31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
Short to Read, Big on Wisdom
I really liked this book, but for the same reasons I liked it, some may hate it.
First of all, it's an easy read, and it gets its points across by telling a story. Other books, such as The Sixty-Second Motivator, have also used this format succesfully, but this style may not appeal to everyone. To me, it makes the book a lot less boring to read...
34 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
Is this Management practice or Child psychology?
- I read this in the hope of finding out something new about management practice but on reading, it appears to be more about child psychology than management. I can't imagine employees (or Human Resources as they're now called) responding positively to the content of this book - its all a bit condescending and patronising. Maybe it works in America but I can't see it...
I really liked this book, but for the same reasons I liked it, some may hate it.
First of all, it's an easy read, and it gets its points across by telling a story. Other books, such as The Sixty-Second Motivator, have also used this format succesfully, but this style may not appeal to everyone. To me, it makes the book a lot less boring to read.
Secondly, the book is short. The vast majority of readers will easily be able to read this book in a day. It has bigger font, which I personally liked and thought it made it a joy to read. However here again, some may be turned off by that and consider it to be too "child-like."
Thirdly, the book takes solid mangagerial info and gives it to the reader handily in the form of three "secrets." I found the advice to be very practical and while some may consider it far too simple, it can help you a lot IF you actually apply the info- which I suspect most managers do not.
In conclusion, I recommend this short business classic to anyone looking for better ways to improve their managerial skills. I doubt most readers will be disappointed.
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Is there a short, easy-to-read management book that can be really useful to the businessman but also helpful for the housewife and in the conduct of family affairs? Is it possible to squeeze into 100 pages enough valuable information so that it serves a multiple audience and could even be a guide for raising children? This book is based on techniques occupying one minute. Concentrating on three core issues, the author first concentrates on goals. In the business world goals would probably be getting more bang for the buck or more widgets per shift or greater efficiency; in the home goal setting can start with children making the bed, keeping the bedroom tidy or clearing up afterwards. Goal setting is only successful if both parties buy into it - boss and employee or parent and child. Agreeing on objectives, expressing them concisely as bullet points, and setting a time frame may take more than a minute but they can be reviewed rapidly and without dispute. The other two core issues - praise or reprimand - follow naturally and each party knows in advance what it will be. There are no surprises.
You can easily read this book and map out your strategy in an evening. It is difficult to imagine that anyone could not find this book helpful in some part of their life.
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- I read this in the hope of finding out something new about management practice but on reading, it appears to be more about child psychology than management. I can't imagine employees (or Human Resources as they're now called) responding positively to the content of this book - its all a bit condescending and patronising. Maybe it works in America but I can't see it working in practice in any European country.
I could see a lot of inexperienced or junior managers getting very excited at the over-simplistic conclusions and remedies. This is perhaps a little dangerous in the real world of work. I'd avoid this one!
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In 106 sparsely filled pages the book covers goal settings, praising employees, and reprimanding employees. (By the way, I say sparse some of the pages only have a few words on them). Each of the three rules of the one minute manager are clearly set out as a short list of points, and there are a number of pages with nothing but a short motivational style statement like "Catch them doing something right". I'm not so keen on the goal setting rules, but the praising and reprimand rules are much more to my liking.
The ideas on the One Minute Manager are told as story that helps the reader whiz through the pages (like "Fish" ISBN: 0340819804, which is not quite as good BTW). It doesn't pretend to have lots of statistically significant data gleaned from many-man-years of research like some books. It's a simple book, with simple and useful ideas.
The book doesn't get universally great reviews. Some people find it too obvious and simple. There's a recurrent theme in the one-star reviews that - if you need this book you're an idiot. I don't agree with that at all. The rules in the One-Minute-Manager are really precise and exact, I *really* doubt these are being performed by those that suggest that any competent manager is doing this already. I know managers who like this book and managers that dislike this book, but very few - none almost - that follow its methods. There are many managers that know this stuff backwards and forwards, but just don't do it. You may know this stuff already, but do you do it, and do you do it well? This book will help you do it well.
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This is a good, fast paced read. It can be read in about an hour. It contains very basic people management skills information, wrapped into a story. The basis of the story is that there is a manager who can restrict his contact with colleagues to one minute bursts and be the most effective manager in the organisation. A newcomer learns the skills and represents the reader in the story. Most managers you know have read this book, so if you have not, buy it and read it tomorrow - must keep up with the competition!
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I've probably read approximately 50 books regarding self-improvement and business management, I just wish this was the first book I'd read.
It's so simple to understand, easy to read and incredibly logical. Within just one week of reading this book my company has become very efficient and staff morale has never been so high (plus mine).
If you enjoy this book, you'll love 'One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey'.
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Today 02/26/02 I am going to use the contents of the one minute manager to open our weekly administrative team meeting. The book brings accross in very simple and understandable terms the thesis of achieving maximum results for your organization though people.I hope to get this accross to my colleagues today. In a previous management assignment I saw the tangible results from using the one minute goal seeting, one minute praise and one minute reprimand. The technique is really worth trying.
This book is a must read for any one who thinks seriously about management.
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Delivering great employee performance is quite a skill, some might say an art. You could do far worse than to invest in this great little book, which is a delightful read…
In this early book from Ken Blanchard, he is able, through a very precise focus on what makes leaders (and, I think in this case, managers), get the very best from those they employ, to describe a simple process for success.
For many, 'The One Minute Manager' is a revelation and I have no doubt that it works. In my long management career, I was able to achieve this goal eventually, but it is, inevitably, easier to read than deliver. This is because, like most things, it requires practice and focus. And if any manager were able to do these things easily, they would be already.
That being said, it's a great aspirational (and inspirational) book, focused on delivering, through people, great success in business and organisations.
Rather than trying to do it all yourself and either failing, or burning yourself out in the process (tried it myself - once!). Because of that, it is a very useful read for anyone who wants to make management a career.
As a business coach, I especially like the simplicity of The One Minute Manager, a feature I have included often in the ideas and tips on my own website.
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28 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
An essential read, 5 Jun 2002
By A Customer
OK, so this book is not the definitive guide to management, but reading it is guaranteed to change the way you think. I have no hesitation recommending this to anyone who wants to re-examine the way they manage people.
It may not suit everyone and it may not have all the answers, but I learned more from the hour-or-so it took me to read this book than on a seven day management course I attended recently.
It debunks the myth that management has to be hard, or that you can only be a nice guy or a 'company' guy. You can be both.
The main reason people criticise this book is not because the book is bad, but trying to force everyone to use this (or any single) method can never work. And do you really believe a book that bad would sell millions of copies?
And the £5 or so I spent on this book has already helped me get my £10k+ pay rise and promotion this year. That's value for money. Read this. You owe it to yourself.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
So easy and effective, 27 Mar 2001
By A Customer
This book explains the management techniques in real life scenarios. It takes very little time to read and understand. Once you have implemented just one of the techniques into your daily routine you will see the benefits daily from your staff and their productivity.
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