Don’t Miss It: Reflections on Leadership and Life

/ Ken Blanchard / Leave a comment

One of my favorite year-end traditions is to take some time to reflect on the significant events of the past year. I also like to look ahead to things I’m excited about in the coming year.

This kind of reflection has long been a tradition for Margie and me. Every year around the holidays, we write to friends to share what’s been happening in our lives and to send our warmest wishes. We’ve been doing this since shortly after we got married in 1962—the year Margie graduated from Cornell. Six decades! That’s a lot of letters, a lot of memories, and a lot of joy and learning over the years.

One of the highlights of 2025 has been the publication of Catch People Doing Things Right, written by my longtime editor and writing partner, Martha Lawrence. I have to admit, it’s a bit weird to have a biography written about you while you’re still alive. When I read the first draft, my honest reaction was, “I’d like to meet this guy!”

Joking aside, I’m grateful for the care Martha brought to telling my story. I’m also proud of her because the book received the 2025 Best Book Award for Biography. My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who has read the book, shared it, and reached out with congratulations. I’m glad that so many of you have found value in the lessons I’ve learned along my life journey.

Like many years before it, 2025 hasn’t been without its challenges. Economic uncertainty has made things harder for individuals, families, and organizations alike. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that we have faced times like these before. Each time, we’ve come through with sharper skills, deeper resilience, and new perspectives that helped us lead—and live—with more purpose and wisdom.

Looking ahead, I’m excited about the upcoming release of a new, expanded edition of The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do, which I wrote with Mark Miller. The book has now sold more than 700,000 copies and has been translated into more than 30 languages. I think the book’s popularity is because it teaches how to “become the kind of leader people clamor to work with,” as one reviewer said. It’s a reminder that leadership, at its best, is about serving others.

As I reflect on the past year and think about what lies ahead, I’m reminded of something I try to practice every day: staying in the present moment.

Sure, it’s valuable to look back so we can learn from what’s come before—but it doesn’t serve us to dwell on the past. And while it’s wonderful to look forward to the future, you can’t live there, either. The true gift is being fully present, so you can appreciate the good things happening right now.

As I like to say:

“Life is a very special occasion—don’t miss it!”

Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with opportunities to lead with purpose and bring out the best in others.

November Is Count Your Blessings Month

/ Ken Blanchard

November brings one of my very favorite holidays—Thanksgiving. I love it because it’s not focused on gifts; it’s really about what everyone brings to the table. You pass around the turkey and the dressing and all, and it’s a chance for everyone to really express what they are thankful for.

I’m thankful that I met my wife Margie and that she’s been my companion, my love, and my partner for 62 years now—unbelievable. I’m grateful for our son, Scott, and our daughter, Debbie, and what they’ve brought to our lives and to our company. I’m grateful for our grandkids who are all so special, and for our two sweet little great-granddaughters. We’re blessed to still have our sweet  dog, Joy, who is 17 years old now and always a perfect example of unconditional love. I’m thankful to have had a wonderful mom and dad who always lifted me up and a great sister who encouraged me constantly.

I’m thankful for an amazing God who loves me, and you, and everybody. And I’m so grateful for everyone who works in our company and for their contributions to this very special 46-year-old organization. Together we are making a difference in the world. Our people are the ones who help us continue to get better, and keep our clients happy. We’re all in it together and we support each other.

I like to say, “Life is a very special occasion; don’t miss it.” Part of that is being thankful for the blessings you have. It doesn’t mean there aren’t troubles along the way. But every day when you wake up, be grateful for another day to share with people and be with people and maybe make a difference. And try counting your blessings each night before you go to sleep. You’ll be surprised how peaceful it will make you feel.

You don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving—reach out today to the people you really care about and tell them you’re thankful they are in your life. Because life is a very special occasion!

Why Catching People Doing Things Right Is the Best Way to Lead

/ Ken Blanchard

Catch People Doing Things Right, Martha Lawrence’s new biography about my life, is coming out on October 21. That might seem like an odd title for a biography, but I can see why Martha chose it.

I’ve often said that if I could hold on to only one of the leadership lessons I’ve taught over the years, it would be to catch people doing things right. Why? Because a person who works hard needs positive feedback for their efforts. Praise is inherently motivating and only takes a moment—yet it can make all the difference in how the worker feels about their day, their job, their leader, and their organization.

