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. Posted in Change, Happiness, Health, Life, Love, Optimism, Passion

There is an old Chinese proverb:  "Tell me and I forget; Show me and I remember; Involve me and I understand."   The whole thing, I think, in dealing with change is how we can involve people. I think your intention should be to involve your people as much as you possibly can in how you are dealing with tough times. Just telling people something, and even trying to show them, doesn’t make as much difference as involving them. It doesn’t do good to do something to people; you have to do it with them. So involve people around you as you are dealing with different challenges. Life is a very special occasion if you realize you’re not alone. And as my friends Don Carew and Eunice Parisi-Carew have said for a long time, "None of us is as smart as all of us." Posted in Communication, Leadership, Life, Servant Leadership, Teamwork

I really like my friend B. J. Gallagher’s little book called Staying the Course.  B. J. says, "Our journey in life is about progress, not perfection."  (Boy, isn’t that true.) "It’s not about doing one thing 100 percent better, it’s about doing a number of things one percent better each day. Progress is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Most days we measure our progress in inches, not miles."  (That’s feedback, that’s the breakfast of champions!)  "What matters most is showing up for your life, whether you feel like it or not. Ask yourself, ‘What two or three things can I do today that would move me forward?’"  (That’s a very good question—what could you do?)  "You’d be amazed at how much distance you could cover by taking it in increments. The little things add up. The inches turn to miles and we string together our efforts like so many pearls. Before long, look what you have—a whole strand.  Ahhh—beautiful!"   So, what can you do today to keep going?  To keep making a difference for your customers and for each other?  Remember, things are about progress. One thing at a time. One small step can change your life. So take that step today. Posted in Communication, Happiness, Health, Leadership, Making Mistakes, Optimism, Passion

You know, I was recently listening to a tape by a wonderful young guy named Matthew Barnett, who heads up the Dream Center in Los Angeles. I’m on the board there. They have taken over an old hospital that was condemned, and they have refurbished the whole thing through money raised. They have 1400 people living there; people who are really learning how to turn their lives around. They also have a church, a temple, that was given to them and they run services there. Matthew is just an amazing guy. The essence of his talk was that, when he took over and started to plant the church and they had nothing, he was mainly focused on his own success and thinking about how many people he could get to come to church. And all of a sudden one day, when things were really going downhill for this church, he realized his problem—it had been all about him. And when he got that he was there to serve, and he went out into the streets and met with the people and talked and walked with them and helped and served them and all, slowly they began to trust him. And they started to come to him. And then he was able to, unbelievably, get control of this old hospital. He said when he turned the corner and really realized that life is about serving, not being served, that just made all the difference. Posted in Communication, Happiness, Health, Leadership, Life, Making Mistakes, Optimism, Passion, Profit, Servant Leadership

I found a wonderful quote about how doing well is a decision you make. It’s from Abraham Lincoln: "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  That’s really true. So you can choose how you are going to feel on any given day. So I hope today you choose to be happy. It seems to be a beautiful day and life is a very special occasion. So go for it. Posted in Happiness, Life, Optimism, Passion

A great comment I heard recently from our consultant, Tommy Moore, was: "There is no hall of fame for critics,"  Ha! I just love that. A lot of times, people are really good at taking shots at what other people are doing. That’s not really very helpful. Redirection is so much different than criticism:  Here’s something that has happened, here’s how it has impacted things, here’s what would really help next time, and I’m still excited about working with you.  That’s really kind of a nice thing.  But we also have to remember, if you do ever get criticism, that feedback is the breakfast of champions, as Rick Tate always used to say.  The best response to any kind of criticism, if you get it, is:  "Tell me more. Is there anyone else I should talk to? Oh, this is so helpful."  That will really blow people’s minds because you won’t be defensive or anything. You won’t get your ego in the way.  Don’t criticize yourself or other people. Give ‘em a hug. That’s what they could really use. Posted in Change, Conflict, Education, Feedback, Happiness, Health, Leadership, Making Mistakes, Optimism, Relationships, Servant Leadership, Teamwork

