The One Minute Manager

I was at a yard sale today with my family and came across this book.  I first read it about a year ago, but it was originally published in 1981.  For a leadership book that is 30 years old, I believe it holds up quite well.  In particular, it goes into the idea of reprimanding (a word I do not care for), and gives a technique for when we must express in a professional way that someone has not met our expectations.  Below are some notes I took from my initial reading.  I would love to hear your thoughts on the idea of The One Minute Manager.

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The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

• "People who feel good about themselves produce good results."
• One Minute Goal Setting 
• manager and employee agree on what the goals are 
• each goal is recorded on no more than a single page (250 words)
• each person keeps a copy
• 80% of important results should come from 20% of goals
• so...only choose 3-6 goals
• no surprises - everyone knows what to expect from the beginning
• put problems in behavioral terms and then describe a solution in behavioral terms
• find discrepancy between what you want and what actually happened
• Ask yourself questions to determine an answer

• One Minute Praisings
• "Help people reach their full potential.  Catch them doing something right."
• tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing
• praise people immediately
• tell people what they did- be specific 
• tell people how good you feel about what they did right and how it helps the organiztion and the other people who 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 away that makes clear that you support their success in the organization

• One Minute Reprimand
• tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing 
• reprimand immediately
• tell people what they did wrong - be specific
• tell people how you feel about what they did wrong
• stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let them feel how you feel
• 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

• "The best minute I spend, is the one I invest in people."
• Take a minute.  Look at you goals.  Look at your performance.  See if your behavior matches your goals.
• "We are not just behavior.  We are the person managing our behavior.'
• "Goals begin behaviors.  Consequences maintain behaviors."