About the author

Blanchard holds a BA from Cornell University in Government and Philosophy, a Master's degree from Colgate University in Sociology and Counseling, and a PhD in Administration and Management. He is the author of the widely used teaching book, Managing Organizational Behavior: Using Human Resources, and is currently Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He also runs his own company specializing in training and corporate development.

More than 750,000 copies of The One Minute Manager have been published. The book's success has spawned a series of sub-topics, including One Minute Leadership and Managers, One Minute Salespeople, and One Minute Manager's Way.

Main content

Having a clear goal saves a lot of time and energy that can be used effectively for other things.

A young man travels the world looking for an example of a great manager. He wanted to work for such a person and learn how to be such a good manager. But most of the people in the circle he came in contact with were not particularly inspiring. He meets managers who are assertive and run the business smoothly but are not liked by their employees, and managers who are happy and please employees but do not focus on work efficiency.

Is there a manager that combines the good of both? The young man heard of someone who seemed to fit the type of man he was looking for, the funny thing being that the person was in a city near his home. The young man was surprised because the director agreed to meet him immediately and share how he manages human resources. And so the story of the one-minute manager begins.

You'll be forgiven for being wary of someone's management methods that only take a minute. Is this realistic? Sales of The One Minute Manager show:

  • Managers who want to spend less time motivating employees and solving problems will capture something to offer solutions; or
  • There must be something right about this style of management.

“Everyone who has worked with him feels at ease. No one felt led, controlled or threatened because everyone knew from the beginning what he was doing and why he was doing it.”

The One Minute Manager's Method

“As he sat at his desk thinking, the one-minute leader realized how lucky he was. He endowed himself with the gift of creating greater results in less time.”

There are three secrets or three elements of the one-minute method:

– Agree goals (no more than six) with employees. Remember to write down each goal one by one on each piece of paper. This is called “one minute goal setting”. From there, employees know exactly what is expected of them and rarely go to the manager to present their problems – they know they were hired to solve the problems.

Employees should re-read goals regularly as a way to ensure that results are up to expectations. They should also provide details of progress to the manager. This doesn't mean that managers keep track of what employees are doing, but that managers can "know they're doing the right thing." From there can “reward a minute,” providing immediate and positive feedback on work done.

– If a person has the skills to do the job properly but does not bring the expected results, the manager will have a “one minute reprimand”. This serious reprimand is a reprimand of an action or attitude, not a reprimand of a person, and this is the only exception to the employee's day-to-day expertise. After reprimanding, the manager reminded the employee of his value to the company.

Part two of the story aims to explain why the one-minute management style works.

One-minute goal setting is doable because “the number one human motivator is feedback on results.” We want to know how we work, and if we do well, we feel satisfied. The One Minute Manager has a sign on the wall that says: “Take a Minute – Look back at your goals – Look back at your results – See if your attitude aligns with your goals. you do not". Simple but effective.

One-minute rewards also work for motivation. It's rare to find someone who knows how to do things the right way from day one; You have to work hard for the training. “So it's important to train someone for a new job to understand from the very beginning that they are doing something right until they can learn how to do it correctly and correctly.” . Discipline does not apply to people who do not feel secure in what they are doing, only words of encouragement can work. Praise keeps them on the right track. Even if it only takes a little time for praise, it is the source of energy that can run an entire business.

The one-minute reprimand works because it's the fairest form of feedback for correcting unsatisfactory results. When goals are set and expectations are clear, one can often see if the reprimand is justified. The manager is respected because he or she "tells the truth". Because reprimands are quick and focused on the specific action (not the person himself), the person being reprimanded is less likely to feel upset; when this is over it usually ends on a good note and can be quickly forgotten or even taken seriously.

Efforts to lead

The oversimplification of the one-minute management style will seem questionable to some. However, it is a bit more than applying efficiency to human relations in the work environment. The philosophy of “take a little time to get big results” comes from a realistic appreciation of human nature.

The one-minute manager in this story admits that management can't always be done in a minute. Rather, it is the implication that managing people may be less complicated than we think. It is not necessary to hold countless meetings of goals and problems. It takes time to invest in goal setting, but then the contact between the boss and subordinates can be reduced to a bare minimum.

Learn a few examples of successful people management. Investor Warren Buffett hires directors and agrees on a handful of goals so clear he rarely needs to see them. These directors expedite the work and send him periodic reports. Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton was respected by his crew members because they knew exactly what to expect from them. If they are reprimanded for something, there is always a clear and logical reason. More recently, Jack Welch of GE Corporation explained his management style of "beat and hug" applies only according to goals that have been outlined and prepared in advance. This doesn't create an atmosphere of apprehension – if someone doesn't do a good job as expected they can't blame anyone but themselves.

Another idea: the ideas in The One Minute Manager are not just for the work environment, but can be applied to many other areas of personal relationships. For example, “tough and easy,” is also the goal of any parent.

Last words

After decades of book series on management science and organizational behavior, The One Minute Manager emerges as a breath of fresh air for executives. The book may seem oversimplified, but it is firmly grounded in the latest findings in behavioral psychology. Blanchard and Johnson's talent is in providing that knowledge in the form of a more engaging story.

Today, the organizational structure of companies is less hierarchical and focuses on teamwork, so it can be said that the book is less relevant. The book seems to describe an old, hierarchical and sexist working environment in a "boss and subordinates" style of work. More importantly, today we can distinguish between mere managers and leaders – if leadership creates morale, then managers merely manage.

However, the real leader, like the example above, will find it difficult to do without some basic people management skills. They will seek to create a comfortable work environment where everyone has the time they need to pursue important goals. The sense of comfort is because each person knows exactly his or her role; There is transparency and clarity of the goal.