This page summarizes the main points in One Minute Manager. A book by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. So, if you are looking for an on-point review and summary of the One Minute Manager book, this page is a must-read for you.
Management is a broad and growing sector with billions in market worth. Effective management requires education, skills, and experience. Teams, leaders, and managers need effective communication to ensure growth and stability.
There are several books on becoming a better manager, but this book has a unique approach. “The One Minute Manager” provides a different approach to becoming a better manager.
To begin with, what is the One Minute Manager?
The One Minute Manager is a book by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. This book is a comprehensive book on management published in 1982. The book uses a unique one-minute management strategy to help managers.
This book is classic management studies literature.
What makes the One Minute Manager Book different?
Ken and Spencer’s book provides approaches for effective management. You get management styles across different management levels.
It teaches managers and leaders to make management easier and boost productivity.
What does the One Minute Manager strategy aim to achieve?
The One Minute Manager book has helped countless managers today. It helped them develop a culture of continuous improvement and fix accountability.
Let me introduce you a bit more into some of the methodologies of this management book.
Overview of The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
What is the content of the one minute manager?
The One Minute Manager is a book about a young man seeking guidance to become a better manager. A manager introduced the man to three management principles for managerial success.
What are the 3 management principles according to the One Minute Manager Book?
The three One-Minute Management principles are:
- One-Minute Goals
- One-Minute Praising
- One-Minute Reprimands
You can guess where the book’s title comes from – The One Minute Manager.
The One-Minute Goals:
A one-minute goal emphasizes setting clear goals. These goals must be achievable within a minute.
The manager determines what employee tasks, goals, expectations, and ensures synergy among stakeholders.
The One-Minute Praising:
What is the One-Minute Praising management principle?
It is important for managers to recognize and praise employees for their achievements. This recognition motivates employees to perform at their best.
Studies have shown that praising employees can boost employee productivity. (According to this recent study).
The One-Minute Reprimand:
What is the management principle behind the One-Minute Reprimand?
The one-minute reprimand principle addresses performance issues. One-minute reprimanding ensures managers provide feedback and ensure each employee performs at best.
I quote:
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” – The One Minute Manager Book By Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
Blanchard’s approach focuses on building communication between managers and employees.
In the book, I quote again;
“People who feel good about themselves produce excellent results. And people who produce good results feel good about themselves.”
Three lessons from the principles, strategies, and approaches taught by Ken and Spencer.
The Three Lessons of The One Minute Manager
Here are the 3 lessons I learned from reading this book about proper and effective management.
One-Minute Lesson #1. One-Minute Goals to Improve Clarity and Alignment
It’s clear this management book emphasizes setting clear and achievable goals. Thus “One-Minute Goals.”
Goals must be visible and attainable in under a minute.
How is this management principle effective?
This strategy teaches the importance of tracking, measuring, and testing (or a/b testing).
There are certain elements of every one-minute goal.
What are the key elements of one-minute goals?
1. Setting Clear Goals:
The One Minute Manager is strong on goal-setting.
One-minute goals help identify three (3) key objectives for each team member.
2. Agreeing on Goals:
Working as a team is one of the most important aspects of any management or team.
Managers and employees must agree and collaborate on goals.
Agreement between managers and employees ensures alignment and accountability.
The agreement promotes ownership and commitment to achieving goals.
3. Reviewing Goals:
Managers need feedback to review goals.
Feedback is key to the one-minute goals approach.
Regular reviews allow managers to check progress, provide support, and celebrate achievements.
One-Minute Lessons #2. One-Minute Praising Cultivates an Appreciative Culture
What is the second lesson I learned as a manager reading the One Minute Manager book?
I love the principle and scope behind the one-minute praise.
The one-minute praise reinforces positive behavior and develops an appreciation-driven work culture. I mean, you celebrate every little or big win.
Blanchard writes;
“The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people,”
What are the key elements of one-minute praising are as follows:
1. Catching People Doing Things Correctly:
The book explains quick praises that last for a minute. It also teaches how managers should notice and appreciate excellent behavior.
“The One Minute Manager is always on the lookout for people doing something right.” – Ken Blanchard, Author, One minute Manager.
In this book on management, Blanchard and Spencer teach how managers can;
- create opportunities among teams
- reinforce a positive mindset in employees and
- encourage a high-performance mindset.
