
87
Chapter 15
Management Time
Who’s Got the Monkey?
A summary of the full-length HBR article by William
Oncken, Jr., and Donald L. Wass, highlighting key
ideas, with commentary by Stephen R. Covey.
THE IDEA IN BRIEF
You’re racing down the hall. An employee stops you and
says, “We’ve got a problem.” You assume you should get
involved but can’t make an on-the-spot decision. You say,
“Let me think about it.”
You’ve just allowed a “monkey” to leap from your em-
ployee’s back to yours. You’re now working for the person
who works for you. Take on enough monkeys, and you
won’t have time to focus on your own priorities.
Reprint #99609
H5987.indb 87H5987.indb ...