David C.: My favorite book

When it comes to books on business management, there are no shortage of self anointed "management gurus" out there hocking obvious advice in the form of revolutionary breakthroughs. Thankfully, there are a handful of business management books that offer advice that actually applies to the real world, and The One Minute Manager is one of them. Written by Kenneth Blanchard, PhD and Spencer Johnson MD in 1981, The One Minute Manager spent over two years on the New York Times Bestseller List and continues to be one of the most influential books on the market when it comes to learning how to lead without micromanaging.

The One Minute Manager has sold over 13 million copies and been translated into nearly 40 different languages because it was written by two of the top management experts of the 20th century. Kenneth Blanchard helped develop the Situational Leadership theory during the 1960s and has contributed to over 30 books on management and leadership. Blanchard is also a trustee of Cornell University and holds the Leadership Gurus award from Leadership Gurus International. Spencer Johnson is a motivational speaker who is best known for writing the seminal business book Who Moved the Cheese, which has been on the nonfiction best sellers list of Publisher's Weekly ever since it was published in 1992.

At the heart of The One Minute Manager is the concept on setting goals through what Blanchard and Johnson refer to as One Minute Goal Setting. This no-nonsense approach advises business leaders to not beat around the bush when it comes to setting a long term plan for project management. The basic idea is to compose some simple and actionable goals that can be expressed in 250 words or less so that you and your team will have a constant point of reference as they work on a project and be able to keep their eye on the ball with ease.

Blanchard and Johnson also devised a management method called One Minute Praising that goes hand in hand with One Minute Goal Setting. Rather than looking over your team member's shoulders throughout the day, Blanchard and Johnson suggest simply touching base with your employees from time to time and issuing a quick kudos to let them know that they are doing just fine on their own and to keep up the good work.

Lastly, every business manager can benefit from The One Minute Manager's tips on reprimanding when necessary. Blanchard and Johnson offer sound advice on not making more out of reprimanding employees than necessary. Instead, they suggest using what they call One Minute Reprimands to address the root of the problem with an employee in order to let them know where there is room for improvement. The One Minute Manager walks readers through a handful of scenarios ranging from minor policy infractions to serious human resources complaints that could result in litigation if not handled properly. In all cases, Blanchard and Spencer offer excellent counsel on how to address the problem quickly and concisely so that the day to day operations of your business remain running without interruption.

At just over 100 pages, The One Minute Manager is a great book to use as a team building exercise. Written in a remarkably light and breezy style, almost every business person can get through The One Minute Manager in one or two sittings. This means that you can distribute copies of the book throughout your team. Having all of the managers in your organization familiar with the best practices prescribed by Blanchard and Johnson is an excellent way to make sure that everyone is on the same page.