Goals

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!

Are You Merely Interested in Being a Trusted Servant Leader—or Are You Committed?

/ Ken Blanchard

Most of us can remember a time when we had every intention of accomplishing a specific goal, but didn’t follow through. Perhaps we were beginning to get serious about joining a group, learning a skill, or improving ourselves in some way—but when it came time to act on the idea, for some reason we lost interest.

My good friend Art Turock taught me that this behavior usually is the result of not knowing the difference between interest and commitment. We were very interested in the idea, but not committed enough to put it into action. We didn’t keep our commitment to our commitment.

Through the years I’ve had all kinds of people tell me they have learned a lot from my books. Of course, I am always grateful to hear that. But when I ask leaders how they have applied some of the Simple Truths they’ve learned from me, many can’t come up with an example. It surprises me how some people can read a book, and another book, and then another without actually using anything they are learning from those books. They are interested in learning about leadership, but not committed to putting their learning into action. I think that’s a shame. After all, effective leadership is about employing commonsense leadership principles that will help your people and your organization thrive.

So how can commonsense leadership become common practice?

In an effort to resolve this age-old question, in 2022 my coauthor Randy Conley and I published Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust. We wanted to show leaders how to incorporate simple but essential principles into their leadership styles. We were delighted when we started hearing stories from readers telling us about the positive differences the book was making in their leadership. What a joy to realize that leaders everywhere were beginning to not only commit to our Simple Truths of servant leadership and trust in principle, but also put them into action at work.

Feeling the need to help leaders embed the information even more deeply, Randy and I decided to take the next step. The result is Simple Truths of Leadership Playbook: A 52-Week Game Plan for Becoming a Trusted Servant Leader. It’s a structured workbook that allows leaders to craft their approach to leadership one week at a time. When a leader reflects on each of the 52 Simple Truths, responds to the prompts in their own words, and does the activities, that’s half the work. The other half is the call to action—the “Try it This Week” section—which is all about the leader implementing the lessons into their leadership.

Effective leaders are committed to learning—and the best leaders apply what they learn to their leadership. Any leader who reads Simple Truths of Leadership Playbook can acquire the practical skills and experience they need to put commonsense leadership into practice and reach their goal of becoming a trusted servant leader. Now that’s what I call keeping your commitment to your commitment!

Summer’s Almost Over—Time to Look Ahead

/ Ken Blanchard

In September, a lot of people get a melancholy feeling. Summer will soon be behind us. The weather will cool down, kids will be back in school, and leaves will start falling. Back to the old routine. But I’d rather look at this time of year another way—with hope and anticipation for what lies ahead.

I love the saying every ending has a new beginning. I always see September as a new beginning. Because I grew up in the K-12 public school system, completed a few years of college, and then taught at universities for more than a decade, I came to think of September as the start of a new year. No matter what had happened before—how many teachers or students I had annoyed, problems I’d had, or mistakes I had made—I gave myself a clean slate in September. The classrooms opened and the year began. I kind of translated that into my life; so to me, September—not January—feels like the beginning of the year.

The first weekend in September is Labor Day weekend in the U.S.—the last holiday of summer. It is dedicated to the efforts of everyone in the workforce who contributes to the greater good in our society. For many people, Labor Day is a day off from work, perfect for spending leisure time together with family and friends having a picnic or barbecue, going to the pool or the beach or the lake, or observing other traditions. I find it interesting that most countries have a holiday like this that celebrates working people. Why does this holiday exist all over the world? I think it’s because people who work hard for their families, employers, and customers deserve it! So put your right hand on your left shoulder and your left hand on your right shoulder and give yourself a hug—because your work is important and you’ve earned a special day, no matter who or where you are.

Time for me to get pumped up about what’s coming my way this fall—such a lot of things to look forward to!

  • First of all, there’s always more thought leadership, innovative learning solutions, and nonstop inspiration coming from the brilliant folks in the Blanchard organization, led by our talented leadership team. Talk about a hardworking group of people!
  • I’m eager to continue working with my son, Scott, on our upcoming book. Tentatively titled It’s Always the Leader, the book will explore Scott’s fresh perspectives on leadership. It’s a joy to work alongside him, exploring a topic that has such significance in both our lives.
  • I can’t wait to see this year’s theme for Halloween (our favorite company holiday) and to learn what’s cooking for Thanksgiving (my favorite family holiday).
  • I’m also really looking forward to the first week of December and the release of my new book with Randy Conley, Simple Truths of Leadership Playbook. It’s a structured workbook that takes a deep dive into our 52 lessons from Simple Truths of Leadership, challenging readers with thought-provoking questions, assessments, and other activities to help them apply what they’ve learned. Promoting a new book is joyful for me because it means doing webinars, podcasts, and other fun events.

