The On-Time, On-Target Manager: How a "Last-Minute Manager" Conquered Procrastination [Kindle Edition]

I have always enjoyed Ken Blanchard's management books because they deliver simple and straightforward management principles in an easy-to-learn style. For example, The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey is a classic of proper delegation.

Unfortunately, the Last Minute Manager was not up to the usual standards of this series. The book was not compelling and did not really teach the reader a solution to the problem of procrastination.

* The basic problem was that the book did not have a simple system to teach. Though the system was called The Three P's these were really headings for a complex variety of questions, ideas and principles that made the execution process more complex than it needed to be. The fact that the third "P" started with C was a bit jarring. The book claimed this was a mnemonic device but I see it more as an symptom of the fact that the whole model needed more work.

* The main character is a doofus. I didn't find myself cheering for his success, I simply found myself annoyed with him. The descriptions of him as "Bob the last-minute Manger", "Bob the suddenly-surprised Manager", "Bob the newly-focused Manager" etc were also annoying.

* The book had too much theory and not enough tactics. It presented you with high levels questions and ideas about your priorities but it was light on examples of how to use them. For example it shows you a "triage" form but we never see Bob use it.

* There were no examples of how Bob the-highly-annoying Manager used his new found skills to improve his work or productivity. The book did not clearly tie the process in the book to the problem of lateness, poor-quality, and stress.

There is definitely room for a Blanchard book on the problem of time management. I'm afraid that I can't recommend this one. Instead I recommend "First Things First" by Steven Covey for those struggling with this issue. It is much more work to read, but I think it solves the problems that afflict Bob in this story in a more straightforward manner.

Finally there is a pet peeve. Why do all these management book use married men as examples of people who need to be fixed? I agree that the problem of choosing a sex for someone with a problem is vexing, and its most likely that married men will be the least likely to complain. That said, I think there is room for some originality in this realm. The work world has a much wider constituency than married men named "Bob". I hope we see it reflected in future books.

The central message to this book seems to be "if it's important, don't procrastinate". Well, life's not quite that simple.

While the book uses the usual Blanchard style of sounding like a novel telling someone's inspiring story, it doesn't address why people procrastinate. It basically says you should do the right things, for the right reasons, at the right time. This tells me... absolutely nothing. Darn it, I've been doing the right things at the wrong time, silly me. Time to change that!

When I finished the book, I was left with little more than a couple of simplistic lists, but no action plan as to how to either better manage my time, how to get a handle on my priorities, or any deeper unstanding of my problem. It was like a big rice cake that left me just as hungry as when I started.

Two things procrastinators constantly fight is the sense of being overwhelmed with so many things that simply have to get done that you can't make out what has to be done when; and the feeling once you actually get started on something that there's something else you should do. Today, thinking of this as I was reading another book (see below), I finally forced myself to write the minutes of a meeting I was just in. As I sat there, I suddenly flet the urge to listen to music (to help me think of course!), to check my inbasket, to tidy up my desk so I could (allegedly) concentrate, to go get a coffee, and so on... you constantly feel you should be doing something else.

If this sounds like you, then you need to read "Procrastination - why you do it, what do about it" by Jane Burka and Lenora Yuen. It makes you realize the causes of your condition and why simple "just don't procrastinate anymore" advice doesn't cut it.

Story telling is a very effective way of driving home powerful lessons. Regardless of age, the human mind retains the "moral of the story". Ken Blanchard gives us another story, another hero and another lesson. Easy to read and remember, this book will be helpful to most of us. It is important to realize how postponing of seemingly unimportant and routine tasks like filling up gas can lead to a snowballing effect on the really critical issues on hand.

Though the book starts with a note the you may not fall into the category of Bob, the "Last Minute Manager", we do tend to be Bobs to some extent some times and to a large extent many times. Lateness, poor quality of work and stress, form the vicious circle of procrastination that needs to be broken. Three hours is worth the time to read this book to understand the three P's that can pull us out of this trap and make a significant difference to our lives at home and at work.