The One Minute Manager.

by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

The Symbol

The One Minute Manager's symbol-a one minute readout from the face of a modern digital watch-is intended to remind each of us to take a minute out of our day to look into the faces of the people we manage. And to realize that they are our most important resources.

Introduction.

In this brief story, we present you with a great deal of what we have learned from our studies in medicine and in the behavioral sciences about how people work best with other people.

By "best," we mean how people produce valuable results, and feel good about themselves, the organization and the other people with whom they work.

This allegory, The One Minute Manager, is a simple compilation of what many wise people have taught us and what we have learned ourselves. We recognize the importance of these sources of wisdom. We also realize that the people who work with you as their manager will look to you as one of their sources of wisdom.

We trust, therefore, that you will take the practical knowledge you gain from this book and use it in your daily management. For as the ancient sage, Confucius, advises each of us: "The essence of knowledge is, having it, to use it."

We hope you enjoy using what you learn from The One Minute Manager and that, as a result, you and the people you work with will enjoy healthier, happier and more productive lives.

Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D.

Spencer Johnson, M.D.

The Search

ONCE there was a bright young man who was looking for an effective manager.

He wanted to work for one. He wanted to become one.

His search had taken him over many years to the far corners of the world.

He had been in small towns and in the capitals of powerful nations.

He had spoken with many managers: with government administrators and military officers, construction superintendents and corporate executives, university presidents and shop foremen, utility supervisors and foundation directors, with the managers of shops and stores, of restaurants, banks and hotels, with men and women-young and old.

He had gone into every kind of office, large and small, luxurious and spa.r.s.e, with windows and without.

He was beginning to see the full spectrum of how people manage people.

But he wasn't always pleased with what he saw.

He had seen many "tough" managers whose organizations seemed to win while their people lost.

Some of their superiors thought they were good managers.

Many of their subordinates thought otherwise.

As the man sat in each of these "tough people's" offices, he asked, "What kind of a manager would you say you are?"

Their answers varied only slightly.

"I'm an autocratic manager-I keep on top of the situation," he was told. "A bottom-line manager." "Hard-nosed." "Realistic." "Profit-minded."

He heard the pride in their voices and their interest in results.

The man also met many "nice" managers whose people seemed to win while their organizations lost.

Some of the people who reported to them thought they were good managers.

Those to whom they reported had their doubts.

As the man sat and listened to these "nice" people answer the same question, he heard, "I'm a democratic manager." "Partic.i.p.ative." "Supportive." "Considerate." "Humanistic."

He heard the pride in their voices and their interest in people.

But he was disturbed.

It was as though most managers in the world were primarily interested either in results or in people.

The managers who were interested in results often seemed to be labeled "autocratic," while the managers interested in people were often labeled "democratic."

The young man thought each of these managers-the "tough" autocrat and the "nice" democrat-were only partially effective. "It's like being half a manager," he thought.

He returned home tired and discouraged.

He might have given up his search long ago, but he had one great advantage. He knew exactly what he was looking for.

"Effective managers," he thought, "manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the organization and the people profit from their presence."

The young man had looked everywhere for an effective manager but had found only a few. The few he did find would not share their secrets with him. He began to think maybe he would never find out what really made an effective manager tick.

Then he began hearing marvelous stories about a special manager who lived, ironically, in a nearby town. He heard that people liked to work for this man and that they produced great results together. The young man wondered if the stories were really true and, if so, whether this manager would be willing to share his secrets with him.

Curious, he telephoned the special manager's secretary for an appointment. The secretary put him through immediately.

The young man asked this special manager when he could see him. He heard, "Any time this week is fine, except Wednesday morning. You pick the time."

The young man quietly chuckled because this supposedly marvelous manager sounded like a "kook" to him. What kind of manager had that kind of time available? But the young man was fascinated. He went to see him.

The One Minute Manager

WHEN the young man arrived at the manager's office, he found him standing and looking out of the window. When the young man coughed, the manager turned and smiled. He invited the young man to sit down and asked, "What can I do for you?"

The young man said, "I'd like to ask you some questions about how you manage people."

The manager willingly said, "Fire away."

"Well, to begin with, do you hold regularly scheduled meetings with your subordinates?"

