The One Minute Manager - my thoughts.......So I just finished the book by Kenneth Blanchard, The One Minute Manager. What an easy read and insightful book. I have heard this referred to as a "must read" for every manager. The book is about 40 minutes of reading and full of insightful and simple tips on how to be effective leading people, leading businesses, and ultimately...leading yourself.
The book basically boils down to 3 "secrets" of being a One Minute Manager. Namely:
- One Minute Goal Setting
- One minute praising
- One minute reprimands
SECRET ONE: One Minute Goal Setting
Employee submits one-minute, one-page set of goals
- Agree on your goals
- See what good behavior looks like
- Write out each of your goals on a single piece of paper using less
than 250 words - Read and re-read each goal, which requires only a minute or so each
time you do it. - Take a minute every once and a while out of your day to look at your
performance, and - See whether or not your behavior matches you goal
SECRET TWO: One Minute Praising
When an employee does something right they are immediately praised for a minute.
- Tell people right from the start that you are going to let them know
they are doing well. - Praise people immediately
- Tell people what they did right, be specific.
- Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it
helps the organization and other people that work there. - Stop for a moment of silence to let them feel how good you feel.
- Encourage them to do more of the same
- Shake hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear that you
support their success in the organization
SECRET THREE: One minute reprimands
When an employee does something wrong they are to be reprimanded for a minute.
- Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know what they are
doing and in no uncertain terms. - The first half of the reprimand: Reprimand people immediately
- Tell people why they did wrong, be specific.
- Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong - and in no
uncertain terms - Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence and let them feel how
you feel. - The second half of the reprimand:
Shake hands, or touch them in a way that lets them know you are
honestly on their side - Remind them how much you value them
- Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in
this situation - Realize that when the reprimand is over, it's over.
In addition to the easy to understand goal breakdown, one of my favorite quotes from the book was actually a story about Albert Einstein:
"When someone asked Einstein what his telephone number was - he had to look it up in a book. He never cluttered his mind with information he could find somewhere else."
I also loved the book in summary.....you don't have to fully understand the "why's" of being a One Minute Manager to put it into practice. In fact, putting it into practice immediately and being able to laugh at your own mistakes will make you a better One Minute Manager.
Great book.....great concepts.