2. Praising Their Behavior:
Delivering praise as a manager is one half.
Doing that on time is the other.
Timing is crucial when delivering praises, according to the one-minute praise theory.
3. Giving Specific Praise:
As per The One Minute Manager, effective praise must be specific and genuine.
One-Minute Lesson #3. One-Minute Reprimands Provides Constructive Feedback for Growth
The last one-minute lesson I learned reading this book?
One-Minute Reprimands give room for growth.
Blanchard provides the concept of “one-minute reprimands.” This rule addresses performance issues on time.
Discussing dissatisfaction with an employee’s behavior can help.
The key elements of one-minute reprimands are as follows:
1. Address the Behavior, Not the Person:
One-minute reprimands focus on actions rather than criticizing employees.
Separating behavior from personality helps maintain dignity. This preserves employees’ self-esteem.
2. Immediately Discussing the Issue:
The core of one-minute reprimands is timely feedback for the lesson to be effective.
Prompt communication prevents many issues from escalating and allows immediate course correction.
3. Reaffirming the Individual’s Worth:
One-minute reprimands are incomplete without encouragement and reassurance.
Reassurance and affirmation reinforce employees’ sense of worth. It helps improve the positive relationship between managers and their employees.
Finally, How Do You Put the One-Minute Management Rule to Work?
How do you put the one minute manager rule to play?
Applying key lessons requires a threefold approach. This focuses on goal setting, feedback, and reinforcement.
What is the first step to implementing the one-minute manager rule?
This identifies and defines specific objectives aligning with the organization’s goals.
Well-defined goals clarify employees’ roles and responsibilities. This leads to a combined focused effort towards goal attainment.
The second thing is to gather or collect feedback.
Managers should guide employee performance and foster ongoing improvement.
They should provide timely and constructive feedback to employees. Feedback is specific and focuses on the behavior and outcome of employees.
Reinforcement is necessary for managers to sustain motivation and commitment from team members.
Managers should recognize and reward achievements in time.
A manager acknowledges successes and expresses appreciation for employees’ contributions.
Celebrating achievements reinforces desired behaviors. And creates a positive work culture.
This inspires teams to perform well, be excellent, and be collaborative.
What, then, is the goal of the One Minute manager?
When managers integrate the 3 one-minute management principles into their routine, you expect;
- A high-performing management system,
- A Motivated team that contributes to organizational success.
- A productive team.
Key Points in “The One Minute Manager” Management Book.
What are the key points from the 1 minute manager?
- The One Minute Management approach by Ken and Spencer is the One-Minute Rule.
- The 3 management principles are: One-Minute Goals, One-Minute Praising, and One-Minute Reprimands.
- One-minute goals emphasize setting specific and concise goals within a minute.
- One-Minute Praising encourages managers to recognize and praise good work done.
- One-Minute Reprimands addresses performance issues.
FAQs on The One Minute Manager By Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
Some of the asked questions in the management book, The One Minute Manager:
What is a one minute manager summary?
The One Minute Manager management principle focuses on quick results. The 3 management principles explained are;
- One-Minute Goals,
- One-Minute Praising, and
- One-Minute Reprimands.
What is the 80-20 rule for a one minute manager?
The 80-20 rule is a One-Minute Manager ideology. This rule states that 80% of results a manager gets comes from only 20% of their initial goals.
A One Minute Manager believes 80% of outcomes (Return) come from 20% goals (Investments).
Who is a one minute manager?
A One-Minute Manager follows the One-Minute Rule, Principles, and Ideologies and applies it. A one-minute manager sets goals using the one-minute goals rule, praises employees by following the one-minute praising rule, and addresses issues (in one-minute reprimands).
What are the 3 main points in The One Minute Manager book?
As we mentioned, the 3 core principles in the One Minute Manager book are;
- One-Minute Goals
- One-Minute Praising
- One-Minute Reprimands
How many pages is the one minute manager?
Published in 1982, The One Minute Manager book has 112 pages in the management book.
Who are the authors of the One Minute Manager book?
The authors of the One Minute Manager book on management are;
Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson.
Finally, can I download the “One Minute Manager” Book on Management PDF version for free?
No, you cannot download the PDF version of the One Minute Manager book for free. You must buy it from Amazon or any other eCommerce website.
I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.
