The One Minute Manager

For more than twenty years, millions of managers in Fortune 500 companies and small businesses nationwide have followed The One Minute Manager's techniques, thus increasing their productivity, job satisfaction, and personal prosperity. These very real results were achieved through learning the management techniques that spell profitability for the organization and its employees.

The One Minute Manager is a concise, easily read story that reveals three very practical secrets: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings, and One Minute Reprimands.

The book also presents several studies in medicine and the behavioral sciences that clearly explain why these apparently simple methods work so well with so many people. By the book's end you will know how to apply them to your own situation and enjoy the benefits.

That's why The One Minute Manager has continued to appear on business bestseller lists for more than two decades, and has become an international sensation.

The One Minute Manager provides a positive role model for those who have not yet seen one, and good reinforcement for those who have not seen one lately.

If organizations try to operate on the assumption that only the manager has ideas worth acting on, then very little will be accomplished. The One Minute Manager provides a useful model for opening up and stimulating the minds of everyone in the organization to accomplish more.

Not only is this advice worth following from an effectiveness point of view, it will also make you feel better about yourself as a manager and as a person when you follow it. And you will certainly make those who report to you feel a lot better, as well.

I like the use of a parable to help each of us reexamine ourselves, because it makes the reader feel less defensive. But be sure to remember what you gut instincts would have been in the same situations the One Minute Manager describes. Otherwise, you may miss the point of how much your behavior needs to change.

This is one of a handful of books well worth rereading annually.

Unlike most business books, this one is short and easy to read. The academic language has been banished, and it is well written.

If you want to go beyond The One Minute Manager to get even better results, you will have to learn and use other beneficial habits as well. But you can have all the great ideas in the world, and if you annoy and stifle everyone around you, not much will happen. So think of this book as necessary for more success, but not sufficient in and of itself for getting the utmost benefits in working with others.


The One minute Manager   March 6, 2000
Joe Ruszczyk (Long Island, NY)
49 out of 55 found this review helpful

A measurement of a good leader is ability to develop other leaders, not followers. In today's world, many new supervisors are thrust into a "baptism by fire" management environment. I found this book to be an easy to read guide that arms newcomers to management with the basic tools for building worker relationships and getting the best out of their staffs. As a result, their efforts are guided into decisions that generate increasingly positive outcomes in uncomfortable situations. Self confidence builds and leadership/management styles improve.

I have made it a habit during my welcome interviews to provide each new management employee with a copy of "The One Minute Manager". We all enjoy the benefits!


Must Reading for all Leaders   April 29, 1999
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

This book has influenced me for many years. It's wonderful. Some people may consider it too simple and common sense...unfortunately common sense isn't always common practice. It's quick and easy reading and on my personal "Top 10 List of Great Book." I refer to it in nearly every Seminar I present, because it's basic philosophy motivates people...catch them doing something right and tell them about it. This book is simple, yet very powerful. I'm still amazed how few people raise their hands when I ask in my Seminars, "How many people have read `The One Minute Manager.'" This is must reading for all leaders.


Powerful Simplicity   May 22, 2000
Chemiker (Austin, TX United States)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

I was a little disappointed when 'The One Minute Manager' arrived in the mail and I saw its small size and large fonts. However, this tiny little fairy-tale is the best management book I've read. I strongly recommend this book for managers in all fields, including professors in academia. 'The One Minute Manager' takes less than an hour to read, and if you have any interest in becoming a better manager or a stronger leader, surely you can risk 60 minutes of your time? The ideas are not contrived, artificial mechanisms that interfere with our natural personalities. Instead, the entire strategy can be implemented by following a few simple rules that feel natural and are easy to perform and maintain. Sound too good to be true? Just try it!

A word of caution though, use of the strategy assumes the individuals on the manager's team are intelligent, and the tools presented are designed to encourage subordinates to become more independent and responsible, not reliant on a manager's approval, input or direction on minor decisions. Any manager who wants to be involved in all aspects of a project couldn't possibly use the strategies of 'The One Minute Manager' without driving his team nuts.