Tag: management

ONE MINUTE MANAGER SPEAKS ON HOW TO TREAT PEOPLE BETTER

The One Minute Manager has arguably oversimplified management principles and focused a bit too much on dealing with subordinates at work. Yet, it’s allegorical style and use of ordinary words rendered it a very easy read. The principles presented are also practical and adaptable.

It rests on the idea that people and results go hand in hand. This means that how you treat your people greatly impacts your bottom line. Therefore, it’s extremely important to deal with them in the proper way. The book highlights the significance of setting goals/expectations and how to give out praises and reprimands.

If you’re in a middle management position, I recommend grabbing a copy of this book. You’ll find that the scenarios presented are relevant and it wouldn’t take too much of your time.

A word of caution though. Never take the title of this book literally. The One Minute Manager  is just an expression, an attempt to put away the idea that a management position is one of the most complex and difficult there is. I’d like to think that this book is a sort of initiation, an intro that touches mostly on how to deal with people.

Here are the three most important points in the book that can help you become a One Minute Manager:

The One Minute Goal Setting

First, set expectations clear and straight. Goals need to be brief and mutually agreed upon. It must only have 250 characters or less and can be read in a minute. Identify the behaviors that will lead to the achievement of the goals. Review the goals time and again and check whether the behaviors matches the goals.

Set Clear Expectations
Be upfront with your people.

The One Minute Praise

Your people want to know how they’re doing at work so it’s important that you give them immediate feedback. Try to catch them when they’re doing things right. Specify the good behavior and commend them for it. Pause a bit so that the good feeling sinks in. Gestures like shaking hands or touching the shoulders may be good ways of reinforcing your message. But take care that the gesture makes your people comfortable and your touch, sincere. 

How to Properly Train People
Catch your people doing things right.

The One Minute Reprimand

Giving out reprimands has two parts. First part includes reprimanding people immediately. Specifically point out the bad behavior and express how you honestly feel about it. Let there be an uncomfortable silence in between so that the situations sinks in.

The second part include reaching out to person and sincerely expressing you’re still on their side. Make them understand that this is about their work performance and not them as a person. Finally, when the reprimand is over, it’s over. Don’t ever bring it up again.

Behavior does not equal worth.
A person’s behavior does not equal his or her worth.

Though it’s hardly a quick-guide to all things management, The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard Ph.D. and Spencer Johnson M.D. shows you practical steps on how to deal with people better. Parents also have found the principles useful when raising their children.

Check the book on Amazon and Goodreads.

As always, thanks for dropping by!

What’s it like to be a Store Manager?

I met Kris Herbert delos Reyes during my very short stint in a BPO company. We’re both management trainees.

Kris has long been a manager of different popular food and clothing stores in the country. He’s got an aggregate seven years of experience in store operations and leadership.

I’m really inspired by the man, because he’s not only smart, he’s very humble, too. And I got him to share his experience with us so that anybody there who wants a store management position one day may get to know what it’s like.

Dream or circumstance?

When asked if he really aspired for this position, he explained, “It was never my plan to be in store operations. I was a graduate of Psychology and I expected to be a part of the Human Resource industry. But the need for male HR employees is very low, so I decided to look for other options.”

Daily Duties

So, you want to be a store manager?
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As a store manager, you’ve got three major duties. According to Kris these are:

1. Overall supervision and managing of daily store operations.

This means you got to check on your goods or services, your employees, and reports. You also have to oversee customer relationship.

2. Make sure that standard procedures are being observe or implemented.

Every store communicates and reports to the company’s head office. The store receives instructions on displays, promos and updates with regards to the products, services or customer interaction. So, the manager needs to make sure that his store is compliant.

3. Make sure to hit your numbers.

In other words, if sales target for the month is a million, then your figures at the end of the month must be a million or more. If not, you got to present the reasons your store didn’t meet the target and propose actions on how to achieve it.

Upside, Downside

When asked what he liked most about the job, Kris says, “I get to influence other people and help them become more productive employees of the company.” He finds fulfillment whenever he sees his crew get promoted or deliver better results.

Happy Crew
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But as manager, you got to be accountable for everything – every little thing in the store. And this is what Kris finds to be very challenging. He adds, “Anything that affects store performance reflects how efficient and effective you are as a manager.”

No matter what happens, you got to deliver.
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So no matter if it’s the hours of operations, the weather or changing customer tastes, you got to know how to make it work.

One thing a store can’t survive without is…

Teamwork
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Teamwork. Everybody’s role is important. Some may argue that some people have easy or difficult task but, the thing is, each must perform at the best of his/her ability and assume responsibility. I always tell my crew, “Gawin nating madali ang trabaho ng isa’t isa.(Let’s make each other’s job easy [by doing our part].)”

“When you sell service, you sell a relationship.”

That’s what Kris’ Operations Manager (OM) used to say to them. He went on, “Competition will always be there. And you just can’t rely on brand to hit the target. It’s not really a priority to customers anymore. Customers go where they feel welcome, where there’s genuine concern for what they truly need. It may sound sappy, but customers really want service that comes from the heart.”

Customer Service
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So in this consumer driven market, Kris thinks that the trend will shift from being brand-centered to service-oriented.

I want to be a store manager!

If so, Kris has this advice for you:

Strong leadership skill is indispensable. You got to be highly analytic and logical. Most of all, you got to be a risk-taker. You should have the courage to speak for your crew and your store performance. Most of all, you got to be people-oriented. Treat your crew fairly and let them know that they are important.

The writer thinks that a store manager must also be an excellent juggler. So much to do, so much to think about but you got to keep your balance. 🙂

Manager aka Juggler
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So there ends our interview with Kris. Hope this gives you a glimpse on the career of a store manager.

If it so happen that you’re a store manager or aspiring to become one, let us know what you think about this post. Thanks for reading!

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