THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER

- Kenneth H. Blanchard, Ph.D.

- Spencer Johnson, M.D.

Review Done By: KAMALAKKANNAN G, DMS, Pondicherry University

Published by: The Berkley Publishing Group

Description about Authors:

Dr. Kenneth Blanchard, Chairman of Blanchard Training and Development, Inc. (BTD), is an
internationally known author, educator and consultant/trainer. He is the co-author of the highly
acclaimed and most widely used text on leadership and organization
behavior, Management of Organization Behavior: Utilizing Human
Resources.

Dr. Blanchard received his B. A. from Cornell University in

Government and Philosophy, an M.A. from Colgate University in Sociology
and Counselling and a Ph.D. from Cornell in Administration and
Management. He presently serves as a professor of Leadership and
Organizational Behavior at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In addition, he is a member of the
National Training Laboratories (NTL).

Dr. Spencer Johnson is the Chairman of Candle Communications

Corporation, and an active author, publisher, lecturer and communications
consultant. He has written more than a dozen books dealing with medicine
and psychology.

Dr. Johnson’s education includes a degree in psychology from the

University of Southern California, an M.D. degree from the Royal College of
Surgeons in Ireland, and medical clerkships at Harvard Medical School and
the Mayo Clinic.

THE ONE MINUTE FATHER, THE ONE MINUTE MOTHER, THE PRECIOUS PRESENT, THE
VALUETALE SERIES are some of his books.

Abstract of the Book:

The One Minute Manager provides Managers, an insight on how to be more effective in
communication within their teams and with external interests. It also helps getting past the pattern
of delivering an unpleasant message, and, giving encouragement in delivering the good news.

This book establishes that productivity (Quantity + Quality) of each individual as well as that
of the organization increases multi folds if we make an organization people oriented rather than
result oriented. People will feel good in ‘People Oriented Organizations’ and ensure the involvement
in the product / services they provide. To achieve this, we need setting of participatory goals, clear
responsibility and accountability. Praising subordinates for right job done immediately rather than
punishing any one for wrong job done can enable them to attain their full potential to perform well.
It has a great impact on morale of a team when you appreciate some one’s good work
spontaneously and do reprimanding for mistakes committed in private.

Description of Chapters:

3 choices as a manager in recruiting are:

1. First, hire winners. They are hard to find and they cost money.
2. Or, second, if can't find a winner, you can hire someone with the potential to be a winner.
Then by systematic training, tend person to become a winner.
3. If not willing to do either of the first two, then the third choice left is prayer (pray to god for
the people, whom are hired, to perform).

The 3 secrets of one minute manager are:

 Set 1-minute goals with subordinates

 Use 1-minute praising when goals are achieved
 Use 1-minute reprimands when goals are not achieved

a) One Minute Goals:

Pareto Principle: 80% of employee’s important results will come from 20% of your goals. So
the systematic functioning of work is done by goals and goals alone.

Goal setting starts with agreeing the goal after discussion of an employee with his manager.
A goal, and its performance standard, should take no more than 250 words to express. That goal can
be read within a minute. The Manager and his subordinate both keep a copy so everything is clear
and so they can both periodically check the progress and aligning the Behaviour of the employee to
the colinearity of Goals if needed.

b) One Minute Praising:

In most organizations the managers spend most of their time catching people doing
something wrong. The One Minute Manager would try to catch while doing something right.

Conveying the people that the performance will be monitored and it will made known to
them, is the initial step of ‘One Minute Praising’. It becomes a lot easier for us to do well, if we got
crystal-clear feedback from the manager on how we were doing. Praising the people immediately
and specifically appreciation for the work done motivates employee.

Coming over and making contact, putting his hand on employee’s shoulder or briefly
touching in a friendly way and making the eye-contact and telling how he feels about the thing,
which employee did, right motivates for employee performance without even monitoring. Shake
hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear that support their success in the organization.

c) One Minute Reprimand:

Whenever an Employee does something wrong, which is well below his potential then a
reprimand is necessary to avoid mistakes in the future. There are two half in reprimanding an
Employee.
 i) First Half:

When a mistake is observed an immediate reprimanding is necessary, telling people

what they did wrong very specific and mentioning the feeling which they felt bad
about that mistake to the employee by Manager will directly attack the behaviour of
the employee not the employee as a human.

ii) Second Half:

Coming over and making contact, putting his hand on employee’s shoulder or briefly
touching in a friendly way and making the eye-contact and telling that how much he
values the employee and reaffirming that he thinks bad about the Behaviour not as
a person will tempt the employee to work very careful in the future when he does
the same work.

Reprimand before praise. Not the other way round. Praising is reminding people they are
valuable and worthwhile.

Conclusion:

This is the basic foundation for good leadership and being a good manager.

Goals begin Behaviours, consequences maintain Behaviours.

Using the above said steps one can have a work, which can be enjoyed.

Job Satisfaction can be made guaranteed.

Everyone is a potential winner. Some people are disguised as losers. Don't let their
appearances fool you.

I suggest this book should be read by all Managers:

The difficulties mentioned in this book when the above mentioned steps are not followed
are practically seen by me upon me as an employee. Without proper discussion of job
responsibilities with my Manager had given me difficulties in completion of work well before the
time. The awareness of the freedom in work, tackling the crisis and refraining the employee from
future happening of that crisis in a way that wouldn’t hurt the feelings is well said in this book. I
would say that this is a good starting point for us in the classroom to become good one minute
managers.

This interpretation of every expectation of an employee from the Manager and the Manager
upon employee is well said and complied in line with the productivity of an organization. So I
recommend this book to be read by future Managers so that they can provide comfort zone for the
peoples under them and that would be reflected in the productivity of the firm.