I once asked a young woman if she liked her boss. She said, “She’s okay. She seems to think I’m doing a good job.”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

“Well, she hasn’t yelled at me lately,” she said. Sadly, I wasn’t surprised to hear her response.

Poor Leaders Catch People Doing Things Wrong

In the past I’ve said to groups of people, “How many of you are sick and tired of all the praisings you get at work?” I would always get the same response—laughter. It’s sad how much time managers spend pointing out what’s wrong with people’s performance instead of catching them doing things right.

When I began studying leadership in the 1960s, very few people saw their manager as a friend or colleague. Bosses were widely regarded as people whose job it was to catch their workers doing things wrong. A leader would evaluate someone’s performance, reprimand them, demand they improve, and disappear until it happened again. When people heard the boss had a meeting scheduled, they knew they must be getting in trouble because that’s the only time the boss would ever show up.

To me, this sounded like the opposite of a motivational environment. I couldn’t help but think: What if things were reversed? What if the boss noticed people doing things right, praised their progress, and cheered them on?

Great Leaders Catch People Doing Things Right

Great leaders who want to encourage and motivate their people set up a positive cycle:

  1. A great leader catches someone doing something right and praises them.
  2. The leader’s praise helps the person feel good about themselves.
  3. People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
  4. A great leader notices when people produce good results.   
  5. See #1.

Think about a time when you were proud of something you did but nobody seemed to notice. How did you feel? Now think about a time when you did something well and were praised or otherwise recognized for it. How did you feel then? What was the difference between the two?

People never tire of being told they’re doing good work. It’s good for morale and engagement, and it leads to confident, empowered employees.

How to Give a One Minute Praising

One Minute Praisings—the Second Secret of The One Minute Manager—are a key component of catching people doing things right. An effective One Minute Praising reinforces the behaviors that move people closer to their goals. And it only takes one minute, if you follow these six steps:

  1. Praise someone as soon as you see or hear about praiseworthy behavior or work. Don’t store up compliments for later; unspoken praise is meaningless.
  2. In very clear terms, tell the person what they did right and be specific.
  3. Say how good you feel about what they did and how it helps others and/or the organization. Relate their good behavior to the broader picture.
  4. Once you’ve given the praising, pause to let the message sink in and to give the person a chance to feel good about what they did.
  5. Let the person know you would like to see more of the same behavior.
  6. Make it clear you have confidence in them and you support their success.

As an example, an effective manager could say, “George, I appreciate your sending me your weekly report on time. It provided accurate information and allowed me to meet my deadlines. Keep up the great work!” This praising clearly states the manager’s appreciation, which boosts George’s morale and helps him realize he is an important member of the team.

Extra Hints to Remember

The concept of catching people doing things right can work in many scenarios.

  • When was the last time you caught your boss doing something right? Just because someone is at a higher level doesn’t mean they can’t use some encouragement.
  • Express your appreciation to family and friends often. Acknowledging how much you care helps keep these important relationships close, healthy, and moving in a positive direction.
  • Want a self-esteem boost? Reflect on your own achievements and celebrate your wins! It will motivate you to set new goals for yourself.

Also, don’t wait until someone does something exactly right to praise them. Remember that exactly right behavior is made up of a series of approximately right behaviors. Praising someone’s progress encourages them and lets them know they’re going in the right direction. People shouldn’t have to be perfect to earn a little praise.

I believe most leaders genuinely want to manage people well, but many fall short of this goal. Leaders who catch people doing things right create a work environment where people are engaged and committed to doing a good job. Don’t forget that it only takes a minute to praise someone for a job well done. It could be the most important minute of their day—and yours.

Thoughts About My Biography

/ Ken Blanchard

When Martha Lawrence, my in-house executive editor and good friend for more than twenty years, told me a few years ago that she was working on my biography, I wasn’t sure what to think. I knew Martha was a fabulous editor as well as an accomplished author, but a biography? Me? I had never even considered that possibility. After all, it’s pretty unusual to have a biography written about you when you’re still alive! But Martha and my wife, Margie, soon convinced me that not only might this book be something interesting for people to read, but I might be able to put in my two cents’ worth here and there. With Martha at the helm, I could tell this would be a fun project!

