Authors: Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
Format: Audible
Subject: Management
Rating: 9/10
Summary:
It took me far to long to get around to reading this gem of a book. Its written in a narrative format and does an excellent job of both telling and showing the “Minute Manager” philosophy. The focus of the book is coaching the team to grow and perform at their best. The philosophy consists of three key parts: One Minute Goal Setting, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands.
One Minute Goal Setting serves as the foundation for One Minute Management and the authors rely heavily on the Pareto Principle, that 80% of the results come from 20% of your goals. The One Minute Goal Setting Process is outlined below:
- Agree on the specifics of the goal.
- Define what success looks like.
- Write out the goals on a single sheet of paper.
- Re-read each goal regularly, which should only take a minute per goal.
- Set aside a minute several times per day to review your actions and verify they align with your goal.
- Tell people that you will provide feedback about how they are doing.
One Minute Praisings This is the second tool in the One Minute Manager’s toolkit. The idea is to build positive reinforcement when somebody is caught doing something right. When people feel good about themselves, they produce good results. Here are the steps for a One Minute Praising:
- Praise people immediately, be specific about what they are doing right, how good it makes you feel about what they did right, and how its helps the organization.
- Pause for a moment to allow them to reflect.
- Encourage them to continue the behavior, and give them a pat on the back.
One Minute Reprimands This is the final piece in the One Minute Manager’s arsenal. The purpose of the reprimand is to keep the person and lose the behavior. It is the counterpart of the One Minute Praising, and it consists of two parts:
Part 1
- Reprimand people immediately.
- Be specific about the behaviors they did wrong, tell them how it makes you feel. Focus the reprimand on their behaviors, not the individual.
- Pause for a few seconds and let them fell how you feel.
Part 2
- Shake hands and re-ensure them that you are on their side.
- Remind them how much you value them, but not their performance in this situation.
Aha Moment:
When it comes to getting the most of their team, companies have three options:
1) Hire All-Stars (very expensive and difficult)
2) Hire somebody with potential and then train them up
3) pray.
Favorite One Minute Manager Quotes:
“I care about people and results. They go hand in hand.”
“if you can’t tell me what you’d like to be happening, you don’t have a problem yet. You’re just complaining.”
“A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening.”
“Take A Minute: Look At Your Goals, Look At Your Performance. See If Your Behavior Matches Your Goals.”
“If you are first tough on the behavior, then then supportive of the person, it works.”