The New One Minute Manager

The story ends by going full circle, completing the young man’s conversion into the New One Minute Manager. His transformation and growth is completed when he supplants his mentor and becomes an effective leader, implementing the Secrets shared with him by the original Manager. By ending the parable in the same place it started—literally, in the office of a guru willing to impart his knowledge to a younger pupil—we are left feeling like the cycle of One Minute Management will be continued through a loop of passing it forth. Instead of seeing ourselves in the young woman, we now see ourselves reflected in the New One Minute Manager; we’ve been with him throughout his journey and have learned the same Secrets he has, and—having listened—we are meant to feel as if we have also earned a spot in the seat of leadership with him. The young woman is a symbolic embodiment of the next reader who will pick up this book and learn the Secrets, and like the New One Minute Manager, we are meant to smile, knowing we have already learned the Secrets.

Sharing useful information with others is a theme demonstrated throughout the text, but which is most directly evident in these closing chapters. It begins with the Manager willing and eager to share his leadership methods with the young man; it’s continued with Teresa, Paul, and Jon who elaborate on each of the Three Secrets; then it ends with the young man taking notes and sharing it with others: including the reader, Liz, his employees, and the young woman. The fact that this parable’s closing line is a request to “Share it with others” (78) emphasizes the importance of the story’s message to utilize this information for ourselves and spread it within our communities and networks. This information isn’t meant to be kept secret, ironically; rather, it is amplified by public dissemination.

The visual flowchart that the New One Minute Manager shares with his employees is another example of giving, as he knows he and his company will grow by giving his workers the same guidance he received. The story highlights how success hinges not simply on an individual in charge, but within a community of leaders, independent thinkers, and problem-solvers who are willing to share their strengths and Secrets with others. As we have seen with the young man, perhaps newcomers will be nonbelievers at first, but with honesty and consistency, even skeptics can become One Minute Managers.