The biography, titled Catch People Doing Things Right, is full of tales I’ve told (and many I haven’t), with Martha skillfully filling in the details: good friends, good times, and life lessons at Cornell; random events that brought Margie into my world; amazing coincidences that changed the course of my academic and business career (including Spencer Johnson and me finding each other and creating The One Minute Manager); and lots more. To pull together the story of my life, Martha dug into my old journals, letters, and papers. She also interviewed a great many friends, relatives, and colleagues of mine, who were more than happy to share their memories.

Here is an excerpt from the book that’s an excellent example of Martha’s way with words:

On a hot, dry Sunday in October 2007, strong Santa Ana winds blew down a power line in the backcountry east of San Diego. Sparks went flying, carried by gusts of up to a hundred miles per hour. The sparks ignited a fire that expanded rapidly westward, heading directly toward Ken and Margie’s home in Rancho Bernardo.

The Blanchards weren’t home that week. Margie was attending a conference in Orlando, Florida, and Ken was down in Naples, Florida, playing golf with his buddies from Cornell.

On Monday morning, October 22, Ken got up and checked his cell phone messages. He had a voicemail from his son, Scott.

“Mom and Dad, Mad and I just had to evacuate our house because of the fire. We’re down on Pomerado Road looking up. There are flames coming out from our house—and I think yours is gone, too.”

I’ll never forget hearing that message from Scott. Thankfully, all of our family members and pets evacuated and were safe. We did lose our house—but our prayers were answered when we learned that Scott and Mad’s house was spared with only minimal damage.

As I look back on my life, I feel tremendously blessed. I had a happy childhood with parents and a sister who really loved me. I’ve had dozens of great friends over the years, from elementary school to today, that I still keep in touch with. Margie and I have had a wonderful marriage—63 years and counting—and two healthy, terrific kids who now help run our company. Sure, like anyone else, there have been a few bumps in the road here and there, but I don’t have anything to hide or to be embarrassed about. Margie says I live my life “out loud.” So if my life story can be a positive motivator for others, good on it!

You’ll have to forgive me now—but because this is Martha’s book, not mine, and I think she did a fabulous job on it, I need to do a bit of marketing:

Catch People Doing Things Right: How Ken Blanchard Changed the Way the World Leads is available for pre-order now at the link above, with a release date of October 21, 2025.

Remembering Drea Zigarmi

/ Ken Blanchard

This month we lost a treasured founding associate and beloved friend, Drea Zigarmi. Coming just six months after the passing of founding associate Don Carew, it’s a tough loss, indeed. Not only was Drea talented and brilliant; he was also an extraordinary human being.

I met Drea when I was a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the early 1970s. At that time Drea was working on his PhD in administration and organizational behavior. We became fast friends, and he was soon part of the coterie that included Blanchard’s other founding associates: Pat Kuiper (soon to become Pat Zigarmi), Don Carew, Eunice Parisi-Carew, Fred Finch, and Laurie Hawkins.

Drea and Pat joined our young company in 1981, moving to California with no assurance of a permanent job or income. Drea brought his talent for research and analysis to the company’s key programs and tools: SLII®, DISC, the LBAII, the Employee Work Passion instrument, and many others. Another of Drea’s significant contributions was the work he did with CEO, Scott Blanchard, on the Leadership-Profit Chain.

Drea’s work was a key factor in Blanchard’s success. He kept us grounded in the research that underscored the validity of our offerings.

Drea brought tremendous value to our organization in so many other ways as well. A natural teacher and guide, he helped scores of people with their research, dissertations, and publishing. For decades, he was a popular Blanchard consultant and trainer. Participants loved the depth and creativity of his teaching about leadership, values, organizational change, and research. For example, he enlivened the teaching of SLII® by showcasing the dialogue in the film Twelve O’Clock High, much to the delight of his audiences.

With more peer-reviewed publications than most senior university professors, Drea was an accomplished writer. He was the coauthor of several books, including Leadership and the One Minute Manager, The Leader Within, Leading at a Higher Level, Achieve Leadership Genius, and The Team Leader’s Idea-a-Day Guide.

Drea was a deeply contemplative person. You could get a sense of this when you heard him play classical guitar. At parties you could often find him in a quiet spot engaged in earnest conversation. I will miss our periodic one-on-one walks together and his delightfully corny jokes.

Many in our field and company owe a debt of gratitude for Drea’s wisdom, guidance, and encouragement. His brilliance lives on in our intellectual property, and his loving spirit will live in our hearts forever.