#

SwiftAndObvious
Penalties
Pursue Those
Who Treat Other People's
Requirements In A
Ligfithearted,
Cavalier Fashion!

#
122 / Discretionary—The Most Vital Time

But, what is the penalty for neglecting the most

important kind of time of all: discretionary time?
For instance, what is the penalty for neglecting to
do the things I dream up in my discretionary time
(especially if no one else knows about them)?
There is no penalty, at least in the short term,
because nobody can accuse me of not doing what
they never knew I intended to do in the first place.
So discretionary activities (which carry no
immediate penalties) compete for my time with
activities which, if neglected, make me guilty
of either insubordination, noncooperation, or
procrastination. Guess which ones take precedence!
While neglecting discretionary time might be
safe in the short run, in the long run the penalties
are severe both to the organization and to myself.
The long-term penalty to the organization is that it
cannot survive, much less progress, without the
benefits that flow only from the discretionary time
of its employees; that is, if employees have no
discretionary time, the organization will be denied
their creativity, innovation, initiative, et cetera.
The long-term penalty to me is that organizational
life becomes a living death in which all I do is react
to problems created by others, and I never have
time to create and innovate and initiate on my own.
 Starting with Subordinate-Imposed Time / 123

HAT to do, then? Given the ongoing

requirement of constantly maintaining the
interconnected relationships among my boss,
peers, and staff, how did I extricate myself from
the mess I was in two years ago?
Although it is imperative that we manage all
three relationships concurrently, we have to start
somewhere. I started by eliminating subordinate-
imposed time. There are two reasons for starting
this way. One reason is that subordinate-imposed
time does not belong in my schedule. The second
is that some drastic changes had to be made
quickly, and making such changes can make other
people nervous. I didn't want to make anybody
nervous, but if I had to do so, prudence dictated
that they be the people with the least power
to retaliate. Subordinates cannot impose extra
monkeys on me without my cooperation, but
bosses and peers can and will do so if I ignore their
requirements in order to acquire some time to get
my recovery jump-started.
So I began by eliminating subordinate-imposed
time. That gave me an equal amount ofdiscretionary
time (since self-imposed time is the sum of
discretionary time plus subordinate-imposed time),
which I used to begin my managerial recovery
process.
124 / Planting Discretionary Time

lT the "Managing Management Time"

seminar I heard an interesting story to illustrate the
process. It's the story of two fellows running side
by side through the woods, being chased by a bear.
The bear was gaining. One fellow said to the
other, "If I had my running shoes I could run a
little faster." The other fellow replied, "I still
don't think you could outrun the bear," to which
came the retort, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I
just have to outrun you!"
I found that even though you get a step ahead,
the bear is still there! In my case, eliminating
subordinate-imposed time gave me that extra step,
but other demands on my time still existed,
panting close behind: demands from my boss and
peers, and legitimate requests from my staff. But
the newly gained discretionary time gave me some
room to get a handle on those other demands.
Once I got that little seed of discretionary time,
I planted it carefully and made it grow. First, with
my boss, I took time to figure out how to do my
work in a way to build her confidence to the point
where she began allowing me more and more
discretion.
For example, there are many areas of my work
where I previously could take no action until I
checked with her first; she wanted to know my
plans in advance so she could have a chance to
forestall mistakes I might make.
 Planting Discretionary Time / 125

All that checking with her took a lot of time for

both of us. Since then, however, my record of
success in those same areas has lowered her
anxieties to the point where I am allowed to handle
them on my own and inform her of what I did
afterward in my quarterly report. This saves both
of us a lot of time. In other words, I used my
newly gained discretionary time in a way that gave
me (and her!) even more discretionary time.
I followed a similar approach with my peers. In
the past I had been relying solely on the authority
of my position to get things done because I was too
busy to deal with situations in more productive
ways. And I paid for it. But once I got some
discretionary time, I spent some of it building my
relationships with people in the system and I found
that the more rapport we had the more they would
do for me with less effort on my part.
Again, just a short example will illustrate
the process. In the past, if I urgently needed
something from a staff person, the best I could
get was routine, by-the-book effort ("Fill out the
form and we'll go to work on it").
126 / Planting Discretionary Time

But in recent months I have invested some

discretionary time in building better relationships
with them. Now when I need something urgently I
get their wholehearted support and it takes less of
my time to get it—this from the very same system
I used to criticize as bureaucratic, unwieldy, and
unresponsive. Again, as with my boss, I have
invested discretionary time to create even more
discretionary time. In my dealings with the system
I have learned that however inept it may be, the
people who operate it can make it do wonders for
me if they will. So rather than criticizing and
resenting the imperfect system, I practice this
philosophy: It is better to strike a straight blow with
a crooked stick than spend my whole life trying to
straighten the darn thing out.
Likewise with my people. As you now all
too well know, in the space of a single morning
(that "famous" Monday morning) I returned their
monkeys to them and, in the process, converted
several days of subordinate-imposed time into
an equal amount of discretionary time. Then I
began coaching my people along toward greater
self-reliance. Every incremental increase in their
self-reliance meant an equivalent increase in my
discretionary time and in their morale. (There is a
high correlation between self-reliance and morale.)
 Managing Rather Than Doing /127

