A presentation on the classic concepts of time management at the workplace, as postulated by William Oncken Jr and Donald L Wass.

1. CARE AND FEEDING OF MONKEYS
Aditya Lathe

2. RULES FOR FEEDING MONKEYS
 Rule 1: Monkeys should be fed or shot
 Rule 2: The monkey population should be kept under
control
 Rule 3: Monkeys should be fed by appointment only
 Rule 4: Monkeys should be fed face to face or by
telephone, but never by mail
 Rule 5: Every monkey should have an assigned feeding
time

3. BACKGROUND
 Article authored by William Oncken Jr. and Donald L Wass
 Appeared in Nov-Dec 1974 issue of Harvard Business
Review
 Among HBRs two bestselling reprints ever
 Talks about principles of efficient time management at the
workplace

4. KNOW YOUR TIME
 Boss-imposed time: Choose to neglect at your own risk
 System-imposed time: Can be neglected, but there will
be consequences
 Self-imposed time: Your free time!
 However, Self-imposed time taken up by
peers/subordinates => “Peer / Subordinate-imposed
time.”
 Remaining free time => “Discretionary time.”

5. MANAGE YOUR TIME
 DO NOT TAMPER WITH BOSS TIME OR SYSTEM
TIME!!!
 Self-imposed time can be managed effectively
 Strive to increase discretionary-time and reduce
peer/subordinate time
 Where does the monkey fit in???

6. ADOPTING A MONKEY
 A peer/subordinate approaches you with a problem
 You know enough to get involved, but not enough to
resolve the problem on the spot.
 “Let me think about it and I’ll let you know”
 Your peer’s/subordinate’s monkey jumps on your back.
Congratulations! You have adopted a new pet!

7. MONKEYS AS PETS
 Screaming monkeys on your back require constant care and
feeding.
 Responsibility of feeding/care diverts attention from boss-
time and system-time
 Accumulating monkeys eats away self-imposed time
 Creates bottlenecks for other employees who await
your decision/help

8. RESTORE THE MONKEY TO ITS
RIGHTFUL OWNER
 Transfer the initiative
 Identify the owner
 Help him feed his monkey
Fun Fact: Monkeys can sleep peacefully on their
owner’s back

9. IF YOU DO DECIDE TO ADOPT A MONKEY……

10. RULE #1
 Monkeys should be fed or shot.
 Otherwise, they will starve to death and the manager will
waste valuable time on post-mortems or attempted
resurrections.

11. RULE #2
 The monkey population should be kept under control
 It should always be below the maximum number for
which you have time to feed

12. RULE #3
 Monkeys should be fed by appointment only
 The manager should not have to be hunt down starving
monkeys and feed them on a catch-as-catch can basis.

13. RULE #4
 Monkeys should be fed face to face or by telephone, but
never by mail.
 Documentation may add to the feeding process, but it
cannot take the place of feeding.

14. RULE #5
 Every monkey should have an assigned feeding time
 These may be revised at any time by mutual consent,
but never allowed to become vague or indefinite.
Otherwise, the monkey will either starve to death or
wind up on your back.

16. If you liked the presentation, please read the Original Article.
If you didn’t like the presentation, please read the Original
Article. It’s much better!!