The One Minute Manager

Short to Read, Big on Wisdom

I really liked this book, but for the same reasons I liked it, some may hate it.

First of all, it's an easy read, and it gets its points across by telling a story. Other books, such as The Sixty-Second Motivator, have also used this format succesfully, but this style may not appeal to everyone. To me, it makes the book a lot less boring to read.

Secondly, the book is short. The vast majority of readers will easily be able to read this book in a day. It has bigger font, which I personally liked and thought it made it a joy to read. However here again, some may be turned off by that and consider it to be too "child-like."

Thirdly, the book takes solid mangagerial info and gives it to the reader handily in the form of three "secrets." I found the advice to be very practical and while some may consider it far too simple, it can help you a lot IF you actually apply the info- which I suspect most managers do not.

In conclusion, I recommend this short business classic to anyone looking for better ways to improve their managerial skills. I doubt most will be disappointed.

10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

After All These Years...

Back in 1981, I was a first line supervisor for a large steel company. As an organization, we were struggling against the competition coming from Japan dumping large volumes of low quality, low price steel on our shores. Our management team bought everyone a copy of the new book, The One Minute Manager. We found this small book to be a fun and crisp read. In short order, our local group solved our problems and thrived in the face of the competition.

In 2007, I was now a corporate director for a fortune 500 company and one of our operations were struggling with continual losses. Part of my corrective action was to dust off my old copy of The One Minute Manager and put it to use. I was somewhat surprised that it was still available through Amazon. I bought multiple copies for the managers and as in the past, they started solving their people issues which in turn solved all the other problems.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this 'old' book. Plain and simple, it works. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Problem solving through asking the right questions

The One Minute Manager is an excellent problem solving tool for me because it provides me with precise relevant questions to ask myself when I am trying to solve a problem. "What do I propose to do?" "Will that solve the problem?" Yes or No? If the answer is "No" - keep thinking, find another answer. Think until I have an answer that will work. The method is precise, quick, and clear. I keep the book beside me for help when I flounder in asking myself the right questions.

not bad, quick read

Good book, really quick read and its literally a story instead of an informative book.

Good alternative for busy people

if you don't have time to read the book , this audiobook a good alternative.

Management Skills Simplified

I appreciate the ease with which Blanchard & Johnson present their advice to managers. The concept of the one minute manager seems effective, and is easy to understand. Also, presenting this management advice in a simple "fable-like" format makes the information more easy to digest. However, as a business professional, I don't really care to read stories like this. Much like Blanchard & Johnson's "Who Moved my Cheese", this book is too simplified, and slightly insults one's intelligence. This book, I'm sure, would appeal to a broad audience, but hard-core professionals beware & stick to more professionally written business books!

Good reading for those who are just begining a management career and for those who need a refresher on some basic but essential best practices.

The book was easy to understand and described in practical steps so the reader could go and apply the priciples in the workforce. It is the type of book that a high level manager would benefit greatly by giving it to a team of lower level managers in effort to help direct their career path toward success.

The One Minute Manager

This book was a homework assignment and I was boared to tears. Repetitive. Still have not finished reading it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Management wisdom, easily digested

No one shows you how to be a manager. Some do well with it naturally, and it's quite a challenge for others. The vast majority of us benefit greatly from pearls of wisdom where we find them. The One Minute Manager is just such a book. It teaches essentials you need to know and apply to be successful in management.

Another pearl I've just discovered because it was only published a couple of months ago is Squawk! - How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results.

It works

THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER presents a system of skills you need to have as a manager if you want to get results through people. I also recommend SQUAWK! - HOW TO STOP MAKING NOISE AND START GETTING RESULTS Together, it's all you need to succeed as a manager.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is reality!

1 minute goal, 1 minute praising, and 1 minute reprimand can help you not only on your career but also in your personal life. This is a short book and very easy to read. The main idea is knowing what your outcome, catching people doing things right, catching people doing things wrong. Simple but convincing. At the end of the book, it does explain why these things work and why people function these way. Pleasure reading in 2 hours. Very helpful and practical! (Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 07-Jan-2007)

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Time Is Money

This is a great book and is a quick read. It does not matter if you are a manager in a company or not, the methods in this book could help anyone in their daily lives. If followed, some of the things in this book could help you save time.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A minute can go a long way.