Remember, life is a very special occasion—so don’t fret about summer coming to an end. Make your own list of work activities, personal celebrations, and important events coming up in the next few months. Every ending is a new beginning—and this fall is going to be fabulous!

Time to Revisit Your Resolution?

/ Ken Blanchard

I just learned there is a day every year called National Quitters Day. It’s the second Friday in January (we just missed it). On that day, 80% of people who have made a New Year’s resolution have given it up. Think about that—it’s such a sure thing, there’s actually a day to commemorate it!

I have a theory about why this interesting behavior—making a New Year’s resolution only to break it—keeps happening year after year. And I believe the answer to the problem is in our company’s flagship leadership training program, SLII®. SLII® teaches leaders how to empower their people to succeed by offering the right amount of direction and support needed on specific tasks or goals. (More about SLII®, and my theory, as we go along.)

So let’s say you made a resolution that this year you would eat healthy and exercise every day. You were excited about getting healthier, you felt sure you could make it happen, but you really didn’t know much about what you were getting yourself into. (NOTE: In SLII® terminology, when it came to your goal of leading a healthy lifestyle, at this point you were at a stage of development known as Enthusiastic Beginner.)

On January 1 you got up and walked around your neighborhood. As you walked, you thought about all the healthy food you had stocked in your kitchen. When you got home, you made yourself a tasty egg white omelet. You walked more and ate healthy the rest of the week. Feeling triumphant, you gave yourself a one-minute praising. Good on me! I won’t have any problem sticking to this program—I’ll just keep doing this every day. This is fabulous!

A few days later, the weather was cold and cloudy. You decided to skip your walk. What if it snows? And I can’t find my gloves. I’ll just stay inside. At lunch you didn’t feel like eating another salad, so you grabbed the peanut butter and made a sandwich. No biggie, peanut butter has protein and the jam is made with fruit. In the middle of running errands the next day, you had some hunger pangs so you drove through a fast food place for a quick burger and fries. I deserve a treat—and it’s still good because I got a diet soda when I really wanted a milkshake!

But later you felt guilty. The next day you fell a bit further behind. You were worried that reaching your goal was not going to be as easy as you thought. And it was clear you were no longer enjoying the journey. You decided it might be best to just quit. (NOTE: These thoughts and feelings regarding your goal of leading a healthy lifestyle signaled that you had now entered the SLII® developmental stage known as Disillusioned Learner.)

So here’s where my theory comes in. My guess is that National Quitters Day would have happened right around this point in the story. Why? Because everyone who made a resolution on January 1 had been attempting to move toward achieving that goal and was going through the same thing. This is the discouraging, but predictable, stage when people begin to question their commitment to their goal. And with a vague goal, no way of knowing what’s ahead in their journey, and no one to give them direction or support, it makes sense that most people would choose to walk away now if it were their choice to make.

You may be going through these feelings about your resolution right now. It is true that getting through this phase of any goal or task isn’t easy—but it is achievable. These three tips will make the difference:  

  1. Rewrite your resolution/goal to make it SMART: Specific, Motivating, Attainable, Relevant, and Trackable. SMART goals give you a clear target to aim for.
  2. Understand the predictable development level curve we all go through when learning a new task or embarking on a new goal: from Enthusiastic Beginner (needs specific direction) to Disillusioned Learner (needs direction and some support) to Capable, but Cautious, Contributor (needs support)to Self-Reliant Achiever (needs little direction or support). Follow the curve and don’t give up!
  3. Most important: Don’t go it alone. Ask for help from knowledgeable friends. Everyone working on a goal or task needs accountability partners and cheerleaders to connect with on a regular basis. Ask them to check in with you to ensure you are making progress on your goal. Let them know what you need in terms of direction and support on the way to goal achievement.

The end of the story? After rewriting your resolution to make it a SMART goal, learning what to expect along the development curve on the way to achieving your goal, and enlisting friends to encourage, support, and cheer you on, you are well on your way to the healthy lifestyle you designed for yourself!  Congratulations and Happy 2023!