I’ve been reading a book by Mick Ukleja, who is one of my good buddies. It’s called The Ethics Challenge: Strengthening Your Integrity in a Greedy World. He says that one of the ways to keep your integrity high is to harness your moods. He says, interestingly, that a study of red-light violations shows a strong relationship between feeling under pressure and breaking the law. Forty-one percent of the people who go through red lights are doing it on their way to work or to school. But only nine percent of the red light violations were committed by people on vacation. He says, "A basic human frailty is that we allow our moods to master us rather than making sure we master them. You’re probably a lot like us. Sometimes we’ve known what to do, how to do it, and that we ought to do it, but we didn’t do it. You discover that your good intentions can be hijacked by your feelings. We speed through a red light, we cut off another driver, we procrastinate, we shut our minds to others because we’re in a bad mood. It’s easy, especially in pressure situations, to let our moods master us. So we really need to harness our moods. When you feel like you’re in a mood, go walk around the building. Go walk around your house. Get yourself back under control so that you can do what you know is right."  So don’t be moody. And if you are, recognize it and get it back under control. That’s a good thought for today. Posted in Communication, Conflict, Ethics, Happiness, Health, Leadership, Life, Making Mistakes, Optimism, Servant Leadership, Workplace Culture

We recently offered a workshop at our company called "The Business of You," that my friend Paul Brenner, who is an MBA and a Ph.D., was conducting with Bob Petrello, a longtime colleague of his. Their belief is that if you are self-aware, if you really understand yourself and your past, your needs, and your strengths and weaknesses, then that’s the beginning of being an effective human being. Then you add relationship awareness, which is about understanding the people around you and what makes them tick. Those are the two key things. Then, if you would really like to accomplish something, how do you do it with other people and get their commitment? It’s being relationally aware of them, and if you can do that, and you can get results. It’s so consistent with what we have been saying, which is that great leadership starts with understanding of self. I think it’s just a fascinating thing. Posted in Commitment, Communication, Education, Leadership, Making Mistakes, Optimism

I have a great saying for you today that my friend Pat Zigarmi gave me last year when I was recovering from my hip surgery.  This is a good one for all of us: "Peace: It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." How is that?  That’s really pretty powerful. Because with all the stress and the movement with the economy and everybody working hard and all, you have to find a way to stay peaceful in the midst of turmoil. That happens by quieting yourself periodically as you work through the day and know that you’re doing good things—you’re making a difference in people’s lives. Calm yourself down, take a few deep breaths, and recognize that peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. Have a great day. Posted in Change, Communication, Economy, Happiness, Health, Life, Optimism, Passion

This Saturday is "Make a Difference Day." From their website at http://www.usaweekend.com/diffday/index.html: Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others — a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Everyone can participate. Created by USA WEEKEND Magazine, Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. Millions have participated. In 2008, 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on that day, accomplishing thousands of projects in hundreds of towns. This is a really great project that helps bring people together and gets us all to do good things. I’d love to hear about some of the things you plan to do to make a difference… Leave a comment below and let everyone know what you will be doing. It doesn’t have to be only this Saturday. I think the main point is to make a difference everyday! Posted in Community, Happiness, Health, Leadership, Life, Relationships, Servant Leadership, Sustainable Leadership

I’ll never forget when, right after my dad died, I took my mom up to Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power. They watched that all the time in Florida and that was their favorite Sunday activity, watching the Hour of Power with Reverend Schuller. She had never been up there and this was the last service in the old chapel. Halfway through the service, everybody got up and walked into the new Crystal Cathedral, which is just absolutely beautiful. And the sermon from Reverend Schuller that day was "Every Ending has a New Beginning," which is a wonderful thought. So as the next season or the next year ends for us and other people, we have new beginnings. It was also amazing thinking about visualization. I was sitting there with my mom, and it’s a magnificent place, and I leaned over and I said, "Someday I’m going to be up there with Reverend Schuller." And this was 1979. And my mom said, "How are you going to do that?" and I said, "I don’t know." And then when The One Minute Manager came out in 1982, the next year, there I was up there with Reverend Schuller and my mom was out there in the cathedral, watching.  So life is a very special occasion. I visualize a wonderful fall for all of us. Posted in Happiness, Health, Leadership, Life, One Minute Manager, Optimism, Passion, Relationships, Servant Leadership

