Community | Book Club Leadership Tips From The One Minute Manager By Jessica GibbonsRauch, MBA, CAS THERE ARE COUNTLESS BOOKS out there offering advice and information relevant to our business, and some of them are real gems. This is the first in a series of profiles in PPAI Magazine on the books that should be in every promo professional’s library, starting with Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson’s The One Minute Manager. Title: The One Minute Manager Authors: Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson Why I chose this book: This book was one of the classics that was included in the curriculum with my undergrad management course. It is a quick read and told in an anecdotal style, which gives it some whimsy. I debated on starting with this or the One Minute Salesperson, but decided the management side needed some highlighting. The book has been updated since my copy, the 1984 edition, but the concept is still the same. It also was a delightful trip down memory lane for me, comparing what I highlighted while reading this at age 20 versus me reading it now, with management experience. Some of it didn’t age well, like telling the “young man” to look up a number in the phone book, but the base message is still relevant. I recommend it for: Anyone in a management position or aspiring to be in one. Key points: • “How on Earth can I get results if it’s not through people? I care about people and results. They go hand in hand.” We get so caught up in the results that we forget to nurture our human capital. This book gave some great suggestions on how to do that in a “oneminute” style. One of the key points that really stood out to me was how the One Minute Manager character pushed the “young man” to make simple decisions rather than rely on the manager to make them for him. Younger me would have struggled with this, but it is true. If you empower your team and provide them with the resources to make decisions, you will be more efficient as a manager. I also love the idea of 250word goals. Even though I can get wordy, if you can’t fit it in 250 words, No. 1, your manager might not have time to read it, and No. 2, it is too complex and should be broken up. • “Catch you doing something right” is another great idea. In many levels of an organization, the focus can be on the negative: What is missing, or what are your employees doing wrong? Shifting focus to find things they are doing right and to mention them – without sandwiching them together with something they are doing wrong – can be such an effective way to motivate team members. Even if you are putting out fires in every other group, make sure to praise those who are doing well. • “Most companies spend 50% to 70% of their money on people’s salaries. And yet, they spend less than 1% of their budget to 80 • JANUARY 2024 • PPAI
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