spencer johnson | blackplume

This book was written by the same author of “Who Moved My Cheese” which is an excellent short little motivational book for people who need a better perspective on life. The Present can easily read it in a few minutes. It is written in a simple way that is easy to understand even by young ones.

It tells a parable of a young man who is mentored by an older gentleman. The gentleman tells the man about “The Present”, and he does all he can to figure out what exactly that means. He finally realizes the “present” is not a physical gift, but a concept involving being totally involved in whatever you are currently doing.

I found the book more of a children’s story with an inspirational bent rather than a self-help book. The story is too simple and predictable. The concept is very simple and just a simple reminder for readers. It simply tells us to live in the present. The past is done which we cannot redo while the future we cannot predict. What we can do is learn our lessons from the past and move on, and take action in the present to obtain our future desires. By learning how to learn from the past and prepare from the future, we can be much happier and productive in the present.

I got this habit of listening to audio book while travelling or waiting in line. Most of the audio books I got are self-help books that are light and easy to finished. The last audio book I’ve finished is Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson’s The One Minute Manager.

The book discussed three things:

One Minute Goal Setting
One Minute Praisings and
One Minute Reprimands

I particularly liked the section about the One Minute Reprimand. It reminds me some clear and simple approach in managing others. It emphasizes that you can be strict and firm with people, but also let them know that you still think they are a valuable part of the team. The concept of reprimanding others is you do not target the people, you target their behavior. One Minute Goal Setting explains the importance of setting clear goals. One Minute Praising is helping people reach their full potential by catching them doing something right and encouraging them to do more of the same.
This book is recommended for anyone who wants to be a good leader and for anyone who wants to know how to treat others well in the workplace and in life.

Quotes from the book:

“People who feel good about themselves produce good results.”

“Help people reach their full potential; Catch them doing something right. “

“The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people. “ “Everyone is a potential winner. Some people are disguised as losers, don’t let appearances fool you.”