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The New One Minute Manager
by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

My Thoughts

“Your job is to show people how to manage themselves and enjoy it. You want them to succeed when you are not around.” This quote summarizes the message of the book. It is written as a narrative. Contains many good insights. I recommend it for anyone, and especially managers and leaders.

My Favorite Quotes

• People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
• Help people reach their full potential, catch them doing something right.
• Everybody needs to be a learner because things are changing so much.
• The goal is to build confidence in people to help get better results.
• Learn to laugh when you make a mistake, and get over it by doing better work.
• The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.
• Take a minute to look at your goals. Then look at what you are doing and see if it matches your goals.
• Your job is to show people how to manage themselves and enjoy it. You want them to succeed when you are not around.

Key Questions

• Do you try to catch people doing something right?
• Does what you are doing right now match your goals?

Introduction

The most effective managers manage themselves, and people they work with, so that both the people and the organization profit from their presence.

Speed is a currency of success.
Lead with collaboration.
Managers must care about people and results.
People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
Helping people feel good about themselves is a key to productivity.

The First Secret: One Minute Goals

Setting one-minute goals is the beginning of one-minute management.
Set one-minute goals based on your top 20% priorities. Utilizing the 80/20 rule.

One minute goals work well when you:

1. Plan the goals together, and describe them briefly and clearly. Show people what good performance looks like.
2. Have people write out each of their goals with due dates on a single page.
3. Ask them to review their most important goals each day, which takes only a few minutes to do.
4. Encourage people to take a minute to look at what they are doing, and see if their behavior matches their goals.
5. If it doesn’t, encourage them to rethink what they are doing so that they can realize their goals.

The Second Secret: One Minute Praising(s)

It will be easier for you to do well if you get clear feedback.

Help people reach their full potential, catch them doing something right.

Benefits of immediate praising:

1. They don’t have to wait for a performance review to be praised. Give a praising soon after something is done right.
2. Shows you know what the person is doing and are sincere. (Be specific with praise)
3. Being consistent.

Praising builds confidence.
Confidence that is earned helps you deal with all of the changes that occur.

A one-minute praising works well when you:

1. Praise people as soon as possible.
2. Let people know what they did right, be specific.
3. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it helps.
4. Pause for a moment to allow people time to feel good about what they have done.
5. Encourage them to do more of the same.
6. Make it clear you have confidence in them and support their success.

The Third Secret: One Minute Redirects

Everybody needs to be a learner because things are changing so much.

When a mistake is made:

1. Make sure the goal we have set is clear.
2. Provide a one minute redirect in two parts.

Part One: focus on the mistake.
Confirm the facts.
Review what has gone wrong.
Be very specific.
Tell how you feel about the mistake and its possible impact on our results.
Be quiet to let it sink in.

Part Two: focus on the person.
Remind the person they are better than their mistake.
Affirm that you have confidence and trust in the person.
Explain that you don’t expect a repeat of the mistake and look forward to working together.
Remind the person you don’t want them or their team to be known for poor or mediocre work.

The goal is to build confidence in people to help get better results.

Encourage people to speak up if you make a mistake.
Learn to laugh when you make a mistake, and get over it by doing better work.

If the goal is clear, a one minute redirect works well when you:

1. (First half-minute, focus on the mistake)
   Redirect people as soon as possible.
2. Confirm the facts first and review the mistake together. Be specific.
3. Express how you feel about the mistake and its impact on results. Pause.
4. Be quiet for a moment. Allow people time to feel concern about what they have done.
5. (Second half-minute, focus on the person)
   Remember to let them know that they are better than their mistake and that you think we’ll of them as a person.
6. Remind them that you have confidence and trust in them and support their success.
7. Realize that when the redirect is over, it’s over.

The New One Minute Manager Explains

The more we understand why something works, the more apt we are to use it.

The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.

It is ironic that companies spend so much money on salaries but so little on developing people.

Why One Minute Goals Work

Many managers assume wrongly that the people on their team know what to aim for.
Illustration, bowling without seeing the pins. You won’t know how well you are doing.
People want to know how they are doing.
Feedback is the breakfast of champions.
Everyone is a potential winner. Some people are disguised as losers, don’t let their appearances fool you.

Three choices as a manager:

1. Hire winners. (Hard to find and cost money)
2. Hire someone with the potential to be a winner. Systematically help that person become a winner.
3. Prayer. “Please let this person work out!”

Setting strategic one-minute goals is a basic tool for productive behavior.

Write down only major goals and responsibilities.

Take a minute to look at your goals. Then look at what you are doing and see if it matches your goals.

Why One Minute Praising(s) Works

The most important and natural thing to do to help people become winners is to catch them doing something approximately right in the beginning.

Catch someone doing something approximately right until they can eventually learn to do it right.

You don’t have to catch a winner doing something right very often, because winners catch themselves doing something right.

People who are learning benefit from praise and encouragement of others.

Most managers wait until people do something exactly right before they praise them.

Many people never get to become high performers because their managers concentrate on catching them doing something wrong.

We need to redirect people who are learning, not punish them.

Why One Minute Redirects Work

The feedback happens in small doses because it happens early on.
Storing and waiting to give feedback is not effective or fair.

Be tough on the behavior first, then supportive of the person.
Remember that behavior and worth are not the same things. What is really worthwhile is the person who is managing their own behavior.

We are not just our behavior, we are the person managing our behavior.

There is respect and caring behind a redirect.
You will be more successful when you respect the individual you are redirecting.

Your job is to show people how to manage themselves and enjoy it. You want them to succeed when you are not around.

Making mistakes is not the problem, it’s not learning from them that causes real problems.

When a person can do something but won’t, you need to look at the cost to the organization and decide if you should keep them on the team.

Goals begin behaviors, consequences influence future behaviors.

The New One Minute Manager’s Game Plan

Start
Let people know up-front what you are going to do to help them win.

One Minute Goals
Make it clear what the goals are.
Show what good behavior looks like.
Put each goal on one page.
Quickly review goals frequently.
Encourage people to notice what they are doing and see if it matches their goals. If not, urge them to change what they are doing and win.
If the goals, or any part of the goals, are achieved you win.

Give One Minute Praising(s)
Praise the behavior.
Do it soon.
Be specific.
Say how good you feel about it.
Pause, to let people feel good too.
Encourage them to keep up the good work.
Next, proceed with more success.

If goals are not achieved, you lose. To help you win, give one-minute redirects.

One Minute Redirects
Re-clarify and agree on goals.
Confirm what happened.
Describe the mistake soon.
Say how concerned you feel.
Pause, to let people feel their own concern.
Tell them they are better than the mistake, and you value them.
When it’s over, it’s over.
Then proceed to better performance.

My Action Steps After Reading

• Focus more on catching people doing things right.
• More effort to give one-minute praising(s).

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Hope you enjoyed this and got value from my notes.
This is the 38th book read in my 2019 reading list.
Here is a list of my book summaries.

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