The One Minute Manager

Finished this book last week and thought I would write a little about it for future reference.

It’s a pretty short read (106 pages) which follows a man’s search for an effective manager. Neither “tough” managers (bottom-lined, realistic, profit-minded) or “nice” managers (participative, supportive, humanistic) seem ideal to him. His search ends when he meets the One Minute Manager, who shares his secrets to increased efficiency and productivity in the workplace.

Overall, it’s not a bad read. I like its simplistic view on what is important in management. The rules are simple to understand and confront important issues such as honest communication and setting SMART goals. More importantly, the concepts apply to interactions beyond the workplace as well.

My only disagreement is the over-use of “good-bad-good” compliments, or the Sandwich Method. It’s predictable and feels forced, like a formula. In some ways, it can feel disingenuous too, since you are forcing good compliments around a bad action.