The One Minute Manager – Book Review
Title: The One Minute Manager
Author: Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. and Spencer Johnson, MD
– are the authors of Who Has Taken My Cheese?
Chapters: 16
Pages: 111
The Symbol: Modern digital clock showing 1 minute as a reminder to take the time to look at the people you manage and know they are your best resource.
Characters:
1. Bright young man
2. The One Minute Manager
3. Mr. Trenell – One Minute Goal Setting
4. Mr. Levy – A Minute of Praise
5. Mrs. Brown – One Minute Reprimand
6. Mrs. Metcalfe – Secretary
Introduction:
Almost everything you do with the people you manage should take a maximum of one minute. That would be the first thought you would have when reading the book. But once you’re done, of course, it doesn’t mean literally a minute. It just means you shouldn’t take extra time to get things done when you’re efficient enough. Matters that require more than a minute should still be dealt with accordingly. It’s the little time you spent with your people at the right time that makes all the difference. This is well presented with the three One Minute Management guides explained in the book: One Minute Goal Setting, One Minute Praise, and One Minute Reprimand. It is very important that you follow these guidelines directly where necessary to get the right result to ensure better people management skills. Most managers, as mentioned at the beginning of the book, do not apply them and tend to exaggerate. Let’s take goal setting in a minute… if a leader takes the time to prepare each member and the entire team with this, then everyone will be on the same page and won’t need to be sidetracked throughout the production. It would be an easy reference to what they are expected to produce as it would be straight to the point. Following the explanation below by the character Mr. Trenell. The same with Praise of a minute, highlighting the action necessary to strengthen or emphasize the desired output and the maintenance of it, explained by the character Mr. Levy. And most importantly, ensuring that behavior in the workplace that should not be tolerated is spelled out in how Ms. Brown’s character should handle it.
Mr. Trenell – One Minute Goal Setting
A. Agree on your goals
b. See what good behavior looks like
vs Write each of your goals on a single sheet of paper using fewer than 250 words.
d. Read and reread each objective, which requires only a minute or so each time you do it.
my. Take a minute from time to time to observe your performance and
F. See whether or not your behavior matches your goal.
Mr. Levy – A Minute of Praise
A. Tell people up front that you will let them know how you are doing.
b. Praise people right away.
vs. Tell people what they did right, be specific.
d. Tell people how good you feel about what they did well and how it helps the organization and the other people who work there.
my. Stop for a moment of silence to let them “feel” how good you feel.
F. Encourage them to do more of the same.
gram. Shake hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear that you support their success in the organization.
Mrs. Brown – One Minute Reprimand
A. Tell people in advance that you will let them know how you are doing and in no uncertain terms. (the first half of the rebuke)
b. Suppress people immediately.
vs. Tell people what they did wrong, be specific.
d. Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong, and in no uncertain terms.
my. Pause for a few seconds of awkward silence to let them feel how you feel.
F. Shake his hand or touch him in a way that lets him know that you are honestly on his side.
gram. Remind them how much you value them.
H. Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation.
I. Realize that when the rebuke is over, it is over.
Conclusion:
The book was written by authors who also wrote “Who Moved My Cheese?”, just like the book that has enough pages to explain its goal, which is people management and the value of people too. It keeps the reader on the edge of her seat, almost making her feel like it only takes a minute to read the book. It could be highly recommended that managers read the book to decrease the time spent managing people and more to get results the right way without increasing too much pressure, rather than increasing the employee’s initiative to do things right.
