The One Minute Manager

I just read the one minute manager and I do like it. It has some really sensible stuff in there that is packaged in a nice way, understandable and reasonably follow-able. The theory has several parts which start with the one minute target. This means that you need to describe what needs to be done in no more than 30 lines, making it possible to read the paper in no more than 1 minute. This actually fits with Ricardo Semler’s method that no memo inside Semco can be longer than one page.

The idea behind the one minute target is that there is only a problem if there is a discrepancy between what happens and what should happen. If there is no info on what should happen, then there is really no way to be wrong. If you set the target properly you will be able to set the employee free and stop giving them answers to their problems. They need to find out themselves. The hard part here is finding a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Limited) goals.

As an employee then need to know your goal, know what will help you reach it, write it down, read and read again, look at what you are doing and put it in relation to your goal.

Next up is the one-minute-praise. In this part of the system you give very clear and early feedback. You have to start by closely monitoring the person you just gave a goal to to allow you to catch them when they did something good, to give them positive feedback. Put your hand on their back, tell them your there, tell them you noticed. Be clear to separate what happens in your department and what happens with that one person.

In short you need to tell people that you will tell them what you think of their work. They need to know. When you can give praise, do it, and do it in detail. Tell your people you are happy and that it is good for the company (but be honest, major point here, honesty, just as a side note ;)). Pause for a second to let the praise sink in. Then tell them to keep going.

But remember that people don’t like to be manipulated. You need to set goals that can be achieved and reward people for achieving them, then setting harder goals. You need to make sure she knows she is almost right and guide her the right direction. When teaching a kid to walk you first cheer when it simply stands, you don’t punish it that it didn’t walk. Same with speaking. First you cheer and give water when it says “Wattah” but slowly you require the kid to say water and later to say please. This falls in line with the SMART goals above.

The last point is the one-minute-critique, which is potentially the hardest to do. Whenever something goes wrong, you go there immediately. You let yourself be told the facts and then go to their side of the table. Put your hand on their back, without smiling. Then you tell them what went wrong and how you feel about it. The how you feel is important. But before you go you also tell them how much you generally like them, how much you respect their work and are happy with them but in this one item you are unhappy. Critique that one action, not the person. Important here is that you do it at once, because it needs to be connected to the action itself. When the critique is over it is over.

You need to be hard but fair and friendly, not friendly and fair but hard. That’s why the critique comes first. All in all a good few suggestions.