One Minute Manager

Summary

It's hard to determine who the main character is in The One Minute Manager, but it's probably the nameless young man who is forever interviewing different individuals in search of great managerial tactics and tips. After all, he is the one followed in every page. On his search, he meets managers who are either "nice" or "autocratic," finding faults with each in turn. The "nice" managers aren't productive enough, and the "autocratic" managers aren't appreciated by their employees and have trouble motivating their employees. Finally his search lands him in the office of "quite a guy" who is called a "One Minute Manager" throughout the book. Very much like Who Moved My Cheese, The One Minute Manager seems to have a very strong hint of Eastern philosophy. The sage manager interviewed is presented as someone who is enlightened: at least in the ways of managing people. One Minute Management involves three "pillars": One Minute Goal Setting, One Minute Praising, and One Minute Reprimanding.

Mr. Trenell is the man who introduces us to One Minute Goal Setting. This is particularly geared towards making responsibilities clear to both the manager and the employee. Under One Minute Goal Setting, there are no surprises and the employee knows what he's going to be held accountable for. At the beginning of the new task, the employee sits down with the manager and communicates goals to him. He will detail large goals on a single sheet of paper in around 250 words. This way, he can refer back to them if he needs to. Trenell also tells the nameless young man about the 80-20 goal setting rule. That is, that 80% of someone's really important results come from about 20% of his goals.

After learning about One Minute Goal Setting from Mr. Trenell, he heads over to meet with Mr. Levy, another of the One Minute Manager's subordinates. Mr. Levy tells the young man about One Minute Praisings. This, he said, may seem uncomfortable at first, because the manager is always near, watching you. This is because he's "trying to catch you doing something right." The manager has an employee give detailed progress reports. When you do something right, he'll touch you on the shoulder and give you praise. The praise will be immediate, and he'll tell you specifically what was done right, and the manager will be consistent. After a while, you'll begin praising yourself before he gets a chance to, and then the manager wouldn't need to.

Ms. Brown tells the young man about One Minute Reprimand. In this, the employee has made a mistake. The manager will make eye contact, tell the employee exactly what was done incorrectly, and explain how this makes the manager feel. Then he will let the employee know that it's only burdensome because he expected more