A 6 Minute Summary of The New One Minute Manager

What’s old is new again! One of the most popular and best-selling management books of all time is The One Minute Manager written in 1982 by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (author of Who Moved My Cheese?). Well, the duo is back with a newly updated (2015) version of the timeless classic called The New One Minute Manager.

Should you read it, or will this six-minute blog post summary suffice?

The answer a bit later. First, let’s quickly review…

The Original One Minute Manager…

…which tells the story of a nameless man who knows only two types of managers. The first type of manager is the strict one who only cares about the ‘bottom line’ and thus works his employees to the bone. The second type of manager is the one trying to be ‘the good boss’ who is liked by his employees but who loses his grip on the operations of the organization.

The nameless man wonders if the day will ever come when he meets a manager who combines the strengths of the two.

He then hears of a manager in a nearby town who fits the bill and who is able to see him right away.

So, he meets with the man who goes on to tell him…

Three Secrets of Management

These secrets, according to the authors, all take one minute or less to execute and have positive and long-lasting ramifications.

Secret #1: One-Minute Goal Setting

The first secret has the manager writing down in 250 words or less what he expects of the employee. The goals he creates for them should be clear and specific, so much so that they should seldom come to him/her with questions or problems about them.

Secret #2: One-Minute Praisings

The second secret has the employee keeping track of everything they have done, so they know what they are doing and so the manager could give praise for a job well done. The authors emphasized the concept of catching the employee doing something right and then giving praise as those who feel good about themselves do good work.

Secret #3: One-Minute Reprimands

The third and final secret is the one-minute reprimand which states that the employee knows beforehand that they will be judged on their performance. The authors believed at the time that the number one motivator was feedback on results. With that being said, they also believed that the reprimand should be aimed at the action and not the person.

The World Has Changed Since 1982…

…when the Original One-Minute Manager was written.  Back then, most organizations were run by top-down autocratic leadership. These days things are much different and to be an effective leader you must not only embrace but practice side-by-side collaborative leadership.

Employees of today are looking for more fulfillment in both their work and their lives in general. People are hungrier to make a contribution and to feel a sense of engagement at work.

The New One Minute Manager…

…has changed with the times and created a new approach that revolves around understanding that people are key to the success of an organization and it is critical to treat them as such.

His new approach is reflected in the fact that he encourages the people he manages to balance their work and their life. He also believes in letting them manage themselves and those they work with so that both the employees and the organization profit.

This new approach is apparent when we review the 3 secrets which have been slightly modified to keep up with the changing world.

NEW Secret #1: One-Minute Goals

Instead of the manager setting the goals for the employees, now he/she listens to the employees’ input and works alongside them to create the goals. The goals are then outlined on one page in a way that is easily understood by the employee. The employee is then encouraged to review their goals every day to see if what they are doing matches their goals. If they are not, they are encouraged to modify what they are doing so they can reach their goals quicker.

NEW Secret #2: One-Minute Praisings

The second new secret has the manager catching the employee in the act of doing something correctly and giving them immediate praise. The idea is to notice the employee doing something right, tell them exactly what they did right and then tell them how it made the manager feel. The authors feel that by doing this the employee will eventually catch themselves doing stuff right and begin to praise themselves thus increasing their confidence.

NEW Secret #3: One-Minute Re-Directs

The third new secret is about how managers respond when employees have done something wrong. Instead of the one-minute reprimand, the manager has evolved to using a one-minute re-direct to help the employee learn what they need to do differently. The idea is to first confirm the facts and review the mistake together. The manager then lets the employee know how they feel about the mistake and how it has impacted results. Then the manager is encouraged to let the employee know they are better than the mistake they made. Finally, the manager lets them know they think well of them as a person and still have confidence and trust in them.

My Take on the New One Minute Manager

The authors have clearly updated the original One Minute Manager with the times as many of the concepts which were appropriate back in 1982 needed to evolve.

Some of the concepts that I liked:

  The collaborative goal-setting, which makes sense. Whenever someone is involved in something like setting goals, they feel they are being heard, that their input is valued which gives them ownership and makes them want to reach their goals even more.

  Having clear and concise goals is crucial as one common issue in organizations today is poorly defined roles and responsibilities.

  I do like the concept of one-minute praisings for the simple fact that most employees have no idea how they are doing. And most employees don’t find out until their yearly performance review which in my opinion, is far too late to receive feedback.

  As for the one-minute re-direct, I like the idea of revisiting the goal to make sure it is clear and if not, to clarify it.

As for concepts I think can be improved:

  I think the authors can improve the one-minute re-direct by first establishing whether or not the mistake was the employee’s fault. There are many times when a mistake occurs that is out of the employee’s control.

  I also believe they can do a better job of having the manager help the employee understand why the mistakes were made and how to correct them. It’s almost like they assume the mistake was made by the employee and they need to figure out how to do better next time by themselves.

Overall, In My Opinion…

…it’s a so-so book with several valid points.

It’s basic advice for managing people – and it boils down to having clear objectives and then giving them immediate feedback – both praise and re-directs.

While both these facets of management are important, there are so many other facets of management that they fail to touch on such as working as a team, delegation, communication skills, and critical thinking to name just a few. And it is impossible to cover anything in much substance in such a short book.

I suppose if you are a first-time manager it wouldn’t you hurt to read it as there are some good tips and it’s only 100 pages long and a quick read.

But honestly, I’d save my money and just read this 6-minute blog post.

By Friend and Co-Blogger Howie…

…is much less diplomatic in his assessment of the book. When I asked him for his thoughts on the One Minute Manager this was his response:

“When my daughter was 4 years old she took my brand new copy of the One Minute Manager and threw it in the toilet before I could read it. Well, I got another copy and realized she was way ahead of me. It wasn’t worth reading and should have been thrown in the toilet. The New version would just clog the toilet more. I take a pass on all books in the One Minute Manager series. It is insulting to the reader that you can teach someone to manage in 1 minute!!!”

Until next time, always flush and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

Use It or Lose It

The 3 secrets of the New One Minute Manager are:

(1)  Use One-Minute Goals
(2)  Use One-Minute Praisings
(3)  Use One-Minute Re-Directs

When to Use It

You can use these when managing others.

What Do You Think?

Did you read the original One Minute Manager? Have you read the New One Minute Manager? What do you think of the secrets? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

References

¹ The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson 

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