Real Answers to Real Management Problems

Every article is written by George, founder of First Time Managers and a long-time operator who has hired, fired, coached, and been coached through the same first-time-manager mistakes you are reading about. The author bio and full credentials are on the About page. Articles are reviewed for accuracy against primary sources (Gallup, HBR, SHRM, BLS, DDI) and updated as research evolves.

No. Every article is human-written. AI is used the way most professional writers use it in 2026 — as a research assistant, a grammar pass, a sounding board for outlines. The thinking, the framework choices, the contrarian angles, and the specific advice come from operator experience. If an article cites a study, a person has read the study.

Foundational pillars (the longest guides) get a refresh every 6 to 12 months as research evolves. Cluster articles get updated when reader questions or sharper data shifts the recommendation. If an article was last updated more than a year ago, the date is visible at the top so you know what you are reading.

Yes. Send it through the ask page, the question you wish someone had answered when you started managing. If your question shows up from enough readers, we write the article — and you will see your question framing in the opening lines.

Two reasons. First, comment sections on management articles attract a specific kind of low-quality argument that does not help anyone. Second, the better signal comes from selecting a passage and using the "Suggest a Change" feature (top right when you select text) — it routes to a real inbox and we read every one. Genuine disagreement makes the next version of the article better.

Yes, and you should. Articles are free to read and link to. If you are training a cohort of new managers, the pillar articles work well as a structured reading path. If you want the wording rather than the reasoning, the toolkits package the scripts and templates that go with these guides.