The One Minute Manager

The One Minute Manager: The Word's Most Popular Management Method. The name almost says it all. I'm sure you've all at least heard of the One Minute Manager. It is a deceptively simple book of around 100 pages and having a cute and engaging story. Thats probably why it has been so popular for so long.

Well the secret to this book's success are the three "One Minute Secrets":

The First Secret - One Minute Goals
This boils down to the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid -or- Keep it Sweet and Simple) method. Writing your goals down on a single sheet of paper using less than 250 words. Constantly reviewing and evaluating the goals and your performance, one minute at a time.

The Second Secret - One Minute Praisings
The young leader must learn that it is human nature to be appreciated. We love it. We need it. We hardly get enough of it. One minute praisings get right to the point. They tell people what they did right, and that you feel good about what they did. It also encourages them to do more of the same and create even better results.

The Third Secret - One Minute Reprimands
The converse of the One Minute Praise is the One Minute Reprimand. You also need to be specific about exactly what they did wrong and how it makes you feel. (Making sure they know the reprimand is for the action, not for the person). Then, after stopping and allowing the other person to understand this, you always need to followup with reminding them how much you value them as a member of the team.

That's about it... though you'll have to read the rest ofthe book to get the full details. Ultimately, I think the magic to the One Minute Manager is something somewhat more psychological. One minute is an almost insignificant amount of time to us. Though if we are conscious of our time, and actually use every spare minute, we can reap huge benefits.

Until next time,
-Jason