The One Minute Manager

by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson
Apr 14, 2022 | 5.0 | 5 min read

TL;DR

🌟 People Thrive When They Feel Good − Self-esteem drives performance—people who feel good about themselves achieve better results.

🎯 One Minute Goals −

Plan and define goals clearly together.
Keep goals brief, written on one page with due dates.
Review goals daily for alignment and quick corrections.
Encourage reflection to adjust actions toward goals.

👏 One Minute Praisings −

Praise immediately and be specific about what was done right.
Share how their success positively impacts results.
Let them feel good about their achievement.
Show confidence and encourage repeat behavior.

⚡ One Minute Re-Directs −

Address mistakes quickly and specifically.
Express your feelings about the mistake’s impact.
Pause to let it sink in.
Separate the mistake from the person—affirm trust and support.
Once done, move on—don’t hold grudges.

🧠 People Development Matters − Invest time and resources in developing people, not just paying salaries.

📈 Feedback Is Fuel −

Frequent, constructive feedback keeps motivation high.
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”

👀 See the Winner in Everyone − Potential often hides behind appearances—treat everyone like a winner.

🔄 Re-Direct, Don’t Punish −

Correct behavior gently, especially with inexperienced people.
Focus on behavior, not the person’s worth.

🛤 Mistakes Are Lessons −

Mistakes are natural; failure to learn from them is the real issue.
Goals spark behavior; consequences shape future actions.

People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening.
One minute goals work well when you
- Plan the goals together and describe them briefly and clearly. Show people what good performance looks like.
- Have people write out each of their goals, with due dates, on a single page.
- Ask them to review their most important goals each day, which takes only a few minutes to do.
- Encourage people to take a minute to look at what they’re doing, and see if their behavior matches their goals.
- If it doesn’t, encourage them to re-think what they’re doing so they can realize their goals sooner.
Help people reach their full potential. Catch them doing something right.
One Minute Praising works well when you
- Praise people as soon as possible.
- Let people know what they did right—be specific.
- Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it helps.
- Pause for a moment to allow people time to feel good about what they’ve done.
- Encourage them to do more of the same.
- Make it clear you have confidence in them and support their success.
Praising people doesn’t always work if it isn’t combined with Re-Directs to correct mistakes when they occur.
A one minute re-direct works well when you
- Re-Direct people as soon as possible.
- Confirm the facts first, and review the mistake together—be specific.
- Express how you feel about the mistake and its impact on results.
- Be quiet for a moment to allow people time to feel concerned about what they’ve done.
- Remember to let them know that they’re better than their mistake, and that you think well of them as a person.
- Remind them that you have confidence and trust in them, and support their success.
- Realize that when the Re-Direct is over, it’s over.
The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.
It’s ironic that most companies spend so much of their money on people’s salaries, and yet they spend only a small fraction of their budget to develop people.
The number one motivator of people is feedback on results. They want to know how they’re doing.
Feedback Is the Breakfast of Champions. It’s feedback that keeps us going.
Everyone is a potential winner. Some people are disguised as losers. Don’t let their appearances fool you.
Take a minute to look at your goals. Then look at what you’re doing and see if it matches your goals.
Rather than punish inexperienced people who are still learning, we need to re-direct them.
It’s not fair to people to save up negative feelings about their poor performance, and it’s not effective.
If you are first tough on the behavior, and then supportive of the person, it works better.
Tell people what they did wrong; tell them how you feel about it; and remind them they are better than that.
We are not just our behavior. We are the person managing our behavior.
Making mistakes is not the problem. It’s not learning from them that causes real problems.
Goals begin behaviors. Consequences influence future behaviors.

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