Author: Ken Blanchard

Look Forward to Looking Back at Your Goal Success in 2025

/ Ken Blanchard

It’s time again to think about New Year’s resolutions. I like to picture myself sitting here a year from now, looking back on 2025, and patting myself on the back because I’ve accomplished three or four goals that I set for the year.

What do you dream of achieving, professionally or personally, in the next twelve months? You may want to set a work goal such as improving your time management or organizational skills, or going for a certificate or degree you need to qualify for a promotion. Or perhaps you have a personal goal regarding healthy eating or exercise habits. Do you have a desire to learn a new language? Have you been wanting to start a writing project like an article, book, or blog? Travel more? Learn to paint? Picture yourself a year from now, looking back at having accomplished one or more goals that you may have had in the back of your mind for months or years.

Personally, I’ve found the best way to write effective resolutions is to make them SMART: Specific, Motivating, Attainable, Relevant, and Trackable.

  • Specific: Be explicit about what your goal is so that it’s observable and measurable.

Example: “Eat more fish” is too indistinct to be a goal. “Eat seafood twice a week” is something I can mark on the calendar.

  • Motivating: Make sure your goal is something that excites you; something you really want to do.

Example: Even though I’ve coauthored more than 70 books, I’ve never been a big reader. I wish I were, but I’m not. I know if I made a resolution to start reading more books, I wouldn’t keep it. However, I do have a lot of old friends that I love talking with on the phone. “Call a different friend every week this year” is a resolution I would really enjoy and could easily keep. I feel satisfied and relaxed after one of those conversations.

  • Attainable: Don’t set an unrealistic goal that there’s no chance you’ll accomplish. If a resolution is too fantastic, you are just setting yourself up to fail.

Example: Even though I love going to the course and playing NATO (Not Attached To Outcome) golf with friends on a nice day, if I made a resolution to golf five days a week, I might get all tired out. Once a week is perfect for me. It still feels special and I have plenty of energy to play a decent game.

  • Relevant: Is achieving this goal important to you? Will it enhance your life?

Example: Some time ago when our company began teaching the ABCDs of Trust (Able, Believable, Connected, and Dependable), I took a Trust assessment and was surprised to learn that I wasn’t very dependable. Apparently my desire to please everyone had led to frequent overpromising, which resulted in people being disappointed because I couldn’t meet their expectations. My team helped me set this goal: When someone approached me with an opportunity, instead of saying “yes” without thinking, I would give the person my executive assistant’s business card and she would make sure I had the time and resources to follow through. My dependability score soared! I didn’t let people down anymore—and working with my team got easier, too.

  • Trackable: Chart your success over time to catch yourself doing things right, making progress, acknowledging your wins, and celebrating every step of the way!

Example: For me, sharing my resolutions with my family, friends, and colleagues makes everything more fun because I have cheerleaders and supporters that help me track my progress and celebrate even the smallest victory. An accountability group is never a bad idea if you really want to set yourself up for success.

For best results, limit the number of your goals/resolutions to between three and five. Write them down and look at them every day. Place them where you can easily see them, either on your computer’s home screen, printed out and on the wall above your desk, or in another obvious place. If you think you’ll never forget your goals or resolutions, you are wrong. There’s also a good possibility changes may happen that would require you to rewrite a goal.

In the next few days, I’ll narrow down my list of resolutions to my top five. How about you? What resolutions for 2025 do you want to be looking back on with the pride of accomplishment a year from now? Too often New Year’s resolutions are just announcements. Don’t just announce it—really make it happen! And best wishes for a wonderful 2025!

December Is for Reflecting and Dreaming

/ Ken Blanchard

It’s December! I love this time of year. Not only do I look forward to the holidays, but I also look back at the past twelve months to take stock of the challenges I’ve overcome, the achievements I’ve celebrated, and the exciting things ahead.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might remember that I do this each year, for good reasons. I encourage you to do the same.

I’ll bet you handled some challenges that seemed daunting at the beginning of the year. By reflecting on how you managed those challenges, you will appreciate your resilience and know that you can draw on your problem-solving abilities in the year to come.

I’m sure you also had some achievements in 2024. Now is the time to take stock of them, so you can catch yourself doing something right! Take a moment to appreciate all that you’ve accomplished. Celebrating your wins, even small ones, improves your self-esteem and encourages you to take on new goals.

Finally, take some time to look toward 2025. Do you have a compelling picture of the year ahead? What do you want to be true next year that is not true today? Now is the time to dream! Dreams help you connect to your inner self and give you a sense of purpose.

