The most effective managers manage themselves and the people they work with so that both the people and the organization profit from their presence.

💡 Speed is the currency of success now, leading with collaboration is far more effective than the old command-and-control system.

Instead of setting our goals for us, he listens to our input and works side-by-side with us to develop them. After we agree on our most important goals, each is described on one page.

He feels that a goal and its performance standard, what needs to be done and by what due date, should take no more than a paragraph or two to express, so it can be read and reviewed in about a minute.

Once we’ve written the goals out concisely, it’s easy to look at them often and stay focused on what’s important.

Finally I e-mail my goals to him and keep copies, so everything is clear and we can both periodically check my progress.

80% of your really important results will come from 20% of your goals. So we set One Minute Goals on only that 20%, that is, our key areas of responsibility, maybe three to five goals. Of course, in the event a special project comes up, we set special One Minute Goals.

Since each goal can be read in about a minute, we are encouraged to take a moment every now and then to look at what we’re doing and see if it matches our goals.

If not, we adjust what we’re doing. It helps us succeed sooner.

💡 One of your goals for the future is for you to identify and solve your own problems.

If you can’t tell me what you’d like to be happening, you don’t have a problem yet. You’re just complaining. A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening.

One Minute Goals work well when you:

1. Plan the goals together and describe them briefly and clearly. Show people what good performance looks like.
2. Have people write out each of their goals, with due dates, on a single page.
3. Ask them to review their most important goals each day, which takes only a few minutes to do.
4. Encourage people to take a minute at what they’re doing, and see if their behavior matches their goals.
5. If it doesn’t, encourage them to re-think what they’re doing so they can realize their goals sooner.

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

Put the accent on the positive by catching people doing something right, especially as they begin a new task.

When he notices you have done something right, he tells you precisely what you did right, and how good he feels about it.

He pauses for a moment so you can feel it, too. Then he reinforces the praise by encouraging you to keep up the good work.

💡 Confidence that is earned helps you deal with all the changes that are occurring. We’re expected to be confident enough to innovate in order to stay ahead.

One Minute Praising work well when you:

1. Praise people as soon as possible.
2. Let people know what they did right; be specific.
3. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it helps.
4. Pause for a moment to allow people time to feel good about what they’ve done.
5. Encourage them to do more of the same.
6. Make it clear you have confidence in them and support their success.

If I make a mistake, my Manager is quick to respond.

First, he makes sure he’s made the goal we’ve set clear. If it isn’t, he takes responsibility for that, and clarifies the goal.

Then he provides me with a One Minute Re-Direct in two parts. In the first half he focuses on my mistake. In the second half he focuses on me.

As soon as he becomes aware of the mistake. He confirms the facts with me and we review what’s gone wrong. He’s very specific.

Then he tells me how feels about the mistake and its possible impact on our results, sometimes in no uncertain terms.

After he tells me how he feels, he’s quiet for a few seconds to let it sink in. That quiet pause turns out to be surprisingly important.

Because a quiet moment gives me time to feel concerned about my mistake and think about the impact it might have on me and the organization.

Only a few seconds.

In the second part of the Re-Direct, he reminds me that I’m better than my mistake and that he has the confidence and trust in me. He says he doesn’t expect a repeat of that mistake and looks forward to working with me.

He specifics exactly what went wrong so I know that he’s on top of things and that he doesn’t want me or my team to be known for poor or mediocre work.

He ends the Re-Direct by reaffirming that he values me and my team, it’s easier for me not to react negatively and become defensive. I don’t try to rationalize away my mistake by fixing blame on something else.

Of course it helps to know that he will take responsibility if a goal isn’t clear to everyone. Because of that, I know he’s being fair.

If the Goal is Clear, A One Minute Re-Direct work well when you:

1. Re-Direct people as soon as possible.
2. Confirm the facts first, and review the mistake together, be specific.
3. Express how you feel about the mistake and its impact on results.
4. Be quiet for a moment to allow people time to feel concerned about what they’ve done.
5. Remember to let them know that they’re better than their mistake, and that you think well of them as a person.
6. Remind them that you have confidence and trust in them, and support their success.
7. Realize that when the Re-Direct is over, it’s over.

Take a minute to look at your goals.

Then look at what you’re doing.

And see if it matches your goals.

💡 The most important and natural thing to do to help people become winners is to catch them doing something approximately right in the beginning. Then you move on toward the desired result.

💡 Making mistakes is not the problem. It’s not learning from them that causes real problems.

💡 When a person has learned something and has shown they can do it, but they have a won’t do attitude, you need to look at the cost to the organization, and whether you can afford to keep such a person on the team.

💡 Have team members work with you (manager), not for you.