The One Minute Managerby Kenneth Blanchard and Spenser Johnson - Essay Example

           In order to be an effective manager, Blanchard, and Johnson have given three primary secrets in the book. The first secret is open-minded goal setting. According to Blanchard and Johnson (18), this is the one-minute management foundation. They vouch for the 80-20 rule of goal setting. By this, they simply imply that 80% of results that are really important come from 20% of goals that were set. This simply entails making people aware of what they should do in their duties. In one-minute goal setting, the first step is agreeing on the goals. This is followed by looking out for good behavior, then writing out each of the set goals in not more than 250 words. The fourth step entails reading and re-reading each goal, which should be less than a minute. The next step requires one to take a minute off each day to evaluate their performance and finally see whether or not the goals match their behavior (Blanchard and Johnson 22).

            The second secret is one-minute praisings (Blanchard and Johnson 24). The two authors point out that people can reach their maximum potential if they are helped by effective managers to know every time they do something right. Blanchard and Johnson note that when people produce good results, they tend to feel really good about themselves. The first step in one-minute praisings is letting people know upfront that you are going to inform them about how they are doing. The second step is praising people immediately and then telling people what they do right, immediately they do it, and in specific terms. Also, it is important to let people know you feel great regarding what they have done right and how it is helpful to the business and other people in it. Encouraging them to continue doing more of the same also works well. Finally, it is important to show people who do well that you support their success in the organization (Blanchard and Johnson 29).

            The third and final secret of becoming an effective manager is one-minute reprimands (Blanchard and Johnson 33). Giving feedback on results is a clear motivator for people. According to the authors, this secret works well when a manager notifies people beforehand that he or she will inform them of their performance. It is also important to reprimand people immediately. The person or his/her worth should not be reprimanded, only a particular behavior should. Also, an effective manager should be very specific in telling people what they did wrong and what he/she feels about that. The manager should then give such people a few seconds so that they can also feel what he/she feels. This secret also works well if a manager constantly reminds people how much he/she values them no matter what they have done. It is also important, as a manager, to reaffirm that you think well of your people, no matter their performance in a given scenario. Finally, when a reprimand is over, it should just be over (Blanchard and Johnson 37).

In summary, the book is an easy-to-understand story that quickly shows readers three very practical and applicable management techniques in simple language. This book does not focus on the mechanical task of management, but rather on the psychology behind effective job performance and practical lessons in interpersonal interaction. In summary, the book has given the secret of getting great results in less time as setting goals, praising and reprimanding behaviors, encouraging people, speaking the truth, laughing, working, and enjoying.