My wife Margie and I needed to fly to New York in early September, and we had made a plan that we weren’t going to fly on September 11. But you know, life is not always in your own hands. I learned that from Don Shula really clearly when he talked about the importance of being audible-ready. That means you have to have a plan, but when plans go awry, you have to be able to "call an audible." You have to go with the flow. So on September 10 when we were on our way to our first stop in Dallas, there were all kinds of problems with the Dallas airport, and we had to land in Oklahoma City because we had to get more gas. We eventually got to Dallas at about nine o’clock that night. Of course, our connecting flight to New York had already taken off. So we stayed at the airport hotel right there. The next morning, September 11, we flew safely to New York City. I think one of the things that makes you relax and be more easy in life is if you have an audible-ready attitude. Shula said that when you call an audible in football, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a plan. When things change, you just have to call a different play. You can’t get all uptight and ticked off because you didn’t get to go with your original plan. Some people at the airport were really bent out of shape because their plans were changed. They got themselves all out of whack about something they couldn’t control. So sometimes things change and you have to just go with the flow.

Charles Handy is an Irish writer and good friend who looks at himself as a "social philosopher." He has written wonderful things on leadership and organizations.  My wife Margie and I had dinner with him and his wife Elizabeth recently. They do something very interesting—they help people decide who they are and where they are going in life, and they put it into photographs. One of the processes was interesting and I would love you all to think about it:  What three roles do you have in life? One could be as a father or mother, one could be a salesperson, or a golfer, or whatever—I don’t know. And if you were going to design a picture, where would you place those roles in the room? What would be in the front of the picture, what would be in the middle, and what would be in the back? How you arrange these roles in the picture is really how you are rank-ordering them in your life. Then stop and really take a look at your present life and what you are spending your time on. Some people might put their role as a parent up front, and yet they are really not spending the time they should on that. One man had his role as an executive way in the back of his photo, and he had being a writer and a poet in the front. After he looked at it, he ended up quitting his job and concentrating on what he said he really loved to do—write poetry and also be with his family. So it’s interesting. What three roles do you have and where would you want to put them in a picture? I’m going to think about mine and I would love for you to think about your own.

One day last week, I suddenly realized that I was having a great day at work. I had so many different things going on that I lost track of time. That’s when you know you’re doing what you ought to be doing. Are you losing track of time?  If you’re watching your watch, and you’re thinking, "Thank God it’s Friday," or, "Oh no, it’s Monday," then talk to somebody in the company about switching jobs, because you’re probably in the wrong job. Remember, to be the best, you need to be passionate and excited about what you’re doing. That’s the way I was last week - I just lost track of time because I was having a ball. So you have a ball today. Love what you do, because when you do that, your customers are going to love you and you’re going to have a successful company.

I used to work with a fellow named Rick Tate, who talked about studying people who trained seeing-eye dogs. What they found was that they kick two kinds of dogs out of the program: The first kind were the ones who were completely obedient, who would do anything that the master said. That was really kind of surprising because you would have thought that the only ones they would kick out would be the ones who wouldn’t do anything that the master said. But they kicked out both kinds.  The only dogs they kept in the program were the dogs who would do what the master said unless it didn’t make sense. They kept the dogs that could think for themselves. I think that’s what we as leaders should always try to do—get everybody to think for themselves. Sure, we have some guidelines, here’s what our policy is and all, but use your brains. You can imagine a seeing-eye dog with his master at the street corner, and the master says, "Forward," and the dog looks up and there’s a car coming at sixty miles an hour. And the dog thinks, "This is gonna be a real bummer," as he leads his master out into the middle of the street. So we want to empower people to use their brains - train them to do what the boss wants, or what the policies are, unless it doesn’t make sense. That’s really allowing people to bring their brains to work. So don’t get hit by a car! Use your brain today.

