The On-Time, On-Target Manager

Ken Blanchard, Steve Gottry

• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9780061751370
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

The author of the phenomenal New York Times bestselling classic The One-Minute® Manager explores one of the most common and insidious problems plaguing the workplace—procrastination.

In every workplace, in every industry, lurks a diabolical career killer. Procrastination. In this latest addition to his bestselling series, Ken Blanchard tackles this problem head on, offering practical strategies any professional can immediately put into practice to improve his or her performance. In The On-Time Manager, he stells the story of Bob, a typical middle manager who tends to puts things off until the last minute. As a result, he misses deadlines because his lack of focus causes him to accomplish all the meaningless tasks before he can get to the important things. Like many professionals, Bob rationalizes, justifies, and tries to explain. With his trademark clarity and vision, Blanchard shows how Bob learns to overcome his problem transforming himself from a Last-Minute manager into a productive On-Time manager.

Seven

The “Bill of Rights”

Bob was so stressed out from his second session with the CEO that he decided to stop at the health club on his way home—something he was beginning to do a bit more frequently, despite his dislike of rigid exercise routines. Once on the road, he called his wife from his cell phone to make sure she concurred with his plans. There was no answer, so he left a message for her.

He did a full routine, nearly burning himself out, then enjoyed an extraordinarily long respite in the spa and the steam room. He watched CNN on the locker-room TV as he dressed. Maybe the spa, the steam room, and CNN are the reasons I’m finally getting more into the health club routine, he told himself.

Then—as refreshed and relaxed as he’d been in days—he drove home at a full ten miles per hour below the speed limit. Unusual behavior for Always-in-a-Hurry Bob.

He arrived to an empty house. No wife. No daughter. No son. Where had they all headed off to? He was just settling in to watch the fourth quarter of an NBA game when his family walked in.

“Dad, where were you?” his daughter demanded—half screaming, half in tears—as she stormed off to her room.

“Yeah, Dad. Good job,” Bob’s son added as he grabbed a slice of cold pizza from the fridge and headed toward his room. “We were all wondering where you were. You promised you’d be there.”

Bob was suddenly alone—except for the chilling fact that his disgruntled wife was still within striking distance. “Okay, Bob, I want to know something. Don’t you ever look at that fancy, expensive electronic calendar of yours? How could you forget something as important as Michelle’s line dance competition?”

“That was tonight?” Bob the Completely Out-of-Touch Manager asked.

“Yes, Bob. It was tonight. Somehow it didn’t make your dandy new priority list. You seem to participate in everything at the last minute—if at all!”

Those words burned bitterly in Bob’s mind as his wife angrily ascended the stairs to their bedroom. Her last audible words were, “I am sure disappointed in you, Robert. And so are your children.”

Bob sat there for the longest time as he agonized over his wife’s parting comments. Countless thoughts poured through his mind.

Am I that bad a husband?

Am I that awful a father?

Am I an undesirable employee?

Am I really a Last-Minute Manager?

Bob was immersed in his thoughts and deep in remorse when his wife quietly came back down the stairs and slipped into the family room.

“I’m sorry, Bob. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you, but Michelle was excited that you were going to come to her line dance competition and when you didn’t show, she was really hurt.”

“I’m the one who should be saying ‘I’m sorry,’ ” said Bob. “I feel like a complete failure.”

“You’re not a failure, Bob,” she responded as she wrapped her arms around him. “You’re just—we’re just—going through a lot right now. And this so-called Chief Effectiveness Officer isn’t making things any easier.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Bob suggested. “I think she may be helping me see things in a different light, even though it didn’t help tonight. In fact, today I got another mystery envelope. I’m going to get through it, no matter what. I don’t care how unusual this whole process is, I’m going to stick with it to the end. I’m going to get taken off probation. And, blast it, from now on, I’m not going to be known as a last-minute manager!”

Bob headed for the study. He opened the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. There were no questions to answer. Just a short list of thoughts to consider.

PROPRIETY: THE BILL OF RIGHTS

• Do the right thing.
• Do it for the right reasons.
• Do it with the right people.
• Do it at the right time.
• Do it in the right order.
• Do it with intensity.
• Do it for the right results.

Bob studied the words, then studied them some more. He thought about the events that had just taken place that evening.

If this means what I think it does, I violated the rights of my family in a big way tonight. I sure didn’t do the right thing. The right thing would have been to attend Michelle’s competition. I could’ve been there if I had just taken ten seconds to check my schedule. The right reason is because she’s my daughter and she wants me to see her perform. The right people? Well, that would be my family. There’s no question that I did everything at the wrong time in the wrong order for the wrong results. I think I need to apologize—and do it with intensity.

Bob stuffed the sheet of paper back into the envelope and went to find his daughter. He took her in his arms and said, “Michelle, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am that I missed your competition. I just blew it. I have no excuse. I don’t know how I can make it up to you but I’ll try. I promise you one thing, though. You’re going to see some changes in my behavior. I want to be a part of your life and be a dad you can love and be proud of.”

Michelle looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Thanks, Dad.”

The world is suddenly a better place, Bob thought as he headed down the hall to his son’s room to finish the night’s apologies. When he finally climbed into bed with his wife, they didn’t say anything, but just hugged each other.

