Change

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.

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.

Being the Best You Can Be

/ Ken Blanchard / 2 Comments

I had a real treat when I recently got to spend some time with Henry Blackaby and his son, Richard. Henry’s been a really important mentor to me. He’s a wonderful theologian and philosopher of life.

One of the things I think is relevant to all of us is when they talked a little bit about revival. A lot of people complain about, you know, “My organization has this problem,” or “My church has this problem,” or “My child has this problem.” They say that revival, or change, really starts with you—that whole thing that Gandhi said, you know, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  So if something isn’t going well in your department, the real question is: How can you be different? How can you be a catalyst for change rather than a complainer about what’s not going well? What can you do to change yourself?

A man came to Henry and asked if he would pray that his son would be in better shape and things would be better. He said to the man, “That’s really nice that you’re praying for your son, but I think what your son needs is a better father.” So what you need to do is focus on what you can do to change yourself so that you can help revise or help change somebody else or another organization. I think that’s a wonderful thing, rather than complaining. What are you going to do to change yourself? How can you be a better person, and in the process maybe influence other people that are limiting your department or your family from being their best? Focus on yourself.

I’m constantly looking at how I can be a better person who helps people be the best they can possibly be, and organizations be the best they can be. So as I always say in sessions, don’t wish somebody else was here at this training. Don’t miss it yourself, because there are people who are glad you’re here. I’m glad I’m learning and I hope you are too. I still need a lot of improvement and I’ll bet you do too.

Starting to Make a New Ending

/ Ken Blanchard

I got up really early a few times in the last month to do TV shows with Garry Ridge about our book Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A. I was also up early doing radio shows all over the country for Who Killed Change?

You might say, well, what is this all doing besides selling books?  I think the two big areas where we can really start to help our companies in tough times is, first, how they can get the best kind of performance out of their people. The whole concept of Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A is so helpful in these times so people know what an “A” looks like and what they need to do to help their company. We’re going to be putting in a whole version of that system in our company so we can all get a clearer sense of what an “A” is for us. I think we can make some real interventions in that and help change the way performance evaluations are done. In terms of Who Killed Change? I think one of the biggest issues for companies is how to implement change in a way that sticks and makes a difference—because we are in a constant flux of change. I don’t think these two things are just about books; I think they are really about opportunities for companies to survive and thrive in tough times.

I got a wonderful quote in the mail the other day from Paul Kreider, who has been with Hershey’s Chocolate for thirty years: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anybody can start today and make a new ending.” That’s really interesting, you know. You can’t redo the past, but starting today, you can say, “What am I going to do differently today to get a different ending at the end of this week, the end of the year, the end of my life?”  I just love that quote. So today’s the beginning of the rest of your life. How are you going to get a new ending for what you’re doing now?