Book Review: The New One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

The New One Minute Manager offers powerful advice on time management

In The New One Minute Manager, the management specialist Ken Blanchard and the communication expert Spencer Johnson provide an updated approach to management for our contemporary globalized world. Through the concepts of One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings and One Minute Re-Directs, they provide a model that newly promoted managers and seasoned leaders alike can follow to increase their team’s performance, independence and motivation. This clear and detailed analysis is ideal for anyone looking for a straightforward and accessible management handbook: it features a thorough exploration of the mistakes many managers make, practical management advice and a balanced discussion of Blanchard and Johnson’s approach. It also provides definitions of key words, the main criticisms of the book and related approaches, including management by objectives, giving you everything you need to understand this bestselling guide to management.

This accessible and insightful 70-page summary and analysis is structured as follows:

• Introduction to The New One Minute Manager
• About the authors and background to the book
  • The authors: Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
  • Context and background
• Summary of The New One Minute Manager
  • The One Minute Manager’s three secrets
  • An innovative approach to established methods
  • Foolproof time management
  • A new leadership style
• Impact of The New One Minute Manager
  • The development of motivating factors
  • Current developments in the world of work
  • The search for meaning
  • In conclusion
• Recap of Blanchard and Johnson’s main ideas

About The New One Minute Manager

The New One Minute Manager builds on the ideas contained in the 1982 bestseller The One Minute Manager, which aims to provide managers with the tools to support their team members as they become more independent, improve their results and find greater professional fulfillment. The original book has sold over 15 million copies to date and been translated into numerous languages, and has long been required reading for managers and leaders worldwide.

About Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

Kenneth H. Blanchard is an internationally recognized expert in leadership and management. His books have sold over 21 million copies in over 40 languages, making him one of the most-read nonfiction authors of all time. He is particularly well-known for his bestselling One Minute Manager series with Spencer Johnson, and for his role in developing Situational Leadership in the mid-1970s with the American economist and author Paul Hersey.

Spencer Johnson was known primarily as a communications expert, and his concise, straightforward books have won over both the general public and major media outlets including CNN, the BBC, The Times and The Wall Street Journal. He was an exceptionally versatile writer: his 13 bestselling books, which span children’s literature, management guides and works on popular science, have sold more than 50 million copies and been translated into over 45 languages.