The One Minute Manager

The One Minute Manager


  • 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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