One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

This is a super easy read, but I read it slowly to try to gain more knowledge. I wanted to soak in the knowledge and really understand it. As I have never been a manager, but someday hope to excel in that area, this book was an interesting read. 

Throughout the book, they write pithy statements such as "People who feel good about themselves, produce good results," or "Goals begin behaviors; Consequences maintain behaviors." 

There are 3 main ideas: One minute goals, One minute praisings and One minute reprimands. 

One Minute Goals: 

• The employee writes each of his/her 5 or 6 goals on a sheet of paper using less than 250 words.
• The manager and employee agree on these goals.
• See what good behavior looks like. 
• Read and re-read each goal to look at your performance and see whether or not your behavior matches your goal

One Minute Praisings: 

• Tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing. 
• Praise people immediately by telling them what they did right in a specific manner. 
• Tell people how good you feel about their "correct/good" behavior and how it helps the organization. 
• Stop for a moment to let them "feel" how good you feel and touch them on their arm, shoulder, shake hands, somewhere safe. 
• Encourage them to do more of the same. 

One Minute Reprimands: 

• Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know how they are doing.
•  First 1/2: Reprimand people immediately and tell them what they wrong in specific terms. 
• Tell people how you feel about what they did, clearly.  
•  Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let them feel how you feel. 
• Second 1/2: Shake hands/touch them to let them know that you are honestly on their side. 
•  Remind them how much you value them as a person. 
• Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation.
• Realize that the reprimand is over quickly. 

Something my friend Miranda has been doing really well recently is asking for feedback, taking self-help quizzes and exams that decipher strengths and weaknesses, sharing them with her trusted peers and seeking advice. Something that caught my attention in this book is the quote, "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." 

And it's true for me. I LOVE advice. That's why I enjoy spending time with my aunts/uncles, who are all about 65-years-old and can offer pointed, blunt, honest and caring advice. Even if it hurts, it's best to understand that they are only trying to help you. Now, in the working world, this might be different, but in the end, what doesn't kill you, only helps you grow, right?

--
Julie Taeko Gramlich // B.A. in Political Economy // UC Berkeley

C: 415-971-7238 // jtgramlich@berkeley.edu