I’m looking back at 2024 with amazement, because this year marked three major milestones for me.

First, I turned 85 years old! That’s an incredible blessing, especially since I’ve spent 62 of those years married to my best friend, Margie.

Second, our company turned 45 years old in 2024. This is amazing, considering that the average company lifespan is only 20 years, and less than 5 percent of companies ever reach the 40-year mark.

Finally, Lead Like Jesus, the organization I started with my college buddy, Phil Hodges, turned 25 this year.

What were the major milestones of 2024 for you? What challenges did you overcome? What achievements can you celebrate? What dreams do you have for the coming year?

Taking time to reflect on these things can deepen your appreciation for the great gift of life. Remember: Life is a very special occasion—don’t miss it!

These 5 Keywords Are the Key to Goal Achievement with SLII®

/ Ken Blanchard

This month we are excited to celebrate the release of the modernized SLII®, the update to our best-selling leadership development training program. We’ve always worked to keep SLII® relevant for today’s leaders, and this latest revision is no exception.

One of my favorite new modules in SLII® is about managers and direct reports sharing a new “shorthand” language of leadership using just five keywords, enabling them to have quick, effective conversations on the go. This is something that Vicki Halsey, our VP of applied learning, has been sharing in keynotes for years. I’m glad it has officially made its way into the program!

These days, leaders aren’t always able to sit down and have a detailed conversation with a direct report who might be struggling with a goal. Communication is more likely to happen via text: “Are you busy? I’ve got a problem.”

But when both people know the language of SLII®, they can use five keywords and have an efficient “shorthand” conversation about development levels, leadership styles, and fast solutions. The keywords are Goal, Competence, Commitment, Direction, and Support.

  • As you might guess, the keyword Goal is about the specific, trackable outcome the direct report is working toward. The Goal is the objective that needs to be addressed in the conversation.
  • The keyword Competence is about the team member’s skills and ability to achieve the Goal. Leaders can use this word in conversation to determine whether the person needs more supervision or is able to work on their own.
  • The keyword Commitment refers to both confidence and motivation. This word will come up in discussion regarding the person’s motivation on the Goal and helps the leader detect and address a possible lack of confidence or enthusiasm in the direct report.
  • Direction is the specific instruction or guidance given to a direct report, in an amount that varies depending on the person’s development level on a specific Goal. In conversation, this keyword helps leaders determine the amount of close supervision and assistance they need to give the team member for their current level of development.
  • Support, similar to direction, refers to a specific style of leadership given to a team member that matches their development level on their current Goal. Support involves the leader encouraging and providing information and other resources to help the direct report feel confident and empowered to achieve the Goal.

Leaders and team members who use this common “shorthand” language of SLII® are able to have a quick and productive conversation to diagnose the person’s Competence and Commitment on their Goal so that the leader can give the correct amount of Direction and Support, smooth out or eliminate the struggle, and cheer on the direct report toward Goal achievement.   

I think SLII® is such a wonderful way to lead people, and even after 45 years, it just keeps getting better and better!

Celebrating 45 Years of Leadership Development

/ Ken Blanchard

This October Blanchard is celebrating the 45th anniversary of our creation as a company in 1979. What a privilege it has been these past four-and-a-half decades to serve so many extraordinary clients, and to empower so many people to sharpen their skills and lead with love!

Blanchard’s Beginnings

Like many of the best things in life, the origin of our company came about through serendipity. In the late 1970s I was on sabbatical from my professorship at the University of Massacusetts, working on the revised edition of Management of Orgaizational Behavior, the textbook I had written with Paul Hersey. During that time I was invited to speak about leadership at a Young Presidents Organization (YPO) event in Hawaii.

My sessions at the event were so popular that at the end of the conference, several of the YPO members came forward and asked me what I was planning to do next. I told them that I would be heading back to Amerst, Massachusetts, to teach.

“You’re crazy!” they said. “When you’re hot, you’re hot. You should start your own company.”

My wife, Margie, and several of our professor friends back at the University of Massachusetts had dreamed of taking what we were teaching and starting a business, but our talk had always been just that: a dream.

“Margie and I can’t even balance our own checkbook,” I said to the YPO members. “How are we going to start a company?”

“We’ll help you,” they said.

And that’s exactly what happened. Five of the YPO presidents became our advisory group and helped us start the company.

In the beginning Margie and I had just a half-dozen associates. During those early days, the eight of us traveled from city to city to conduct all our training face-to-face. There were no cell phones; there was no Zoom. Training occurred classroom by classroom. It required a lot of travel, but we were fueled by our enthusiasm to teach leaders to empower and motivate their people.

