Rating: 
Summary: It's full of good advices, but so obvius !!
Review: A book is some strange because talks about things so obvius, but we all not remember all the times we need to deploy them !!
Rating: 
Summary: Simple and Fast
Review: A quick read because the concepts it describes are simple yet powerful. "The One Minute Manager" has evolved into a management classic since its first edition in 1981. Managers will take three precepts from this book: Efficient Goal Setting with employees, Praise, and Reprimands. In other words, make sure your people know precisely what they are to do, and then give them feedback whether they meet those expectations or not. That's it. Simple and effective. It takes an hour to read "The One Minute Manager", consider it an investment.
Rating:
Summary: Good for what it is intended for
Review: This is quick reading for people who have to manage others. Much of it is just reconfirming prior notions you probably already held, such as respect others, but there are also creative ways to manage that are portayed here. I would say all managers should take a glance here because it only takes an hour and a half to read anyways.
Rating:
Summary: The One Minute Manager
Review: I have pushed myself through countless management books in various U.S. Navy leadership and civilian management courses. One Minute Manager was a required textbook for a college communication course. I initially thought that the little book with the big print would be a waste of time. I previewed it in a bookstore over coffee and nearly finished it before the coffee. It reads incredibly quick and unfolds a strategy so simple and straightforward that the reader wonders why anyone would behave any differently. I wanted to go back in time and slip it into half a dozen bosses' in boxes. Not since Strunk and White's "Element's of Style" have I encountered such concise, natural-feeling instruction on things we use everyday. This isn't just big business either - I'm seeing improvements with my four and five year old boys as well. The look of accomplishment on their faces tells me that these ideas can work anywhere! Required: a leader, communication, confidence, pride and praise.
Rating: 
Summary: A good, quick and basic intro to management
Review: This is a good book for first-time managers. It's short, quick and to the point. The biggest benefit is showing that reprimands and praise deserve equal time. Employees don't grow if they don't make mistakes, and some of the greatest learning opportunities come from reprimands followed by encouragement.Since the whole books takes about an hour to read, it's well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: A 'must' for managers
Review: Don't be put off by the salesman-like boasting style of this book. The story it tells sounds all-too simple, but the lessons it teaches are among the best I have ever received, and they can be adapted to meet one's personal style. One of the good things about it is that you can try out most of what the book suggests without further preparation, provided that you are in a managing position and that you are respected by the people you work with. If not, you know at least what your boss SHOULD be like.
Rating:
Summary: Helped me.
Review: I have never had people working for me until recently, so I bought this book to help me get a handle on how to manage people. This book has given me so many great ideas and things to think about. It is simply written as a story. There's nothing bad I can say about it.
Rating:
Summary: A Parable with Serious Staying Power
Review: The One Minute Manager is a book that MUST be read by anyone on the payroll of a fortune 500 company -- especially since there are more than 7 million copies in print. But is it really worth five stars? Well, let's see... Published in 1980, the One Minute Manager is the story of a hypothetical manager and his hypothetical employees, being interviewed by a hypothetical interviewer who is out to learn how to become a better manager. Through the interviewing process, the interviewer uncovers that the One Minute Manager has developed a three legged process for managing *the behaviours* of working adults. Specifically, the three main components of the One Minute Manager process are:
1) One Minute Goal Setting
2) One Minute Praisings
3) One Minute Reprimands Throughout the book, the One Minute Manager and his employees frequently use metaphors to clarify the why's and wherefores of the One Minute Manager process and its value-add to an organization. Shockingly, most of the examples used to clarify the value of the process draw on behaviour modifcation techniques used on animals (in the book: a whale, a pigeon, and a puppy), recalcitrant children and even a terminally ill alcoholic. Not exactly the types of paragons I am trying to emulate in my professional life. The real problem with the One Minute Manager is that the authors, Blanchard and Johnson, evidently believe that a reasonable way to develop a process for managing people is to venture out to the extremes in finding test cases for how best to change behaviour. And in theory, this can work. But in the One Minute Manager the process breaks down in most real-world situations