INTRODUCTION

Kenneth Blanchard, PhD received his B.A. in Government and Philosophy from Cornell University, an M.A. in Sociology and Counseling from Colgate University and a PhD in Administration and Management from Cornell.  He has served as business consultant to many major U.S. corporations including Chevron, Lockheed, and AT&T, and as professor of Organizational Behavior at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  He has written numerous books, including Management of Organization Behaviour: Utilizing Human Resources, a business standard now in its seventh edition.

Spencer Johnson, MD, received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California and an M.D. from the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland.  He has held medical clerkships at Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic.  He served as Medical Director of Communications for Medtronic, a pioneering manufacturer of cardiac pacemakers, Research Physician for the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, and consultant to the Office of Continuing Education at the School of Medicine, University of California, La Jolla.  His other books include The Precious Present, and the Value Of series of books with Steve Pileggi.

SUMMARY

The material in the book is presented through a fictional account of a bright young man who is looking for an effective manager and wants to become one himself.  In his search, he meets a “One Minute Manager,” (p. 11) who describes in detail his personal management style which is then adopted by the bright young man.  Authors Blanchard and Johnson have developed an effective people management system based upon three simple techniques: One Minute Goal-Setting, One Minute Praisings and One Minute Reprimands.  One Minute Goal-Setting is organized into six steps:

1. Manager clearly communicates responsibilities and expectations.
2. Manager and subordinate define and agree on goals.
3. Manager establishes and communicates clear performance standards.
4. Subordinate writes out up to six goals on a single page using less than 250 words.
5. Subordinate reads and re-reads each goal regularly.
6. Subordinate regularly examines own performance and compares it to goals.

One Minute Praisings are broken down into seven steps:

1. Tell people in advance that performance feedback will be given regularly.
2. Praise performance immediately.
3. Explain specifically what the subordinate did right.
4. Explain how the performance makes the manager feel and how it helps co-workers and the organization.
5. Pause for a moment to let the subordinate feel the impact of the praising.
6. Encourage more of the behavior being praised.
7. Shake hands or touch in a way that makes the manager’s support clear.

One Minute Reprimands are arranged into nine steps:

1. Tell people in advance that performance feedback will be given regularly.
2. Reprimand performance immediately.
3. Explain specifically what the subordinate did wrong.
4. Explain how the performance makes the manager feel and how it effects co-workers and the organization.
5. Pause for a moment to let the subordinate feel the impact of the reprimand.
6. Shake hands or touch in a way that makes the manager’s support clear.
7. Reaffirm the subordinate’s value to the organization and that the performance, not the person, is the issue being addressed.
8. Realize that the reprimand is over

CONCLUSION

The authors’ novel presentation of personnel management concepts through a fictional story is effective.  The actual techniques presented in the book are real tools that can be adapted to almost any management style with simplicity and ease.  The writer of this paper has used successfully the methods in this book in business, church and family settings for twenty years.

Goal setting is often a daunting task, and, as a result, avoided by many.  The book’s simple outline for goal-setting (p. 34) makes the seemingly overwhelming task appear not only approachable but inviting.  The method keeps the process focused and manageable, and it encourages and facilitates regular reexamination of goals, behavior modification and improvement.

Praising subordinates is essential to the health of an organization.  Praisings, according to Blanchard and Johnson, should be spontaneous, immediate, specific and genuine (p. 44).  Managers may be reluctant to praise some people whom they fear will perceive the praise as an approval of poor performance, yet people tend to repeat behavior that results in praise.  It is possible to praise good behavior and reprimand bad behavior effectively, as subordinates learn that the One Minute Manager will be fair and sincere in both areas, and has the subordinates, as well as, the organization’s best interests at heart.