Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute

Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute tells the story of a young manager whose attempts to turn his troubled company around through traditional top-down, command-and-control management are failing. Reluctantly, he contacts an expert in empowerment, even though he feels like he’s already tried that too. Step by step, the expert helps him understand why his past and present efforts have fallen short and exactly what he needs to do to create an empowered workforce. The process as it unfolds is complex, paradoxical and counterintuitive —but well worth the effort. The new introduction dispels the notion that empowerment is a bygone fad. No matter what its name, the essential concept—that organizations can achieve extraordinary results by recognizing and taking advantage of the skills, experience, and knowledge already existing in the organization—will always be relevant. The new epilogue describes obstacles companies have encountered and overcome and outlines empowerment strategies that have proved successful during the fifteen years the authors have been consulting, researching, and refining these concepts. Although sometimes arduous, the journey to empowerment is well worth making. In fact, unleashing the power of people in an organization may be the only way to continue to do business in a competitive, complicated marketplace.


Summary: A fast must for anyone needing to change a work culture.
Rating: 5

This book is extremely simple, well written and a very fast read. It provides a few key principles that, if you give them some thought, will immediately become clear whether or not you are using them effectively already. Most of us are good at some, but not all.

Changing a company culture is one of the most challenging activities there is, and we can become disappointed and cynical very easily in the process. This is one of the tools that will get you "over the hump" in the process.

Check it out! Go Blanchard!


Summary: Another Powerful Parable
Rating: 5

If the authors are right about how they defined `empowerment' and the three essential keys for achieving true empowerment, then leaders, managers, and employees of all organizations should read, discuss, and decide to apply this easy-to-read book's lessons. I am convinced this book has the potential to lead organizations to unheard of levels of effectiveness and productivity.

In typical Ken Blanchard fashion, the authors taught their important lessons through a logical and believable fictional story based on their years of research and experience. The story "guides readers step-by-step through one manager's struggle to discover the three essential keys to empowerment. By following the manager's odyssey to the Land of Empowerment, readers discover that they can take the same journey, which, like any heroic journey, is filled with paradox, challenge, and fitful stops and starts."

The authors defined empowerment as not giving power to people, but releasing the knowledge, experience, and motivation they already have. They then identified and explained the three essential keys for achieving true empowerment:
1. Share information with everyone
2. Create autonomy through boundaries
3. Replace hierarchical thinking with self-managed teams
These simple definitions are deceptively powerful when teamed with patience and persistence. I found the title of this book was most appropriate.

From my experience, the term `empowerment' is frequently spoken, largely misunderstood, and rarely applied to its maximum extent. This book took the mystery out of the concept of empowerment and left me with a great appreciation for what true empowerment is and how it can be achieved. I am excited about what it could release in me and others who read it.


Summary: Highly Recommended!
Rating: 5

The author of The One Minute Manager switches gears and tells you not to manage your employees minute-by-minute. Instead, Ken Blanchard, along with John P. Carlos, and Alan Randolph, advocates and explains the notion of empowerment - giving your employees the information and authority to act and make decisions on their own, within a structured set of organizational goals and values. Presented as the story of a turnaround manager getting tutored by an empowerment mentor, the book establishes the fundamentals of the (now ubiquitous) theory of empowerment in a conversational and enjoyable style. We […] recommend this quick, informative read, which will expand your management horizons in only a few short minutes.


Summary: Easy to read and put into practice.
Rating: 5

If you are a new manager or a manager with outdated skills, this novel little book will have an absolutely positive impact if you follow the simple three keys to success. The book is based on a story of a real or contrived (who knows) manager and his adventure in discovering the importance of empowerment and why his technics have failed with his employees. Within the first week of reading this book, I used one of the exercises that was recommended. This simple exercise showed me that my employees are infact on track to becoming empowered. If your employees are struggling to complete everyday work because of a motivational problem instead of an ability problem, this book will show you how to get your team to respond. After you read this book, you may discover that the problem is supervisory and not employee related. However, this read gave me ideas of how to correct both!



Summary: Another Blanchard success
Rating: 5

As usual, I am never disappointed by Ken Blanchard's books and tapes. The subject of empowerment is brought home successfully and I walked away from this easy read with more insight than before.

I also suggest a related top-selling book that has as one of its themes empowerment: "The Leader's Guide: 15 Essential Skills"