Are the Monkeys Taking Over?

Ever had the feeling your life was being taken over by monkeys? That if you could just get some of the monkeys off your back, you would be much more productive and effective? In their book, The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, Ken Blanchard, William Oncken, Jr. and Hal Burrows tell you just how to do that. This short, easy to read book outlines practical ideas for busy people dealing with the challenge of letting go and entrusting responsibility to others.

You may relate to the manager in the book who says, "when I picked up monkeys my people could have handled, they got the message I wanted monkeys. So naturally the more I picked up, the more they gave me." In order to deal with all the monkeys, the manager began "borrowing" time from his personal life, exercise, hobbies, civic activities, church and eventually from his family. Yet, rather than getting ahead, "the monkeys just kept on coming."

Are there monkeys you need to give to the people best suited to handle them? Would you benefit from an easy to manage system for handling monkeys effectively? The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey may be just the answer you're looking for.

Tips for Taming the Monkeys

1. Recognize the monkeys. Make a list of your monkeys, those things you are responsible for that would be better handled by someone else. Becoming aware of tasks that you are holding onto is a first step in delegating them. Ask yourself: What monkeys do I need to hand off today?

2. Be willing to let go. Learning to let go can be difficult. Trusting that another person will complete a task effectively requires being willing to give them the opportunity. Decide that you will entrust some of the monkeys you are handling to someone else. Ask yourself: What will be most helpful to me in letting go and entrusting tasks to others?

3. Read The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey.. In the book, you will find Oncken's Rules of Monkey Management, a helpful tool for handling the monkeys. It is easy to order the book online or from a local bookstore, like Books & Books or Barnes & Noble. Ask yourself: When will I read this book?

Things not worth doing are not worth doing well." from The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey