the business motivations behind management fads.

Takeaways

• Generational management is fundamentally unethical and ineffective: Manage people as individuals, not by group labels.
• Engagement as a management fad is poorly grounded in research and often executed for the benefit of vendors, not organizations or employees.
• Always question the source and evidence behind new management guidance—don’t blindly jump on industry bandwagons.
• Focus on proven management basics: Build trust, conduct one-on-ones, and learn your employees’ unique needs.
• Engagement and productivity: The cart-before-the-horse problem—driving productivity will lead to greater engagement, not the reverse.

Next Episode

Part 2 will address the third scam: feedback dialogue and conversations.