Book Review: The One Minute Manager By Kenneth H. Blanchard And Spencer Johnson

The One Minute Manager
By Kenneth H. Blanchard And Spencer Johnson

First published in the early 1980s, this thin book is a classic of the business world. The book is a business parable of sorts, a fictional tale of a young man who wants to learn everything he can about how to be an effective manager.

In the course of his travels, he hears of a manager of a company in a nearby town who has the reputation of being both effective and admired. The young man arranges a meeting with this manager and is surprised to hear him describe himself as a "one minute manager". Rather than explain himself immediately, the manager encourages the young man to talk with other employees and learn about the techniques that he uses.

Essentially, this book covers three areas on interpersonal and organizational skills: Goal setting, praising, and reprimanding. It is not so much a book about the mechanical tasks of managing, but rather a set of lessons in interpersonal relationships and the psychology of job performance.

Starting with the premise that employees who feel valued will be more productive, the book describes simple techniques to encourage productive behavior and to correct deficiencies.

Although the central theme of the book constitutes program of management style, there is plenty here that a prospective manager could come away with, even if they did not choose to embrace the entire One Minute Manager program.

Even if you never plan to become a "one minute manager", this is a good book on interpersonal relations in the workplace and beyond.

The One Minute Manager was book #15 in my goal of reading 50 books in 2010.