The One Minute Manager

Since its initial publication in the early 1980s, The One Minute Manager has taught generations of leaders about effective, person-centered management. It's a quick book to read (I read it in under an hour), and is filled with wisdom regarding dealing with others, both at work and outside it. This original edition is a little dated (today, one would hope that managers would refrain from touching subordinates while giving reprimands) but is still recommended.

There is this genre I call business fiction. The characteristics of the genre are as follows:

1. A Simple contrived narrative with a pedantic plod.
2. An aim at communicating common sense wisdom for the business world.
3. A healthy overlay of positive thinking.
4. characters you could care less about because they are one dimensional, mindless automatons sent by the author to fulfill his didactic purposes but do not breath, bleed, or have any life of their own.
5. Lots of slogans that would look nice on a plaque over your desk. Maybe a nice motivational poster.

Well truth be told, some authors in the genre have more quality than others. Not this one, but it distinguishes itself as providing the template for all such books that followed. show more Written thirty years ago, this New York Times bestseller, follows the adventures of a young man in search for the greatest management model in the universe. Presumably this is to rule the galaxy (though this is more implied than said). Some of the managers he observes are focused on people but not results. Others focus on results but screw people over. That is until he discovers the 'One Minute Manager.' A manager so named because he doesn't have to spend much time with his people. At all. A minute here and there will suffice.

Actually there is some helpful management advice:

1. Have employees write out a 250 word summary of their goals (main objectives) which you both keep on file. The process of clarifying things so that both managers and employees know what their objectives are means greater success and less communication is necessary.
2. The One Minute praise-Catch your employee doing something right and specifically praise them for that action and let them know how valuable it is for you.
3. The One minute reprimand-when employees do something wrong, immediately and specifically reprimand them for that action, though put it in the context of their overall good work.

This is all helpful advice in managing people. That way, they are clear on objectives, feel valued and know exactly where they screw up without having to deal with an angry build up. But really this is the entire substance of the book. Along the way the characters, spout off the same advice and show each other motivational messages on plaques. There is also a lot of advice about touching people to communicate you care. It isn't normally the case, but my guess is that this book would be much better as a movie. Wait for it. show less

Laughably oversimplified advice, for the most part very truthful and common sensical, that I'm sure works spectacularly in a healthy, homogeneous, and fully functional society that I'm having a hard time envisioning in today's world. Written in 1981, the type of managerial relationship portrayed here was already gone, it just hadn't evidenced itself yet. The advice contained within actually works better for dealing with children, specifically your own, when it comes to the much-stressed aspect of "touch" and "physical contact," otherwise the manager may be in for one of a dozen potential future lawsuits that I see arising from implementing some of the advice.

An extremely quick read about applying behaviorism to management. I think the title of this approach is highly sensational, it's not really about saving time but rather about effective behavior change. The format of the book was also neat at first, but overall felt like the authors were stacking the deck by creating fictional characters that loved the method. I enjoyed the 'plaques' in the book, and will keep them handy, but overall I'm not convinced that this method would work. I think employees would also be able to connect the dots to the roots of this method in behaviorism and feel used, like the pigeon getting grain.

Usa la forma della storia per raccontare piccoli approcci buoni per qualsiasi tipo di manager (o meglio: per manager senza troppe pretese e con poca voglia di leggere, data la scarsa mole del libro). Si potrebbe dire che è solo buon senso (l'obiettivo, la lode, la sgridata), ma quel che il libro dice è meno scontato di quel che si può pensare.

This is one of those books I bought years ago when I was a manager, under pressure from higher management, and instantly realized why I don't like these sorts of books. I find them simplistic and unhelpful, books that don't really say anything that isn't common sense, and are applauded for it.

I can see how this is a very influential book, with clear principles of management that are memorable. It is also an interesting social commentary on the 1980s.