You know, at this time of year you can really get yourself hassled. You know, running around, making sure you have every present bought and everything done and all that. And life can be a burden rather than a joy. This is supposed to be the season of joy and love, not of burden and hassle and all those kinds of things. It doesn’t mean that you don’t want to get things done and cross things off your list, but don’t make "list accomplishment" the goal of this holiday season. Make LOVE the goal of this holiday. If you couldn’t find the right present for someone - maybe you should sit down and write that person a note about how much you care about them and that you’ll send them something after the holidays. Stress is a major problem this time of year because people have so many "to do" lists. They forget why they’re doing it and get too much into the doing. Too often this time of year we’re human doings rather than human beings. I just wanted to check for you, as well as myself as I run around and try to get things done at the end of the year, that I’m a human being, not a human doing.  So reach out to anybody you talk to and wish them the greatest holiday, the greatest the greatest New Year, and just tell them you care about them. Maybe that’s what you ought to do. What I like to do this time of year, too, is to go through my phone list and call people I haven’t talked to in a while, and just tell them I care about them. What can you do to make this a joyous time, rather than a hassled time?  Remember, life is a very special occasion if you keep things in perspective.

This morning I was listening to Tony Robbins. I went and got a tape of Tony after being with him recently. He was saying a lot of people acquaint happiness with having no problems. He says that’s crazy. It reminded me of one of Norman Vincent Peale’s favorite stories. Norman was walking down the street in New York City when he ran into a friend of his and said, "How are you doing?"  Norman thought it was just a casual greeting, but the guy took it as an invitation and he lay down all of his problems at Norman’s feet. After about twenty minutes, he was finished and he said, "Norman, if you can solve all of my problems, I’ll give you a check for $5,000 to give to your favorite charity." Norman said that he had never turned down such a challenge, so he ruminated and he cogitated and he agitated and he came up with a solution. He said, "I was just at an organization the other day where people have no problems. Would you like to go there?" And his friend said, "That’s exactly where I want be." And Norman said, "I’ll take you there tomorrow. It’s called Woodlawn Cemetery. The only people I know who have no problems are dead."  Problems are a way of life, so if you equate your happiness to not having any problems, you’re going to be naïve for the rest of your life. Happy people know how to deal with problems. They don’t get bogged down with problems. They solve problems. They work on problems. But they don’t let problems take over their life. You know, sometimes you put a problem on your back and it drags you down. What you have to do is to say, "How do I solve this?"  Happiness and problems go together. So as Tony said, it’s your attitude—it’s what you bring to a problem—that can result in a positive solution, So if you have any problems today, great! You’ll probably have a happier day.

The other day, I had a really interesting conversation. I spent time with Robert Strock, who is an incredible psychiatrist, and my friend Phil Hodges. One of the things we talked about that was fascinating was the theory that anger really comes from hidden sadness. If somebody is upset with you, rather than coming back with anger and being upset as well, try this: Quiet yourself, get out your servant heart, and see if you can find out what’s really causing that energy. It’s like peeling back an onion. So this holiday season, with everybody running around and getting stressed, if somebody gets upset, just quiet yourself and ask if there is anything you can do to help. Just be there for the person and really try to find out where the sadness is coming from. Life is really very interesting if we really take time to get to know each other and be with each other.  So hug somebody this weekend and tell them you love them. Take care, and have a Merry Christmas!

You know, I think sometimes you really can make your dreams come true. Margie has often said, "A goal is a dream with a deadline." As you think of your New Year’s resolutions, go ahead and dream about the person you want to be or the thing you want to do. When you start to send energy out to dream, people just may show up in your life to help you accomplish it. That’s what happened when Spencer Johnson and I wrote The One Minute Manager. In May 1982, the book was coming out and in September, Spencer Johnson and I met at the La Jolla Cove. We had The New York Times book review section and a bottle of champagne, and we set our goals and our dreams for this book. We dreamed that we would be able to sell 500,000 copies—no business book had ever sold that many—and we dreamed that it would be on The New York Times bestseller list for six months. We celebrated, we clicked the glasses as we were sitting there with the bestseller list, and it was just really a fun time. This was on a Sunday. On Monday I was getting on a plane in San Diego going to Chicago, and I introduced myself to the guy sitting next to me in First Class. I said, "What do you do?" and he said, "I’m a regional sales manager for B. Dalton." I said, "You sell books?" and he said, "Sure, we have 750 stores."  And I started talking to this guy and I designed a whole strategy to get to the business and economic buyers of B. Dalton and Waldenbooks and all the bookstores. And I said to this guy, "You weren’t supposed to be sitting here, were you?" and he said, "How did you know that? They goofed up my ticket and at the last minute I was upgraded to First Class." I said, "You had no choice. I sucked you into this seat with the energy from my dream and our vision about this book."  So dream big in 2010! And let other people know what your dream is so that maybe they can help it come true. Have a wonderful dreaming year and let’s see what kind of things you can accomplish at work and at home and in the community. Be the best you can be in 2010.

