The New One Minute Manager

by Kenneth H. Blanchard

In these changing times, he thought, the most effective managers manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the people and the organization profit from their presence.

People Who Feel Good About Themselves Produce Good Results.

Our Manager works with us to make it clear what our responsibilities are and what we are being held accountable for.”

“No, there really aren’t. We believe in the 80/20 rule. That is, 80% of your really important results will come from 20% of your goals. So we set One Minute Goals on only that 20%—that is, our key areas of responsibility—maybe three to five goals. Of course, in the event a special project comes up, we set special One Minute Goals.”

Our Manager makes sure we know what good performance looks like because he shows us. In other words, expectations are clear to both of us.

If you can’t tell me what you’d like to be happening,’ he said, ‘you don’t have a problem yet. You’re just complaining. A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening.’

“Is that what you mean by seeing what good performance looks like?” the young man asked. “Yes. My Manager shows me how to do it so I can understand it and do it myself.

One Minute Goals: Summary 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’re doing, and see if their behavior matches their goals. 5. If it doesn’t, encourage them to re-think what they’re doing so they can realize their goals sooner.

how can you be an effective manager unless you and your team are clear about goals and what good performance looks like?

he spends a good amount of time with me at the beginning of a new project or responsibility.”

it would be a lot easier for me to do well if he gave me crystal-clear feedback on how I was doing. He said it would help me succeed—that I had talent and he wanted to keep me. He also wanted me to enjoy my work and to be a big help to the organization. “Then he said he would let me know in very specific terms when I was doing well and when I wasn’t. He cautioned me that it might not be very comfortable at first for either of us.”

if succeeding in my job was important to me, I would soon realize that feedback is an invaluable tool.”

Help People Reach Their Full Potential. Catch Them Doing Something Right.

“Here we put the accent on the positive by catching people doing something right, especially as they begin a new task.”

“When he notices you have done something right, he tells you precisely what you did right, and how good he feels about it. “He pauses for a moment so you can feel it, too. Then he reinforces the praise by encouraging you to keep up the good work.”

“Because confidence that is earned helps you deal with all the changes that are occurring. We’re expected to be confident enough to innovate in order to stay ahead.”

A ONE MINUTE PRAISING WORKS WELL WHEN YOU: THE FIRST HALF-MINUTE 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. PAUSE 4. Pause for a moment to allow people time to feel good about what they’ve done. THE SECOND HALF-MINUTE 5. Encourage them to do more of the same. 6. Make it clear you have confidence in them and support their success.

“Praising people doesn’t always work if it isn’t combined with Re-Directs to correct mistakes when they occur.

“Yes. Today we need to get more done sooner with fewer resources. And people want to find more satisfaction and value in their work.

“First, he makes sure he’s made the goal we’ve set clear. If it isn’t, he takes responsibility for that, and clarifies the goal. “Then he provides me with a One Minute Re-Direct in two parts. In the first half he focuses on my mistake. In the second half he focuses on me.”

IF THE GOAL IS CLEAR, A ONE MINUTE RE-DIRECT WORKS WELL WHEN YOU: THE FIRST HALF-MINUTE 1. Re-Direct 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 to allow people time to feel concerned about what they’ve done. THE SECOND HALF-MINUTE 5. Remember to let them know that they’re better than their mistake, and that you think well 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 Re-Direct is over, it’s over.

The Best Minute I Spend Is The One I Invest In People.

the number one motivator of people is feedback on results. They want to know how they’re doing.

Feedback Is the Breakfast of Champions.

The question I always used to ask was, ‘Why doesn’t the manager “lift up the sheet” so both of you can see the pins?’ The answer was that he had the great business tradition of performance review coming up.”

Everyone Is A Potential Winner. Some People Are Disguised As Losers. Don’t Let Their Appearances Fool You.

“All you have to do with people who are winners is set One Minute Goals and let them run with the ball.”

Take a Minute To Look At Your Goals. Then Look At What You’re Doing And See If It Matches Your Goals.

the most important—and natural—thing to do to help people become winners is to catch them doing something approximately right in the beginning. Then you move on toward the desired result.”

feedback happens in small doses, because you catch the mistake early on.

if you are first tough on the behavior, and then supportive of the person, it works better.”

We Are Not Just Our Behavior. We Are The Person Managing Our Behavior.

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

Goals Begin Behaviors. Consequences Influence Future Behaviors.

I mean work for yourself, like the other people on our team. I don’t believe anybody ever really works for anybody else. Deep down, people like to work for themselves.

“The people on our team work as partners and together we look for ways to improve. I do my best to help them work better, and in the process we all enjoy our work and lives more. And we’re a great benefit to our organization.”

He’d admitted to his team, “I’m not used to telling people how good they are or how I feel. And I’m not sure I can always remember to tell you that I value and think well of you when I give a Re-Direct.” So, he had to smile when someone said, “Well, you could at least give it a try!”