because the One Minute Manager process *requires* a binary world (i.e., black/white, off/on, correct/incorrect). Especially for the One Minute Praisings Praisings and Reprimands -- my experience in the complex world of modern business, is that there frequently does not exist one right way to do things and that good/bad, better/worse, and best/worst cases are often not uncovered or agreed upon for years (example: Time Warner & AOL merger). What is good about the book is that Blanchard and Johnson have marketed a process that neccesitates engaging both manager and employee in objective setting and driving the success of the business (very TQM/Deming of them). They also encourage folks to praise themselves -- something I have found that many do not do in the workplace. The most poignant part of the story uses the following joke very effectively (paraphrased): "If you don't blow your own horn sometimes, eventually someone will use it for a spit-toon". So given the above, why the five stars? Well, there are three reasons for this:
1) The One Minute Manager is unique in the business book genre in that it employees a parable (i.e., no new data or primary research) to put forward ideas/concepts for managing people -- somewhat strange that two *supposed* scientists would take this approach
2) I have personally been an employee of someone who, while I worked for her, became a One Minute Manager by reading the book (this manager overcame her mere average incompetence and quickly became ludicrously incompetent), so realize that in the wrong hands, this book can make the lives of employees a nightmare
3) Too many folks in business have bought the book for you not to Net/net: FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED. Read this and know what other corporate types know if you rely on your paycheck for shelter and food, and have even the slightest interest in being happy and succeeding in corporate America.
Rating:
Summary: Simple Stories - Powerful lessons
Review: Imagine a show where a whale suddenly emerges above the surface of the water, jumps over a rope to a thunderous applause from the audience who don't mind being drenched by the splash of water. How was the whale trained to do this, one may wonder. The training had actually started under water, where the whale was rewarded with food each time it crossed over the rope. The rope was then gradually raised and the whale jumps over it even if is above the water level. Imagine the rope as the goal setting exercise in our organizations. We reward people for attaining their goals and we raise the bar every time to get the best out of every one. This book is about Goal Setting, Rewarding and Reprimanding. It also proves a very important concept. The normal confusion is that democratic managers sacrifice results while the result oriented managers sacrifice people. The One Minute Manager teaches us to be simultaneously good at achieving results and taking care of people.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent tool for every manager.
Review: "The One Minute Manager" is about finding the balance between being an autocratic manager who cares only about the results, and a democratic manager, who cares only about the people. The authors use the parable of a young man on a quest to find a truly effective manager. In his search, he meets the One Minute Manager, a willing mentor who seems to have things well in control and plenty of time on his hands. During the course of the story, the young man finds that a good manager is an honest, straight-shooter, that really cares for his people. According to his mentor, the process for ensuring this can be boiled down into three rules. 1. Make and set One Minute Goals. Keep them short, simple, and easily measured.
2. Give One Minute Praise. Try and catch your folks doing things right.
3. Give One Minute Reprimands. Do it immediately. Talk only about the incorrect behavior. Then remind them how valuable the are to the organization. The key to using these rules is to be consistent. Rely on people to do their best. Let them know when they do. And, let them know when they don't. The result will be a work group that is individually more responsible. The reward for you is that you will have happier employees and more time for planning, organizing, etc. Two additional notes from personal experience. First, whenever possible, praise folks where their teammates can see. Unless the staff person is adverse to public attention (in which case, praise in private), the recognition is valuable to both you and your staff. They feel good about their work and you get more productivity from them and their teammates-remember you get what you reward. Second, reprimand in private. Public humiliation is very destructive. A reprimand, no matter how well deserved or how well intentioned will be viewed as humiliation if done publicly. I think you'll find this book an excellent addition to your library. It is a very quick read. The rules are simple to remember, and make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, they are not quite so easy to implement, but they do work. You will find the results well worth the effort.
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