The One Minute Manager – Book Review

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 Moved My Cheese?

Chapters: 16

Pages: 111

The symbol: modern digital clock that indicates 1 minute as a reminder to take time to look at the people you manage and know that they are your best resource.

Characters:

1. Bright young man

2. The One Minute Manager

3. Mr. Trenell – Goal Setting in a Minute

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 no more than a minute. That would be the first thought you would have when reading the book. But once you’re done, of course, doesn’t mean literally a minute. It simply means that you shouldn’t take more time to get things done when you are efficient enough. Matters that require more than a minute should still be dealt with accordingly. It’s the little time you spend with your people at the right time that makes 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 when necessary to get the right result to ensure better people management skills. Most managers, as quoted at the beginning of the book, do not apply them and tend to overdo it. 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 drift 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. Same with One Minute Praise, highlighting the action needed to strengthen or emphasize the desired output and maintaining it, explained by the character Mr. Levy. And most importantly, ensuring that workplace behavior that should not be tolerated will be explained on how the character of Ms. Brown should handle it.

Mr. Trenell – Goal Setting in a Minute

has. agree on your goals

b. See what good behavior looks like

Con Write each of your goals on a single sheet of paper using fewer than 250 words.

d. Read and reread each objective, which takes only a minute or so each time you do it.

me. Take a minute every now and then to observe your performance and

F. See if your behavior matches your goal or not.

Mr. Levy – A Minute of Praise

has. Tell people up front that you’ll let them know how you’re doing.

b. Praise people right away.

against Tell people what they did right, be specific.

d. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right and how it helps the organization and the other people who work there.

me. 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

has. Tell people in advance that you will let them know how you are doing and in clear terms. (the first half of the reprimand)

b. Repress people immediately.

against Tell people what they did wrong, be specific.

d. Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong, and in clear terms.

me. Pause for a few seconds of awkward silence to let them feel how you feel.

F. Shake hands or touch him in a way that lets him know you’re 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?”, as was the book that has enough pages to explain its goal, which is people management and the value of people as well. It keeps the reader on the edge of her seat, almost making her feel like it only takes her 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, instead of increasing employee initiative to get things right.

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