"Yes, I do-once a week on Wednesdays from 9:00 to 11:00. That's why I couldn't see you then," responded the manager.

"What do you do at those meetings?" probed the young man.

"I listen while my people review and a.n.a.lyze what they accomplished last week, the problems they had, and what still needs to be accomplished. Then we develop plans and strategies for the next week."

"Are the decisions made at those meetings binding on both you and your people?" questioned the young man.

"Of course they are," insisted the manager. "What would be the point of having the meeting if they weren't?"

"Then you are a partic.i.p.ative manager, aren't you?" asked the young man.

"On the contrary," insisted the manager, "I don't believe in partic.i.p.ating in any of my people's decision-making."

"Then what is the purpose of your meetings?"

"I already told you that," he said. "Please, young man, do not ask me to repeat myself. It is a waste of my time and yours.

"We're here to get results," the manager continued. "The purpose of this organization is efficiency. By being organized we are a great deal more productive."

"Oh, so you're aware of the need for productivity. Then you're more results-oriented than people-oriented," the young man suggested.

"No!" the manager resounded, startling his visitor. "I hear that all too often." He got to his feet and began to walk about. "How on earth can I get results if it's not through people? I care about people and results. They go hand in hand.

"Here, young man, look at this." The manager handed his visitor a plaque. "I keep it on my desk to remind me of a practical truth."

People Who Feel Good About Themselves Produce Good Results

As the young man looked at the plaque, the manager said, "Think about yourself. When do you work best? Is it when you feel good about yourself? Or when you don't?"

The young man nodded as he began to see the obvious. "I get more done when I'm feeling good about myself," he responded.

"Of course you do," the manager agreed. "And so does everyone else."

The young man raised his index finger with new-found insight. "So," he said, "helping people to feel good about themselves is a key to getting more done."

"Yes," the manager agreed. "However, remember productivity is more than just the quant.i.ty of work done. It is also the quality." He walked over to the window and said, "Come over here, young man."

He pointed to the traffic below and asked, "Do you see how many foreign cars there are on the road?"

The young man looked out at the real world, and said, "I see more of them every day. And I guess that's because they're more economical and they last longer."

The manager nodded reluctantly and said "Exactly. So why do you think people are buying foreign cars? Because American manufacturers did not make enough cars? Or," the manager said without interrupting, "because they did not make the quality car the American public really wanted?

"Now that I think of it," the young man answered, "it's a question of quality and quant.i.ty."

"Of course," the manager added. "Quality is simply giving people the product or service they really want and need."

The older man stood at the window lost in his thoughts. He could remember, not so long ago, when his country provided the technology that helped to rebuild Europe and Asia. It still amazed him that America had fallen so far behind in productivity.

The young man broke the manager's concentration. "I'm reminded of an ad I saw on television," the visitor volunteered. "It showed the name of the foreign car, and over it came the words If you're going to take out a long-term car loan, don't buy a short-term car."

The manager turned and said quietly, "I'm afraid that's a rather good summary. And that's the whole point. Productivity is both quant.i.ty and quality."

The manager and his visitor began to walk back towards the couch. "And frankly, the best way to achieve both of these results is through people."

The young man's interest increased. As he sat down, he asked, "Well, you've already said that you're not a partic.i.p.ative manager. Just how would you describe yourself?"

"That's easy," he responded without hesitation. "I'm a One Minute Manager."

The young man's face showed surprise. He'd never heard of a One Minute Manager. "You're a what?"

The manager laughed and said, "I'm a One Minute Manager. I call myself that because it takes very little time for me to get very big results from people."

Although the young man had spoken with many managers, he had never heard one talk like this. It was hard to believe. A One Minute Manager-someone who gets good results without taking much time.

Seeing the doubt on his face the manager said, "You don't believe me, do you? You don't believe that I'm a One Minute Manager."

"I must admit it's hard for me even to imagine," the young man responded.

The manager laughed and said, "Listen, you'd better talk to my people if you really want to know what kind of manager I am."

The manager leaned over and spoke into the office intercom. His secretary, Ms. Metcalfe, came in moments later and handed the young man a sheet of paper.

"Those are the names, positions and phone numbers of the six people who report to me," the One Minute Manager explained.

"Which ones should I talk to?" the young man asked.