In The One Minute Manager, it explains three concepts on how
to manager people. The first is one
minute goal setting, the second is one minute praising, and the third is one
minute reprimanding. One of the keys to
the one minute manager is that “People who feel good about themselves, produce
good results.” (The One Minute Manager) One Minute Management is all about people.
The first part to One Minute Management is One Minute Goal
Setting. “One Minute Goal Setting is
simply:
1. Agree on your goals.
2. See what good behavior looks like.
3. Write out each of your goals on a single sheet of paper
using less than 250 words.
4. Read and re-read each goal, which requires only a minute
or so each time you do it.
5. Take a minute every once in a while out of your day to
look at your performance, and
6. See whether or not your behavior matches your goal.” (The One Minute Manager)
If I could try to make it even simpler, One Minute Goal
Setting is setting goals, finding out how you are going to achieve those goals,
reviewing your goals and results, and also making sure that what your doing is working
to achieve those goals.
The second part to One Minute Management is One Minute
Praising. “The One Minute Praising works
well when you:
1. Tell people up front that you are going to let them know
how they are doing.
2. Praise people immediately.
3. Tell people what they did right-be specific.
4. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right,
and how it helps the organization and the other people who works there.
5. Stop for a moment of silence to let them “feel” how good
you feel.
6. Encourage them to do more of the same.
7. Shake hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear
that you support their success in the organization.” (The One Minute Manager)
Again to make it even simpler, One Minute Praising is
letting people know when they do something right. You are trying to encourage other people, so
they will continue to do good things and be an example for others. “Help people reach their full potential,
catch them doing something right.” (The
One Minute Manager)
The last part is One Minute Reprimanding. “The One Minute Reprimand works well when
you:
1. Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them
know how they are doing and in no uncertain terms.
The first half of the reprimand:
2. Reprimand people immediately.
3. Tell people what they did wrong-be specific.
4. Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong-and in
no uncertain terms.
5. Stop for a few seconds for uncomfortable silence to let
them feel how you feel.
The second half of the reprimand:
6. Shake hands, or touch them in a way that lets them know
you are honestly on their side.
7. Remind them how much you value them.
8. Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their
performance in this situation.
9. Realize that when the reprimand is over, it’s over.” (The One Minute Manager)
I take from this that when you have to correct someone’s
behavior you must be honest, specific, understandable, and you must do it
immediately after the behavior is observed.
The concept is very easy.
You set goals, tell people when they are doing something right, and when
they are doing something wrong. There
are many examples in Jesus’ life of him being a One Minute Manager.
During Jesus’ ministry he set goals for his disciples and
for us. There are two major goals in the
ministry of Jesus. The first was to love
only God and one another. The second was
to teach and make disciples of all people.
Mark 12:28-31; “Jesus replied, “The most important
commandment is this: ‘Here, O
Israel! The Lord our God is the one and
only Lord. And you must love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your
strength.’ The second is equally
important: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ No other commandment is
greater than these.” (NLT)
Jesus makes clear that we are to love only God and our
neighbor as we love ourselves. Who is
our neighbor? Our neighbor is anyone
needing help. It is the poor, the sick,
the sad, the lonely, the weak, the tired, the lost. We must be willing to give of ourselves. In a One Minute Ministry the goal is to reach
out to those hurting not only in our congregation, but in our community and around
the world.
Matthew 28:18-20; Then Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.” (NIV)
This is know as the Great Commission. This was the final goal that Jesus set for
his disciples and for us. The Church,
its leadership and its people are expected to go into the world teaching the
message of the gospel and baptizing everyone into the kingdom of heaven. The ministers, elders, and deacons of the
church are called to lead the church to teach the world. This is the reason for churches to have
mission and outreach programs, and to invite people to join.
A One Minute Ministry needs to set goals for a church. I am reminded of Southeast Christian Church
in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1992, this
church decided that it needed a new building, for it had outgrown its current
building. It was going to cost $26
million dollars for the building that they needed. The theme for the capital stewardship
campaign was “Not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice.” The faith of the church raised over $30
million dollars. In 2003, the church
decided it needed to build a new youth/activities center. In less than 3 years the church raised over
$30 million dollars. When the call has
come and the goal has been set, the church as responded.
In the gospels there are many examples of Jesus praising
people for doing something right. He
would catch people doing the right thing.
Here are just a few examples:
But a poor widow come and put in two very small copper
coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this
poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she,
out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:42-44; NIV)
So Jesus went with them.
But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends
to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy
of such an honor. I am not even worthy
to come and meet you. Just say the word
from where you are, and my servant will be healed”…When Jesus heard this, he
was amazed. Turing to the crowd, he
said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all the land of
Israel!” And when the officer’s friends
returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed. (Luke 7:6-7, 9-10; NLT)
A certain immoral woman heard he was there and brought a
beautiful jar filled with expensive perfume.
Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped
them off with her hair. Then she kept
kissing his feet and putting perfume on them…Then he turned to the woman and
said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me
water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and
wiped them with her hair”…And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved
you; go in peace.” (Luke 8:37-38, 44,
50; NLT)
In each case Jesus praises the actions and behaviors of
those with faith. The poor widow who
gives all she has. The powerful
Centurion with more faith than all of Israel.
The prostitute who shows true love for God. In a One Minute Ministry the leaders and the
congregation work to encourage each other and lift each other up. It is important to recognize people for the
work they do in the church. Those people
that sing in the choir, teach Sunday school, serve Communion, visit the sick,
and minister to others need to be praised for their work and love. The members in the church need to remember to
praise the ministers, elders, and deacons of the church for their leadership
and love. By praising one another we
create a church that draws people to it.
While Jesus praised those with faith and love, he did not
hesitate to reprimand those in the wrong.
Here are three examples of Jesus’ reprimands:
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the
very act of adultery. The law of Moses
says to stone her. What do you
say?” They were trying to trap him into
saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote
in the dust with his finger. They kept
demanding and answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, stone
her. But let those who have never sinned
throw the first stones!” (John 8:6-8;
NLT)
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why
don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of
eating their food with ’unclean’ hands?”
He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites;
as it is written: ’These people honor me
with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
(Mark 7:5-7)
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must
suffer…that he must be killed…He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him
aside and began to rebuke him. But when
Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God,
but the things of men.” (Mark 8:31-33;
NIV)
Jesus reprimanded the crowd for wanting to kill the
woman. He reprimanded the Pharisees for
their false teachings and vain worship.
Jesus even reprimanded Peter for not thinking in the way of God.
In One Minute Ministry, reprimanding is not about judgment,
but about correcting people to help them stay of the path of
righteousness. It is the responsibility
of the church leadership to keep a congregation on the Lord’s path and not
man’s.
It is also a congregation’s responsibility to reprimand the
church leadership if tradition or new fads become the focus instead of
God. Remember though that we should
still show double honor and not listen to gossip.
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are
worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and
teaching…Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought
by two or three witnesses. (1 Timothy
5:17, 19)
I know that One Minute Management works. During my years as a store and district
manager it worked for me. A church that
can set goals for itself will give vision to its people in and outside the
church. A church that can praise and
uplift the people in and outside the church will see the results. A church that is not afraid to reprimand and
hold accountable its people and the world can be a shining light. I believe in the concept of a One Minute
Ministry. One Minute Management worked
in my business career and One Minute Ministry will work in the Church, because
Jesus showed that it worked.
