The One Minute Manager (Summary)
What if the best managers aren't the ones buried in meetings and paperwork, but the ones who seem to have all the free time? What if the secret to peak performance and a happy team isn't constant oversight, but three simple, 60-second interactions that can transform your entire workplace?
Clarity is Everything: Set Goals in Under a Minute
The foundation of performance is absolute clarity on what is expected. Goals should be so simple and clear that both manager and employee can write them on a single page and review them together in less than 60 seconds.
The manager in the book insists that each of an employee's top 3-5 goals be written on a separate sheet of paper, using fewer than 250 words. The rule is simple: if you can't describe what good performance looks like in under a minute, the goal isn't clear enough to be effective. This eliminates ambiguity from the very start.
Catch People Doing Something Right
Instead of waiting for annual reviews or focusing only on mistakes, great managers actively look for opportunities to give immediate, specific, and sincere positive feedback the moment they observe good performance.
A manager walks by an employee's desk and notices they've just handled a difficult customer call with exceptional patience. The manager immediately stops and says, 'I just overheard how you handled that call. You were calm, clear, and turned a frustrated customer into a happy one. That's exactly what we aim for. Thank you.' The whole interaction is immediate, specific, and takes less than a minute.
Attack the Behavior, Not the Person
When a mistake occurs, the feedback must be immediate and specific to the action, not the individual's character. After addressing the error, it's crucial to reaffirm the person's value to the team, separating their worth from their recent performance.
An employee makes a significant error on a report. The manager pulls them aside and says, 'The numbers on this Q3 report are incorrect, which is a serious problem.' After a brief, uncomfortable pause to let the feedback sink in, the manager continues, 'You're better than this, and you're one of my most capable people, which is why I'm being so direct. I value you on this team. Let's figure out what went wrong so it doesn't happen again.'
