El Manager al Minuto (The One Minute Manager) Book

This short book packs a lot of advice about effective management into an allegorical story. The tips are realistic and practical, and not too preachy. Here are my notes, mostly quoted straight from the book:

Manager Types
Autocratic
- "Tough"
- Interested in results
- Profit-minded
- Organization wins while people lose
Democratic
- "Nice"
- Interested in people
- People win while organization loses

People who feel good about themselves produce good results.

One minute goal setting
1. Agree on your goals.
2. See what good behavior looks like.
3. Write out each of your goals on a single sheet of paper using less than 250 words.
4. Read and re-read each goal, which requires only a minute or so each time you do it.
5. Take a minute every once in a while out of your day to look at your performance, and
6. See whether or not your behavior matches your goals.

Help people reach their full potential. Catch them doing something right.

One minute praising
1. Tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing.
2. Praise people immediately.
3. Tell people what they did right - be specific.
4. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it helps the organization and the other people who work there.
5. Stop for a moment of silence to let them "feel" how good you feel.
6. Encourage them to do more of the same.
7. Shake hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear that you support their success in the organization.

One minute reprimand

1. Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know how they are doing and in no uncertain terms.

the first half of the reprimand:
2. Reprimand people immediately.
3. Tell people what they did wrong - be specific.
4. Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong - and in no uncertain terms.
5. Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let them feel how you feel.

the second half of the reprimand:
6. Shake hands, or touch them in a way that lets them know you are honestly on their side.
7. Remind them how much you value them.
8. Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation.
9. Realize that when the reprimand is over, it's over.

The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.

Everyone is a potential winner. Some people are disguised as losers; don't let their appearances fool you.

Hiring choices
1. Hire a winner; they're hard to find and expensive.
2. Hire someone with potential to be a winner; train them to be a winner.
3. Don't use options 1 or 2. Hire someone and pray they work out.

Take a minute:
Look at your goals
Look at your performance
See if your behavior matches your goals.

"Gunnysack discipliners" store up observations of poor behavior, then dump them on the person all at once. Instead, remember that performance review is an ongoing process, not just an annual event.

With the "leave alone-zap style", you leave a person alone, expecting good performance from them, and when you don't get it, you zap them. Instead, tell people what you expect, then give them plenty of feedback.

We are not just our behavior; we are the people managing our behavior.

Manipulation is getting people to do something they're not aware of or don't agree to. To avoid it, always let a person know up front what you are doing and why.

Goals begin behaviors; consequences maintain behaviors.