Jan 24, 2008 10:10 AM
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Andrew Grove, CEO of Intel states
“Just as you would not permit a fellow employee to steal a piece of
office equipment, you shouldn't let anyone walk away with the time of
his fellow managers.” A manager’s job has always been considered a very
hard job which is time taking and attention demanding to accomplish but
this book claims it can be done in and around 1 minute. The book is
titled the one minute manager and it states to have the trademark of:
01 symbol as seen in the cover. The book is inked by Ken Blanchard and
Spencer Johnson. Blanchard is the president of Blanchard training and
development Inc(BTD). Dr. John Spencer is the chairman of Candle
Communications Corporations. There remains no doubt that the dynamic
duo is incapable of writing a book on management. It is well justified
as the cover depicts that it is more than a million copy bestseller.
The book I got to read was the 27th impression of 2005; it was first
published in 1992 by HaperCollins Publisher which has a long list of
publishing houses spread round the globe.
Technically the book has 16 chapters, the cover is not that eye
catching but simple and to the point. The paper quality is good for the
price of Rs. 1 hundred and twenty five but printing of negligible no.
of characters is unreadable in few pages. The writers have fully
attained the objective for writing this book and the message is loud
and clear when the reader reaches towards the end of the book. This
book primarily focuses on the base- A good manager is a man who isn't
worried about his own career but rather the careers of those who work
for him. My advice: Don't worry about yourself. Take care of those who
work for you and you'll float to greatness on their achievements:
H.S.M. Burns, President of Shell Oil.
This book kicks off with
a young man in search of well balanced manager who can balance between
autocratic results as well as democracy amongst the people he leads.
The young man is initially unable to find any manager who can strike
the correct balance between results and people, but he comes across the
one minute manager. This book totally centers in what way does the
young man gets to know and learn the one minute management skills from
the one minute manager. The use of words like fire away, plaque, probe
etc gives the reader a sense of being part of the conversation. The
language is relatively simple and full page main points portrayed at
consistent intervals are formidable. The highlighting of important
messages in italic font is also noticeable. Reading this book feels
like going through a conversational journey but you are supplemented
with the ‘one minute’ managerial skills mainly comprising of one minute
goal setting, one minute praising and one minute reprimand.
The
characters of Mr. Ternell, Ms Metcalfe, Ms. Jones and Mr. Brown all add
to create a realistic office environment. The book should be read by
all managers and want to be managers to know how to simplify their
complex work life. The book is precisely practical and methods
mentioned by the writer duo can be instantly implemented. It in the
beginning tells the three magical secrets of one minute management as
mentioned in above paragraph and in the latter pages describes how do
these three magical secrets come into effect. The examples given by the
so termed ‘one minute manager’ are very pragmatic and logical.
Comparison of a pigeon and person may not seem rational here but it
goes in sync with the text in the book. The use of adjectives and
action verbs is not done in a miserly fashion. The recap flowchart
presented in page no. 101 is the real summary of the whole book. The
end with the women factor involved makes the book even diplomatically
correct.
All in all this is a must have book for all managers
and willing to be managers. Read through the 1 hundred and eleven pages
of this book will be a very good time utilization of the reader.
Personally I would even want to read the other titles by the writer
duo. Finally this is a must buy book that will increase the value of
the management section of your book shelf.
Geshan Manandhar
Around 730 Words
Also Availabel at https://geshan.blogspot.com/2008/01/manager-in-minute-possible.html
