The core rules are:

  1. Monkeys should be fed or shot
  2. The monkey population must be kept small, so the boss has time to feed it.
  3. Monkeys should be fed by appointment only. 
  4. Monkeys should be fed face-to-face or by telephone
  5. Every monkey should have an assigned “next feeding time” and “degree of initiative.” 

 

Based on the paper in the Harvard Business Review 1974 by William Oncken Jr. which is based on his concept from 1960.