1 now clearly measure my success by what I am

able to get my people to do, not what I do myself.
Fortunately, my boss measures me that way as
well. And I am happy to report that I will soon be
taking over a larger area of responsibility. I feel
great, and I've been told I even look better than
ever. Although I'm still busy, I no longer feel the
pressed-for-time anxiety that I once did. The
physical and emotional distress that were my
constant companions before I learned monkey
management are now just bad memories.
This all came about because I have learned to
think differently about my work. My mentality has
changed from that of a do-er to that of a manager.
As such, I have not only learned the practice of
monkey management, but also I have learned to
replace the psychological rewards of doing with the
rewards of managing, namely, deriving satisfaction
from what my people do and being recognized,
paid, and promoted accordingly.
What encouraged me most was seeing how my
people responded to my new management style
and how much their productivity and morale
improved. Their performance enabled me to build
a high degree of confidence in them, which meant
that in many cases my involvement in a project
amounted to little more than ratifying what they
were doing.
128 / Managing Rather Than Doing

The improved relationship with my staff was the

first step in reversing the vicious cycle I was in and
creating a vital cycle which, like the vicious one, is
enormously powerful and feeds on itself. As my
people responded to my improved management
style, their productivity and morale improved,
causing me to be less anxious about their work and
allowing me to give them more freedom, thus
releasing my time to invest elsewhere. I invested
some of my newly found time with my boss,
causing her anxieties to diminish and allowing her
to give me more freedom. I also invested some
time in improving my relationships with the people
in the "system" to the point, where I got more
done in less time. I especially had time to better
manage our customer and supplier relationships
that are so key to our long-term survival.
Finally, one day, the vital cycle gave me a small
surplus of that rare and precious commodity—
discretionary time. I used that surplus time to
begin pursuing (for the first time in a long time)
some of the discretionary activities on my own
agenda that make managerial life worthwhile. In
other words, I began to do some managing instead
of just being managed.
 The Ultimate Conversion / 129

JM the past, I spent much of my time fighting

fires; now I can prevent most of the fires by
spending just a little time in advance. In the past, I
spent a great deal of my time reacting to other
people; now I spend a great deal of my time in
proactive measures. These include doing some
advance planning for a change so we can do the
right things the right way the first time instead of
having to do them over so often.
I came to realize that when people throughout the
organization have responsibility for managing their
own monkeys, it's hard to tell who's a worker and
who's a manager because everyone is committed to
doing what it takes to do the best job possible.
Besides the changes in my own personal and
professional life, I have begun to share my learnings
with others I know—especially those time-pressed
individuals who never seem to have enough time for
their work, family, or friends. I help them to see the
dynamics of monkey management and to become
monkey managers in the zoo of their choice. This
new way of life has changed my life and the lives of
those around me.
130 / The Ultimate Conversion

Finally, perhaps the greatest lesson I have

learned about monkey management, at work and at
home, is that there are always more monkeys
clamoring for attention than we have time to
manage. Unless we are extremely careful which
ones we accept responsibility for, it is very easy to
wind up caring for the wrong monkeys while the
really important ones are starving for lack of
attention. If we thoughtlessly try to handle all of
them, our efforts will be diluted to the point where
none of them are healthy.
I hope this monkey tale will help you as much as
it has helped me, which is enormously. I am
constantly reminded of its benefits. For example,
as I write these final words, I am alone in my
office. My door is open. And as I glance at the new
photograph of my family, I notice one major
change: I'M NOW IN THE PICTURE!
The
End

The
Beginning
Share It with Others!
132 / Praisings

Praisings
We would like to give a public praising to a
number of important people who played key roles
in making this book a reality:
Robert Nelson, a very talented writer and vice-
president of product development for Blanchard
Training and Development, Inc. (BTD), for his
assistance with thewriting, editing, and coordination
of this book.
Eleanor Terndrup, secretary extraordinaire, for
her tireless effort in typing numerous drafts of this
book over a four-year period.
William Oncken III and Ramona Neel of the
William Oncken Corporation, for their invaluable
assistance in editing the manuscript and helping to
keep the content consistent with the "Managing
Management Time" seminar.
George Heaton of Blanchard Training and
Development, Canada, for providing the original
spark from which this project grew.
 Praisings /133

