Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Gain the mindset and skillset for getting what you need to succeed

Copyright

Thorsons

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by Thorsons 2018

FIRST EDITION

© Polvera Publishing, Susan Fowler and Laurie Hawkins 2005, 2018

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Bristol Park Books for permission to reprint “The Business Card Trick” from The Mammoth Book of Fun and Games by Richard B. Manchester © 1976 by Hart Publishing Company, Inc.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Polvera Publishing, Susan Fowler and Laurie Hawkins assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780008263669

Ebook Edition © February 2018 ISBN: 9780008263676

Version: 2017-11-27

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction by Ken Blanchard

Do You Believe in Magic?

People Are Not Mind Readers

Elephant Thinking

Cycles of Power

Diagnose Yourself

Getting What You Need

Running Together

No Excuses

One Minute Magic

Appendix: The Business Card Trick

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Services Available

About the Publisher

To my mother, Dorothy Blanchard, who taught me how to take control of my own life before someone else did.

—KEN BLANCHARD

To my wonderful parents, Phyllis and Dick, who helped me realize the magic of self leadership by encouraging my curiosity, independence, and love of learning.

—SUSAN FOWLER

To my three daughters, Genevieve, Ashley, and Juliet, with the fondest hope that they may be beneficiaries of these self leadership concepts and tools and immerse themselves in the good life.

—LAURENCE HAWKINS

Introduction

Today it’s imperative that people become self leaders—individuals capable of setting priorities, taking initiative, and solving problems independently.

In the old days, command-and-control managers often made all the decisions and told people what, when, and how to do things. We now know that this management style can erode a healthy sense of autonomy and dampen people’s initiative, creativity, and sense of well-being.

The nature of 21st-century work requires a more collaborative working environment. Advances in technology are decentralizing the workplace. For example, more people are working virtually and using cloud-based tools to move projects forward. Things are changing so rapidly that direct reports often know more about their work than their managers do.

In today’s collaborative, decentralized workplace, it’s essential that individuals become proactive contributors rather than reactive order-takers. For things like sales campaigns and customer service initiatives to succeed, they must be supported by people skilled in proactive self leadership.

First published in 2005, Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager introduced a proven path to empowerment in the guise of a fun-to-read parable. In the increasingly fast-paced world of work, this updated edition is more relevant than ever.

If you are an individual contributor, this book will show you how to be proactive about getting the help you need in order to succeed. If you are a manager or executive, this book will teach you the fundamentals about developing self leaders.

Our research shows that when individual contributors and managers align around self leadership, both become more engaged and produce better results. As a result, customers are happier and organizations become more profitable. In fact, a culture of self leadership is the hallmark of great organizations. In these companies, leadership is happening everywhere, not just in the C suite.

So enjoy this story. As you’ll soon discover, self leadership is not a rare ability reserved only for the supermotivated and highly gifted people of the world. It is a mindset and skillset that can be learned—and taught.

Do You Believe in Magic?

Steve cleared his throat and looked around the conference room table. “Welcome, everyone.”

After months of preparation, this was the moment he had been working so hard for—his first ad campaign presentation. And he was more than a little nervous. The ten men and two women sitting before him were his clients, and they would decide if his campaign was acceptable for the upcoming year.

Steve distributed spiral-bound copies of the campaign proposal to the eleven vice presidents and then handed one to Roger, the president of United Bank.

“I’d like to begin by reviewing our budget.” Steve directed their attention to the projector screen, where he presented the budget amounts allocated to design, production, and media buys. He discussed his media recommendations and the rationale behind each one. Next, he explained the underlying thinking that had gone into the creative part of the campaign.

“Any questions?” Steve asked.

Around the table, people shook their heads. Steve sensed they were just waiting to see what the campaign was going to look and sound like. “All right, let me move on to the creative approach we’re recommending.”

Directing the presentation from his laptop onto the projector screen, Steve revealed storyboards for the proposed television commercials. Next, he showed preliminary print ads and direct mailers. Finally, he read the radio ad scripts out loud.

When his presentation came to an end, Steve took a deep breath and waited to hear what they thought.

At first, no one spoke. The silence stretched uncomfortably.

Finally, one of the VPs said, “You took a much lighter approach than I thought you would, but maybe that’s good—it projects a friendly bank.”

Another VP spoke up: “You’ve obviously put a lot of time and effort into this campaign.”

After another awkward silence, all heads turned to Roger, the bank’s president.

“This is garbage,” Roger said.

Stunned, Steve went blank. He simply didn’t know how to respond. He nodded his head as though he were trying to shake out a thought. “I guess we’ve missed the mark,” Steve finally managed. “I’ll go back and talk to the creative team. I’ll be back in touch next week.”

Steve didn’t remember how he got to his car. He found himself driving—but not back to the agency. There was no way he could face his team. Thank heaven his boss, Rhonda, was out of town. He needed to find a place where he could be alone and think. He also needed a good cup of coffee. Driving through an unfamiliar neighborhood, he happened upon a place called Cayla’s Café. He went in hoping to find relief.

He gazed around the bookstore café with its solid wood tables and matching heavy wood chairs. It was a very different place than the high-tech chrome and high energy of the ad agency. He found solace in the cavelike coolness, and was warmed by the smell of coffee.

What had gone wrong? How did things get so far off track?

Steve ordered a mocha and let the warmth of the mug seep into his palms. After this latest fiasco, he was sure to be fired. As he thought about it, he was surprised he had gotten this far.

Five years before, Steve had felt as though he’d won the lottery. Rhonda, cofounder of the Creative Advertising Agency, had hired him straight out of college with a degree in marketing. He’d taken an entry-level position and quickly worked his way to lead production manager in charge of several large accounts. Last year he’d served as coproducer of the industry’s awards program for outstanding ad campaigns.

Four months ago, Steve felt flattered when Rhonda gave him the opportunity to bypass the typical career path as a junior account exec on a larger account and take the account exec role on a small but well-regarded account—United Bank. Rhonda told Steve that she wanted to empower him, and that this was the perfect time to do so.

Steve saw his promotion as his chance to prove himself. If he could make a mark with United Bank, he could soon take on the more prestigious, big-budget accounts.

Or so he had thought. Now his confidence was shattered and his future in question. The meeting had unnerved him. The more he thought about the bank president’s reaction, the angrier he got.

In a blinding flash, Steve realized the real source of his failure—it was Rhonda. She’d abandoned him! Where was she when he needed her and when everything was falling apart? Why hadn’t she warned him that the client was a nightmare, that the copywriter on his team was a whiner, and that the art director was an egomaniac? Rhonda was the one person who could have saved him from this humiliation, but instead, she’d “empowered” him. He had trusted her and she’d fed him to the wolves.

Now that he had proved to be a failure, Steve was sure Rhonda would fire him. He decided to beat her to the punch. She wouldn’t fire him—he’d quit! He pulled out a yellow legal pad and pen to begin drafting his resignation letter.

He was just writing the first sentence when his attention was drawn to a group of young children trying to muffle their laughter as they gathered under a rustic sign claiming the area as Cayla’s Magic Corner. He watched as a small, vibrant woman moved in front of the children and sat down on a simple wooden stool facing them. She rested her forearms on her thighs and leaned close to them. Not saying a word, she gazed intently at each child. Steve could have heard a pin drop.