aashtech's Full Review: Kenneth Blanchard, Hal Burrows, William Oncken III...
Sandwiched between The One Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese, The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey is the best of these three self-help books.
"If you are someone who feels overwhelmed with problems created by other people, what you are about to read can change your life." That is how the text begins, and it is an accurate statement. Dr. Blanchard describes a common problem, illustrated in management but common to everyone, where the demands on our time are crushing us. The more technically proficient or perfectionist-minded we are, the deeper the problem.
Here's a question posed. "Why is it that some managers are typically running out of time while their staffs are typically running out of work?" This leads to the conclusion, "It's tough to work for a nervous boss, especially if you are the one making the boss nervous!"
The reason for this nervousness and stress is--monkeys. A monkey is simply the next move. Whoever has to make the next move, owns the monkey. Here's a simple example of what I mean.
Let's say that you manage a small staff and, while walking down the hall, one of your people stops to tell you about a problem. Since you are an involved and caring boss, you stand and listen. In a short time you realize this is pretty complex, and the conversation stretches for twenty minutes or so. Remembering that you were on the way somewhere else originally and recognizing that you don't have all of the facts to make a decision, you break away with, "Let me think about it and get back to you." Completely innocent. Perfectly well intentioned. An utter disaster.
The monkey is the next move. This is your staff member's problem but now you have taken ownership of it. Think of that scenario with this picture in mind. Before you met your staff member was researching the problem, and seemed to be stuck. At this point the monkey is clearly on his back. Can you see it hanging there? Once you are stopped in the hall and discussing the problem, the monkey is straddling both shoulders, lingering between you. As soon as you say, "Let me think about it," the monkey climbs over and latches firmly on your back. Take a look at the staff member. Suddenly fifteen pounds lighter, he's got a nice smile going. That's relief!
What do you think happens next? Well, as Dr. Blanchard notes, "For every monkey there are two parties involved: One to work it and one to supervise it." You were already busy before inheriting this new beast and now the next move is yours. So, further work on the project stops. Your staff member is conscientious and wants to do the right thing, so he stops by every now and then to ask how you are coming along with it. Isn't it interesting that the roles are clearly reversed? You start to avoid dealing with him, morale suffers, your boss gets nervous, and now you have more status reports to write—which makes it even harder to take care of that monkey at all.
There are three types of monkeys to deal with at work. Two types are automatically handled based on structure and accountability. Downward leaping monkeys come from our bosses. If you don't take care of them, you are soon unemployed. So they get all the care and attention they need. Sideways leaping monkeys come from other departments. Think of them as forms and procedures. You may believe you have a little more flexibility here, but these "systems" can backfire at the worst time. Don't do your expense report and you won't get reimbursed. Fail to fill out the requisition properly and it goes to someone's desk to die a slow death. Have you ever had that happen? Upward leaping monkeys, however, have no built-in structure to keep them on your back. These are tasks you take simply by choice. I hope you can see how easy it is to make the wrong choice, too. Your intentions are good but the results are bad. A manager with this style will become buried by his own people's work. The staff will feel unchallenged and mistrusted. They will be leaderless and crabby.
The solution is very simply explained in the book, although too big for an epinion. I will, however, list the four rules of effective monkey management:
Every monkey must:
1: Be fully described. That is, the next move must be known.
2: Be fully owned. Whose monkey is it?
3: Be fully insured. This takes some explanation, but is based on risk. What if you give an important project to someone who is not ready? How can you anticipate that? How can you correct it? The intent is to balance the personal growth of your people with acceptable risk to your career.
4: Be placed on a care and feeding schedule. When, where, and how do you follow up?
This is a very brief explanation. Although written to illustrate the problems of managers, it is just as true (and the author includes some examples) for parents, business owners, and so on. The hardback copy lists for $16.95, but you can always find it at the library or in paperback. I strongly recommend owning a copy since it is a great reference, and you can often find it inexpensively from Internet booksellers.
It was surprising to find that no epinionauts have yet reviewed this book, since it is a classic. I hope you find this review useful, so please be sure to rate it so other readers will be fully informed.
Just the facts
Publication year: 1989
ISBN: 0-688-06767-0
Section: Management Time
Author Kenneth Blanchard, Ph. D who also wrote The Power of Ethical Management (with Dr. Norman Vincent Peale)
When a person goes to the boss with a problem and the boss agrees to do something about it, the monkey is off his back and onto the boss's. How can ma...More at HotBookSale
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