| Keith Blanchard Harper Collins Business, 1999 |
Summary
This is a short, well written book explaining the fundamentals of management: make sure your staff member knows what they are to do, praise them if they do it, repremand them if they don't. Have a training plan to make sure they develop into better, more productive employees.
Aims, Praises and Repremands
Of course the above summary isn't all there is to management, but if you get this much right you're on the right track. The "one minute" part of the title concerns the consise nature of aims, praises and repremands.
- For each of the major tasks an employee needs to do, their aim should be put on a single sheet of paper - it should only take a minute for an employee to review what they are required to do, this will make it clear how an employee is being judged.
- Employees need to be praised when they do well. It is important to give feedback quickly - not wait for reviews, but praise need take only a minute to tell someone they have done well.
- Repremands are more complex than praise, but similarly should be done soon after the event. The repremand should only last around a minute. for repremands (a) confirm what has happened with the employee, don't go on heresay, (b) repremand the behaviour, not the employee, and tell them how you feel, (c) pause for a moment to let it sink in, (d) praise them as a person and encourage them in their strengths.
Other Aspects
- Employees need praise and encouragement, they won't function in an atmosphere of fear and criticism.
- Give employees responsibility - once they are clear on their goals and are capable of achieving them they should have the freedom to get on with the job.
- Training is vital. It is rare you will get someone perfect for the job, so you need to identify how to take an employee from where they are to where they need to be. It will benefit both the employee and the company.
- The book is written as a story about a student trying to find out how to be a good manager, one day he comes across "the one minute manager" who tells him his "secret". This format makes it easy to read.
Mottos
There are lots of mottos in the book. Here they are listed:
- People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
- Help people reach their full potential; catch them doing something right.
- The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.
- Everyone is a potential winner; some people are disguised as losers; don't let their appearances fool you.
- Take a minute; look at your goals; look at your performance; see if your behaviour matches your goals.
- We are not just our behaviour; we are the person managing our behaviour.
- Goals begin behaviours; consequences maintain behaviours.
- Share it with others.
©John Mann, 2000