Citation (IEEE): W. Oncken, Jr. and D. L. Wass, “Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey?” Harvard Business Review, vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 75–80, Nov. 1974. Reprinted with commentary by S. R. Covey, Harvard Business Review, Nov.–Dec. 1999.
What it argues
Explains why managers run out of time while their subordinates run out of work. Each problem’s next move is a “monkey”, and managers routinely accept monkeys that belong to their staff. The authors distinguish boss-imposed, system-imposed and self-imposed time, describe levels of initiative a subordinate can exercise, and give rules for making sure each monkey has an owner, a next step and a check-in time.