Who to keep track of as a new manager
- Direct reports. What motivates each person, what they want to grow into, and what they told you in your last one-on-one.
- Your own manager. Their priorities, how they like updates, and what you agreed on.
- Peer managers and stakeholders. Who depends on your team, what they need, and the favors that go both ways.
- Mentors and former teammates. The people you’ll want advice from, and who are easy to lose touch with after a promotion.
What to write down after a one-on-one
- One personal or career detail that matters to them
- Anything you promised to do, with a reminder
- A question to ask next time
Keep formal performance notes and anything HR-related in your company’s official tools. BlackBook is for your own relationship notes, not employee records.
Notes app vs personal CRM
| A notes app or doc | BlackBook | |
|---|---|---|
| Organized by | Whatever file or folder you made | Each person’s own page |
| History | Scroll and search | Interaction history on each person’s page |
| Follow-up reminders | Separate app | Reminders per person, with notifications |
| Who to check in with next | Up to you to notice | Pulse suggests who to reach out to next from your notes, history and reminders |
| Account | Depends on the tool | No BlackBook account; data on your iPhone and in your own private iCloud |
A simple weekly routine
Right after each one-on-one, add a line about what you heard and set a reminder for anything you promised. Once a week, open Pulse and check in with a peer or stakeholder you haven’t talked to lately. Small, kept promises are how a new manager earns trust.
More on this: how to remember details about people, an app to keep notes on people, and a personal CRM for job seekers.
BlackBook facts
- Platform: iPhone, iOS 17.6 or later
- Price: free download; optional BlackBook Pro subscription (prices shown in the app)
- Free plan: 25 people, 2 notes per person, 30 days of interaction history
- Pro: optional subscription with VIP reminders and insights, relationship notes with tags, duplicate detection, BlackBook AI
- AI: on-device via Apple Intelligence (Pro, iOS 26, compatible iPhone)
- Privacy: data lives on your iPhone and in your private iCloud, no account, no ad SDKs, data never sold
- Developer: Preston Earnest / Earnestly Studios LLC
Frequently asked questions
Should I use BlackBook for performance reviews or HR records?
No. Keep formal performance notes, reviews and anything HR-related in your company’s official tools and follow your company’s policies. BlackBook is for your own relationship notes and reminders, like what someone cares about and what you said you’d follow up on.
What should I write down after a one-on-one?
One or two things that matter to the person, anything you promised to do, and when to check back. Short notes you’ll actually reread beat long transcripts.
Who besides my team should I keep track of?
Your manager, peer managers, key stakeholders in other teams, mentors, and people from your previous role. Those relationships matter more once you’re leading a team.
Is my data private?
BlackBook needs no account. Your people and notes live on your iPhone and in your own private iCloud, not on a BlackBook server. There are no ad SDKs, and your data is never sold.
Is BlackBook free?
BlackBook is free to download with a free plan of 25 people, two notes per person and 30 days of interaction history. BlackBook Pro is an optional subscription: in the US it’s $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and the annual plan includes a 1-week free trial. Prices are shown in the app.
What iPhones does it run on?
BlackBook requires iOS 17.6 or later. On iOS 26 with a compatible iPhone, BlackBook Pro adds on-device Apple Intelligence features.
Remember what matters to your team. Start with 25 people.
BlackBook is free to download for iPhone (iOS 17.6+). Start with 25 people, no account needed.
Get BlackBook – Personal CRM