Bob the More Determined Manager actually showed up for his appointment with the CEO five minutes early. I hope she notices! She didn’t. Or if she did, she didn’t acknowledge it.

“What do you think about the second P?” she asked.

“I personally discovered last night that ‘propriety’ not only helps us determine what our priorities should be, but also what needs to be done to ensure that what we do is high quality,” Bob said confidently.

“You’re right. That’s exactly it.”

“I imagine it will take some time and practice for me to be able to apply the Bill of Rights to all of my priorities on a consistent basis.”

“It will,” the CEO agreed. “But if you stick with me, you’ll discover that I’ve found some unique ways to help you with that.”

“What ways?”

“Here’s a simple example: I’m going to begin to deliver a daily voicemail message for interested employees. Anyone in the company will have the option of dialing a special extension to listen to it. I’ve researched all sorts of little nuggets of time-tested, life-changing wisdom from a variety of sources, and I will be sharing them in those brief messages.”

“Do you have an example of these nuggets?” Bob the Still Somewhat Skeptical Manager asked.

“Sure. Here’s one you’ve heard, I imagine. ‘What a person plants, he or she will harvest.’ ”

“I’ve heard that. ‘As you sow, so shall you reap,’ right?”

“That’s it. Of course, this is not simply about corn or beans or wheat. It’s about life in general. If parents don’t spend time with their kids when they’re young—teaching them right from wrong and listening to their thoughts and dreams—they can’t expect to have good relationships with them later in life. They can’t count on their kids to make sound decisions, either. So that’s a priority.”

“That makes sense,” Bob the Still Feeling Guilty Father said. “And I guess you could say that particular thought is time-tested.”

“How about this thought? ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right.’ ”

“I’ve heard that one, too.”

“As true as that seems to be, we have a twist on that saying, based on the Bill of Rights. ‘Two rights don’t make a wrong.’ No matter what decision is facing you, if you can apply two or more of the ‘rights’ to the situation, you’ll seldom go wrong. The more rights you bring to the situation, the better the outcome will likely be.”

“Interesting thought,” said Bob.

“Here’s another one: ‘Treat others the way you would like to be treated.’ ”

Bob jumped right in again. “You mentioned that one the first day we met. ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ ”

“Right again. The point is, that’s one of the time-tested truths that serves as a guideline for how our company intends to conduct business now and in the future. Far too many businesses operate under the principle ‘Do others in before they do you in.’ ”

“That’s the truth,” Bob agreed.

“In our company, our long-term goal is to do our best to make sure that everyone comes out ahead—our customers, our suppliers, our coworkers, and, yes, even our managers and upper-level executives. Our new goal will be to make certain that we never have a labor-management conflict again. Our people need to trust management—and vice versa.”

“That’s an impressive goal!” Bob the Impressed Manager exclaimed.

“Not so impressive when we understand what our priorities are, and how the principles of propriety mesh with them.”

“Still, our company has never thought this way before. I guess that’s why I’m amazed.”

“As you can probably guess, most of my morning phone messages will apply my nuggets of wisdom to the Three P’s and the Bill of Rights.”

“I assume you have specific definitions for all of the points on the Bill of Rights, then,” Bob supposed.

“I do, but I’m hoping that you’ll give me your definitions.”

Bob eagerly agreed to take on this latest assignment.

“What do you imagine we mean by ‘Do the right thing’?” the CEO asked.

“I’d guess you mean that there’s right and wrong, and you want our people to choose what’s right over what’s wrong,” Bob suggested.

“We sure do. But how do you know what’s ‘right’ and what’s ‘wrong’?”

“You got me there,” Bob confessed. “Instincts, maybe?”

“Good instincts help, but I like to use what’s become known as The Ethics Check,” said the CEO.

“When confronted by a potential ethical problem—where right and wrong may be at odds—I ask myself three questions:

1. Is it legal?

• Will I be violating either civil law or company policy?

2. Is it balanced?

• Is it fair to all concerned in the short term as well as in the long term? Does it promote win-win relationships?

3. How will it make me feel about myself?

• Will it make me proud?
• Would I feel good if my decision were to be published in the newspaper?
• Would I feel good if my family knew about it?

“The first question is about legality, the second about fairness, and the third involves self-esteem. Most people only ask the legal question. But there are times when something may be legal but not ethical.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Sure,” the CEO replied. “We’ve all read about examples where something was legal in terms of accounting procedures, but unfair to coworkers, customers, and stockholders. If the top managers knew that what they did was going to be made public, they probably would have thought twice about it.”

Bob reflected on her words for a moment. “You’re right. Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right. You have to ask all three questions. That’s powerful.”

“I think so,” said the CEO with a smile. “But the next principle—do it for the right reasons—is a bit more tricky.”

“What do you mean ‘tricky’?”

“It has to do with motives. Think about Martin Luther King, Jr., for example. He did the right thing. He worked for civil rights. But did he do it for personal fame? Did he do it to make money? Or did he do it to help millions of people attain equality?”

“For equality,” Bob quickly replied.

“Right! Although he never made a fortune as the result of his efforts, he did achieve a measure of fame. But that was merely a by-product of his efforts to erase the boundaries of race and color. His goal was—according to The Ethics Check motto—to ‘promote win-win relationships.’ ”

“Yet he died from an assassin’s bullet,” Bob observed.

“True. Doing the right thing for the right reasons offers no assurance of personal safe...