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The One Minute Manager

I read this book by Ken Blanchard many moons ago and to this day, I believe it to contain the secrets on how to be the very best manager. It is a very quick read, but the contents will take much longer after finishing the book to digest. I might also add that its principles suggested for managers are applicable to being the best parent, friend, co-worker or person as well, thus being an interesting and beneficial read for all.

Amazingly, it was first published in the early 1980s. (This was described in the historic time period known as an Old School decade by those that have lived in the time period I call Pampered. (And they wore them too.) So it’s not like a new, fangled idea. And I am here to say from personal experiences, it has not been accepted or implemented in many of the businesses I have worked for or my friends have been employed by….and worse yet, when I had my own business, I often fell short on too many occasions with the simple principles. While they may be simple, they are hard to do!

Here’s an example that often (still) prevails today:

He had seen many tough managers whose organizations seemed to win while their people lost.

Sometimes, the bottom line is the bottom line. That seems to be the foundation of most management teams. Raises, promotions, pats on the back, kudos, etc. all too often are directly tied to the manager’s handling of his bottom line, which is the company’s profit.

Unfortunately, the manager is too often being evaluated by an upper management that fosters a win/lose management style. They are often being placed in situations where if they do not get their people to produce immediately, their jobs are lost. They take the easier ways out and manage from a power, threatening position.

My belief is when this is happening, we often judge them as an uncaring, less than fair supervisor, described often with colorful adjectives added with the use or mention of their names. In most instances I think most bosses are good people. The problem is they are good people under tremendous stress.

There are a few companies that have found the secret, the real deal, produces a win/win style:

Effective managers manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the organization and the people profit from their presence.

The One Minute Manager lays out the blueprint to accomplish this. In my opinion, the foundation is layed with the following One Minute principal:

FIND THE GOOD AND PRAISE IT!

What? That’s it? Sure is. But try to do this under stress. That’s where I’ve fallen short.

It’s so simple and it works powerfully. Instead of pointing out the areas where a team member is falling short, spend most of your time catching them doing something right, and you will begin to understand the secret. Watch your son or daughter and praise them for doing good! Teachers, spend your day looking for anything your students are doing that is taking them in a successful direction. It yields powerful results.

Reading The One Minute Manager should be required of all high school grads, teachers, MANAGERS, Senior managers, VPs, owners and parents. It’s a book I plan to look at again. It’s a great lesson that will improve you as a person.