Margret McBride for being our literary agent and

providing constant support.
All the folks at William Morrow and Company,
Inc., particularly Larry Hughes, Al Marchioni, our
editor Pat Golbitz, and her assistant, Jill Hamilton,
for continuing to believe in The One Minute Manager
Library and supporting this addition to it.
Jim Ballard for his creative energy around
"Rescuers Anonymous," and Stephen Karpman, for
defining the term "rescuer" for us.
Paul Hersey for teaching us some of the lessons
from Little League.
Maryorie Blanchard, Margaret Oncken, and Alice
Burrows for their constant love and support
throughout the peaks and valleys of our lives.
134 / About the Authors

t'Oi(1About the Authors

Kenneth Blanchard, co-developer of the One
Minute Manager and Situational Leadership, is an
internationally known author, educator, consultant/
trainer, and professor of leadership and organization
behavior at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst. He has written extensively in the fields of
leadership, motivation, and managing change,
including the ground-breaking One Minute Manager
Library series, co-authored with some of the top
management thinkers in the country, The Power of
Ethical Management, co-authored with Dr. Norman
Vincent Peale, and the widely used and acclaimed
Prentice-Hall text Management of Organizational
Behavior, co-authored with Paul Hersey, now in its
fifth edition.
Dr. Blanchard received his B.A. in government
and philosophy from Cornell University, an M.A. in
sociology and counseling from Colgate University,
and a Ph.D. in educational administration and
management from Cornell University, where he
presently serves on the Board of Trustees.
As chairman of the board of Blanchard Training
and Development, Inc., a San Diego-based human-
resource-development company he co-founded with
his wife, Marjorie, Dr. Blanchard has trained over
two hundred thousand managers and his approaches
to management have been incorporated into many
Fortune 500 companies as well as numerous fast-
growing entrepreneurial companies.
 About the Authors /135

William Oncken, Jr., was one of the most

articulate spokesmen in the field of management.
After his graduation from Princeton in 1934,
Bill learned from practical experience that a
manager's ability to generate and profitably
use discretionary time is crucial to his career
competitiveness and to his organization's ability
to survive and prosper in our free-enterprise
system. He translated his observations and
practical experience into his internationally known
MANAGING MANAGEMENT TIME and
MANAGING MANAGERIAL INITIATIVE
seminars; his revolutionary article "Managing
Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey?"
(co-authored with Donald Wass); and his recently
published book, Managing Management Time,
destined to become a classic of management
literature.
Mr. Oncken founded his own company in 1960.
Based in Dallas, The William Oncken Corporation
continues to provide his high-quality management
development programs, teaching his unique
managerial philosophy and perspective.
For more than three decades the fruits of his
creative genius, his MANAGING MANAGEMENT
TIME seminar, has helped managers generate and
fully utilize that most precious managerial commodity:
discretionary time.
The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey is
adapted from and emphasizes the "staff" strategy
of "Oncken's Management Molecule."
136 /About the Authors

When it comes to management time Hal

Burrows speaks with authority. His experience at
two Fortune 500 companies and fifteen years of
running his own consulting firm as well as his
ability to communicate his insights with wit and
flair have made him a very popular speaker on the
subject of management and negotiating. Since
1973 his face-to-face experience with thousands of
managers at all levels from hundreds of private
companies and government agencies has enabled
him to help them become more successful in their
careers. In addition to speaking at conventions and
other major meetings, Burrows presents two highly
acclaimed seminars: Managing Management Time,
and Managing Negotiations Under Pressure.
Hal is also a successful entrepreneur in the area
of commercial real estate development in Raleigh,
North Carolina (P.O. Box 52070, Raleigh, NC
27612, 919-787-9769), where he and his family
reside.
 Services Available / 137

]Services Available
Ken Blanchard, Bill Oncken III, Hal Burrows,
and their organizations work closely together in
helping other organizations develop more skillful
managers. Providing books such as this is only one
of their services; complementary services have
been designed to help managers personally acquire
the skills described in The One Minute Manager Meets
the Monkey.
Services available include: presentations at
conventions and major meetings, seminars ranging
from two to five days, ongoing consultation, and
learning materials (including self-assessment
instruments, books, micro-computer programs, and
audio and video programs).
If you would like further information about any
of these services you may contact:

For Ken Blanchard's products and services,

Blanchard Training and Development, Inc.

125 State Place
Escondido, CA 92025
(800) 854-1013 or
(619) 489-5005 (in California)

For Bill Oncken's and Hal Burrows's products and

services,

The William Oncken Corporation

Suite 408
8344 East R.L. Thornton Freeway
Dallas, TX 75228
(214) 328-1867
 /^^Quill u&H, william morrow €*Avon Books
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"This book has an important message for all managers who

wonder why they're working nights and weekends while their
assistants are relaxing."
—Rudolf Solomon, San Francisco Examiner
"Helpful, insightful.. .fits the one-minute theme perfectly"
—Booklist

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