The Changing Landscape of Leadership Development

Today Blanchard has more than 200 employees, with offices around the world in more than 40 countries. While we still do classroom training and in-person workshops, our delivery methods now include online and virtual courses, assessments, coaching, and learning reinforcement tools.

Technology has changed the landscape of leadership development. I’m a big fan of the way it has expanded our ability to make a difference in the lives of others. Today we can provide our clients with the training that works best for them, whether it’s face-to-face peer interaction or online self-paced learning.

Back in the old days, I was traveling so often to do training that I’d fall asleep in the airport. I confess I used to nap stretched across the airport gate, to make sure I didn’t miss my flight! One of the things I appreciate most about technology is that it allows me to deliver talks around the world without having to get on an airplane. I also love being able to see the faces of our 200+ associates on Zoom during our all-employee meetings.

The methodology of leadership development has evolved, too. We have found that rather than teaching a single course, the most comprehensive way to build people’s knowledge is to provide them with learning journeys—a series of experiences and activities that develop their skills over weeks or even months. This allows people to digest the information as they practice new skills. Because they are learning over time, participants retain what they’ve learned and apply their new tools in the real world.

We’ve confirmed that what really turbocharges learning is when people go through learning journeys with their peers. Learning together, team members can solve real problems. Cohorts share a common language for tackling issues. Putting team members through a learning journey is one of the best ways to break up work silos, increase engagement, and build productive relationships.

Looking Toward the Future

I sometimes joke with audiences that the only one who really likes change is a baby with a dirty diaper. But change is a necessity, because we live in a rapidly changing world. That’s why our company has always been proactive about looking toward the future.

In the 1980s my wife, Margie—who was president of the company at that time—established Blanchard’s Office of the Future to stay on the leading edge of leadership development. Today we call it the Blanchard Innovation Lab. This is where our best minds conduct research and development to meet the evolving needs of the workforce.

Now more than ever, our planet needs great leaders. I’m excited about the potential of our industry to have a tremendous positive impact on the world. I can’t see the future, but I’m confident that Blanchard will be at the forefront of that effort as we head toward our 50th anniversary.

Table Talk, Anyone?

/ Ken Blanchard

Early in our marriage, Margie and I realized how enjoyable it was to have people come to our home for dinner. Sometimes we would invite just a few close friends we hadn’t seen for a while; sometimes we would host family members from out of town; and other times it was great fun introducing neighbors who had never met each other and watching them become friends. As our organization grew, we became great friends with dozens of our colleagues and the dinner parties became almost legendary.

The fare at these get-togethers—everything from sandwiches to backyard barbecues to holiday feasts—was never the important part. It was the camaraderie—the joy of seeing old friends and making new ones.

Margie and I noticed something interesting early on. When everyone was seated at a big table, several small conversations would be going on at the same time. People would talk to the person on their left and the person on their right and that was about it. There’s nothing wrong with that, but we really wanted people to leave the party knowing more about each other than they did before they arrived. We figured out the best way to bring everyone together. It was simple.

At one point during the meal, Margie would give the person seated next to her a jar that contained several small slips of paper. Each person was asked to reach in the jar, take a slip of paper (no peeking), and pass the jar to the next person. When everyone had a paper, they discovered a question they would read aloud and then answer. There was no pressure—people could answer their question in whatever order came up. Some would need time to think about their answer and some just needed a few folks to go ahead of them (or maybe a little wine) to build their confidence. 

Every so often we would change the rules and give everyone the same question to answer. Each of these occasions was a memorable time. The questions and answers were more than conversation starters—they were glimpses of people’s thoughts, feelings, and memories that we may have never heard otherwise. The stories told led to other stories, comments, jokes, food for thought, and always laughter. 

Here’s a few examples of the questions we had for our dinner guests:

  • What’s your best birthday memory?
  • What have you learned this year?
  • What has brought you joy this year?
  • What are you looking forward to?
  • What is something you know to be true?
  • If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
  • What do you want to do in the future that you haven’t done yet?

But wait—this isn’t just for adult dinner parties. Anyone with school-aged children at home will find that letting the kids pick questions from a jar on family dinner nights is far more interesting, informative, and fun than making them answer the same “How was school?” questions every day. They might even want to make up their own questions and do this activity with their friends.

It’s easy to find websites with lists of questions for just this purpose. We’ve done some of the work for you by providing these links:

Having a jar of table topics on hand is never a bad idea. It’s a great way for everyone at any table to get to know one another a bit better. You just never know what you will learn!