Tag Archives: The One Minute Manager

Trump’s Art of the Deal May Not be a Big Deal

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Many years ago, I read Donald Trump‘s The Art of the Deal (New York:  Random House, 1987)

The book is often-cited as one of the best-selling business books ever written.  Others use the  Art of the Deal Covercontent of the book to register complaints about his Presidency, claiming that what Trump wrote is inconsistent with what he now says and does.

But, the larger question is, “does The Art of the Deal even qualify as a business book?”  And, exactly how big of a best-seller is it?  As of this writing, the book is in the top 100 of three Amazon.com best-seller sub-categories.

I found some information about these questions; click here to read these questions.

“It’s difficult to weigh Trump’s opus against other “business books” for two reasons.

“One, best-seller lists are almost always periodical. Amazon tallies sales by the hour, while the New York Times’ lists are by week or by month. Greg Cowles, who writes for the New York Times “Inside the List” column, says the paper doesn’t track all-time sales.
 
“Second, the genre called “business books” is nebulous and can range from memoirs and essays to financial tips and management strategies. Trump’s book can certainly be shelved in the business section, as it’s both a memoir by a business executive and offers business advice. But experts say it can hardly count as influential in the subcategories or important in the broader genre.
 
“Trump is full of B.S.,” said Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of business management at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. “The best selling/most important business books would have to be In Search of Excellence by (Thomas) Peters and (Robert) Waterman that started the genre, Built to Last by Jim Collins, The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.”

The New One Minute Manager Cracks the List

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In 1981, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson published The One Minute Manager.  It is one of the best-selling and most translated business books of all time.  Since then, Blanchard has published many variations on the subject.  All of these begin with a fable, followed by specific applications, concepts, and teaching points that are relevant to the story.

newoneminutemanagercoverSo, it was interesting to see that last week, another version of this book cracked the Wall Street Journal best-selling business book list (September 17-18, 2016).  The New One Minute Manager (William Morrow, 2015) came in at # 10 on the list.

Like its predecessors, the book begins with a fable.  However, it acknowledges changes in the work environment that were not present or profound in 1981.  These include the role of technology, limited resources, globalization, instant communication, and structured markets.

kenblanchardspencerjohnsonBlanchard, (pictured to the right) who typically publishes a new book each year, is also the founder of the best-selling leadership program in the marketplace, entitled SL-II.  Johnson (pictured to the left) is an M.D., and has authored more books on aspects of management than medicine.  His most famous is Who Moved My Cheese, about organizational change, which Randy Mayeux presented at the First Friday Book Synopsis in Dallas a number of years ago.

I am personally tired of the “fable followed by learning” content of business books.  They served their purpose, and we should move on.  But, obviously I am in a minority.  Readers still have an appetite for them, as evidenced by the status of this book one year after its publication.