Author: Ken Blanchard

Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions

/ Ken Blanchard / 4 Comments

You know you’ve heard me talk a number of times about “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” This is a saying that Rick Tate, who used to be a consulting partner with our company, often said. People in sales constantly get feedback. They know how well they are doing by whether it’s a “yes” or a “no.”  Other people with different jobs don’t get feedback as much as they want. That’s why it’s so important for us to reach out and thank people—particularly people who are in jobs where they can’t always count what they do in terms of numbers or anything like that. Because it really does feel good. I remember as a young man, cutting the grass—that was always a great pleasure—and then sitting up on the porch, sipping a beer and looking out to see what I had done. That’s immediate feedback.

So life is a special occasion, but it’s also nice to have something to do once in a while where you get feedback on results. So continue today to reach out and thank other people for the work they do—give them some feedback so they can feel good. Remember, people who feel good about themselves produce good results, as well as people who produce good results feel good about themselves. It’s all based on feedback.

Nature’s Beauty

/ Ken Blanchard / 3 Comments

Have you seen the moon recently? It was absolutely incredible. And last night when the sun was about to set, we went out on the deck and watched the sun set. It was just unbelievable. I was just struck by all the fabulous things that are free—Looking at the moon at night, a sunset, going over to the beach and sitting and watching the waves, or sitting down and enjoying the view of the mountains and hills, or walking through the woods and enjoying the flowers. Hearing the cry of a newborn baby—just wonderful, wonderful things that really are free.

Rabbi Kushner, who wrote When Bad Things Happen to Good People, wrote a wonderful book called Why God? In that book he tells about, when the first astronaut went up, everybody in the country had their TV on and was watching. And when the second astronaut went up, you watched if you were home but you didn’t if you weren’t. And with the third, they had him play golf on the moon for anybody to pay attention. He said that we get tired of things made by man, but we never get tired of a babbling brook, a sunset, or those kinds of things. So next weekend, no matter what’s happening around you, you can always take a walk and look at the beauty of nature, and know that things are all right in that realm and they are free for all of us.

Lean Into Life

/ Ken Blanchard / 5 Comments

I was fortunate enough to see Betsy Myers deliver a keynote recently. Betsy said a really interesting thing that I think is worth sharing with you all. She said that some people start from a place of “yes” and the result they get is adventure. Some people start from a place of “no” and the result they attain is safety. She said that there seem to be more naysayers in the world than “yes”-sayers. She has this wonderful concept about leaning into life—you know, really going after your life. She was telling this audience of government workers how, if you’re bored, if you’re not having any fun, if you’re not passionate about what you are doing, then change your job. Find something that brings out the best in you. Find something that makes you passionate about things. I thought that was really good. I love that idea about leaning into life. What are you doing today? Are you passionate? Are you excited about what you’re doing? If you’re not, let’s see if you can find another spot where you can get excited and passionate. Life is a very special occasion and you don’t get a lot out of it if you back off of life. You get a lot if you lean into it. So take care of yourself. Have a great day. And remember, we need all support and encouragement.

Smile and Move

/ Ken Blanchard / 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago I ran into a guy by the name of Stan Parker. An interesting guy. He has a new little tiny book called Smile and Move: A Reminder to Happily Serve.  Here’s what he says:

How to smile:  Wake up. Show others you care by giving attention to their needs. Be thankful. The opportunity to serve is a gift, not an entitlement.  Be approachable. We’re at each other’s service and contact is where it starts. Complain less. We have work to do. Smile. Really. It’s where pleasantness begins.

How to move:  Start early and go long. Get lost in your service to others. Exceed expectations. Dismiss mediocrity. Expect more from yourself. Have a sense of urgency. Predict and pre-sweat the details for others. Be resourceful and resilient. Service is about giving someone what they need, no matter what.

So I kind of like that: A Reminder to Happily Serve. And I love the quote he has in the back from Ralph Waldo Emerson:  “Write it in your heart that every day is the best day of the year.”  I hope you’re having a really fabulous day. Thanks for being happy. It’s a special occasion.

Grand Canyon University

/ Ken Blanchard / 1 Comment

I was recently at Grand Canyon University in a strategic planning meeting with several different organizations, as this university moves forward in their drive to be excellent both online and on their campus. One of the things I learned is that within the year, all the online students at GCU will not have any textbooks they have to hold in their hands—all of their books will be available online. They’re contacting all the textbook companies and doing this. There are so many interesting changes because of technology happening, and how you offer information and what you do with it and all. It’s so great to have a university working with a publishing company and publishing their own materials and having access to students in ways we never even thought about. I remember the first computer when I was growing up was the calculator, and that was a big deal. Then when I was a doctoral student, we finally got a mainline IBM computer that was two stories high with cards you had to punch to put your data in. And now, I can’t even pronounce all these things—you can Twitter, and you can doddle, and you can dabble—ha! And you can find out everything online. I mean, the kids going to school now, when they write their papers they don’t go to an encyclopedia, they go online and chat and talk with each other. So we need to get up to speed with all this technology. So if you’re an “old fogey” mentality like me, forget it! You have to get with it! Change is upon us—change is with us. Life is a very special occasion—it just never happens to stay the same. So have a great day and have fun learning in all kinds of new ways.