No, you probably can't manage everybody in a minute's time, but we can all do better and the points in this book are frequently overlooked and very worthwhile. Using a short story to illustrate the simple principles that can easily be read in a day's time, this management classic may not make everyone the manager of the year but it will give everyone something to think about. Short, sweet, and to the point, it's definitely worth a look.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Can't Put Down

I am a high school student who absolutly loves this book. It brought simple facts to such a broad topic. This book hits the main parts of managing, and anyone who is interested in this topic should read it. A great square one book that everyone should read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I dissent!

Wow, if someone really wants to know why there are so many leadership problems in this country, look to the One Minute Manager. The book provides a simple approach for how those 'above' deal with those 'below' and dishes this at you like it really is all it takes to be a manager (note: strict adherence to this book may have been all you needed to thrive among the inner circles at Enron). The book revolves around some mystical Super Manager whose draw is that he doesn't need to spend time with anybody; he is finished with you, his subordinate, in, well... One Minute. It is mesermizing to think that you, too, could actually dispose of all your responsibilities with such lightning speed. The greens seem just One Minute away... So how does he do it...? Classical conditioning, a technique used to train animals for millenia. Yes, One Minute tells you almost nothing you didn't already learn in middle school about how to get your dog to roll over: provide rewards (praise) when he does what you want, and communicate concern when he doesn't. Now here's the problem with One Minute: effectively managing a project, department, etc in a legitimate organization requires knowledge, competence, and professionalism in your field. Therein lies the other 99% of managing that One Minute dwelleth not upon, the other 479+ minutes of real work that you (and those competing against you) are being paid for. Anyway, not everything about the book was bad. The content of One Minute is directly applicable to training pets and domesticated animals (thus the second star). I also feel that by reading One Minute I gained a fuller understanding of how such a surplus of mismanagement and organizational failures across the land came to be- the proliferation and acceptance of incompetent one minute managers.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A classic.

A short story about a young man that learns how to be a manager from an experienced one. Based on good common sense, everyone who manages people should be sure to check it out.

A winner.

Good advice that is given in a very entertaining story. While it won't take you long to read it, the advice will stay with you!

Good info, but seriously lacking depth

My basic feeling with this book is that it discussed some good concepts, but was way short on depth. The book has sold well over 8 million copies and the simplicity of it seems to be its main strength. After all, most people who manage employees don't want to spend their free time reading management books. But you are doing managers a disservice if you don't give them the full picture about what it takes to have a group of employees with high levels of morale, motivation, and productivity. The book is broken down into three main themes: *One Minute goals *One Minute praisings *One Minute reprimands The basic idea is that you tell employees what you want from them and then give them positive or constructive negative feedback depending on whether or not they are achieving their specified goals. Although I totally agree with these three principles, do the authors really think that's all there is to managing employees? What about the importance of hiring the right employee in the first place? What about the importance of training employees well? What about the importance of setting a good example? What about listening to ideas that employees have? What about taking each employee's strengths and weaknesses into account in determining how to make them the most productive? What about how managers should approach firing employees (if there are no other options)? These are just a few issues that I consider to be extremely important that are not even touched in the book. In addition, the three concepts that were in the book could have been discussed in more detail. I'll give this book four stars since it is worth reading and there is some good material in it. Just remember that there is a lot missing, too. Greg Blencoe Author, The Ten Commandments for Managers

One of the most influential books I've ever read

I'm starting a new business, and this book has given me a new sense of direction. I cannot say enough about it and highly recommend it to ANYONE who works with people. I've bought 6 copies to give to friends already, and I just learned of it yesterday!

Parable that can be put into action

I read this book years ago and have made the principles a part of my life. I recommend you do too. Recently I read a book that Ken Balnchard endorsed called Optimal Thinking-How to be your best self. I can't recommend Optimal Thinking highly enough. With books like these in the world, we don't have to settle for suboptimal performance.