You know, one of the questions I keep on getting is, "Are leaders born or made?"  And my response is, "Both."  I know some people who are just born leaders. They just show that quality that makes people want to follow them, that magnetism—some have it from the time they are young kids. But I also feel that leaders can be made. People can learn. That’s what our business is all about. And people should always keep trying to learn more, trying to get better, even those who are born leaders. So I tell people that leaders are born and made. And of course, our whole business is based on the belief that we can help people become better leaders. I think that’s especially true if they keep learning interesting, exciting new things. So always be a learner. I’m absolutely convinced. That’s our #4 value at The Ken Blanchard Companies, and it’s so important—learning. When you stop learning, lie down, because it’s over. Take care! Have a great learning day.

You know, my son Scott gives a presentation called "If You’re Talking, You’re Losing," which is a really powerful thing. I think we all talk first and listen second. You know that saying about how if God wanted us to speak more than listen he would have given us two mouths—but he gave us two ears. I heard a wonderful thing recently, too: "Lead with your ears." This is a thing I really need to learn. The problem with some of us is that we get so excited, and we’re so into what we’re doing, that when people talk to us the first thing we do is think about a response. We think about what we’re going to say next. I think I do that too often. So if I’m ever with you and I’m talking too much, just say to me very gently, "Ken—Shut your mouth and use your ears!"  Wouldn’t it be neat if we could all feel free to do that with each other?  If we would listen, we’d probably learn a lot more. So my thought today for myself and probably all of us is: Listen more and speak less. And remember when people say things, even if it sounds like it’s going to be a problem if you do something with what they say, separate out listening from deciding what you’re going to do. Listen first and decide second.  Listen, listen, listen.

The US Senate  on  December 22, 2010  passed  bill - S.4053 - reauthorizing SBIR for EIGHT years Given that everyone expects the 110th Congress to disband in hours, the House MUST  bring up this bill for consideration and passage or the SBIR program is at great risk I would hope this great program would have a higher priority, but better late than never Bill - S.4053 Highlights are below Compromise Highlights of the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Bill (as of 12/16/10) Industry support from the Small Business Technology Coalition and BIO: Makes firms majority owned and controlled by multiple venture capital firms eligible for up to 25 percent of the SBIR funds at NIH, NSF, and DoE and up to 15 percent of the funds at the other eight agencies; Reauthorizes the programs for 8 years, retaining Dr. Coburn’s amendment, instead of 14 years as adopted by the Committee; Increases the SBIR program allocation by one percent, from 2.5 to 3.5 percent, at all agencies, including the NIH, spread out over ten years; Increases the STTR program allocation from 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent over six years; Allows for up to 3 percent of the SBIR allocation for administrative, oversight and processing costs if there is an allocation increase. Increases the award guidelines for SBIR and STTR awards from $100,000 to $150,000 for Phase I and from $750,000 to $1 million for Phase II; Limits award increases to 50 percent ($225,000 for Phase I, $1.5 million for Phase II) to address "jumbo" awards that have greatly exceeded the guidelines for Phase I and Phase II and cut out other Annual increases for inflation to keep award levels realistic for r&d costs. Reauthorizes and enhances the Federal and State Technology Partnership program, or FAST program and the Rural Outreach Program, programs that have been very effective in increasing the participation of small business in federal research and development and the start-up of high-tech firms; Streamlines and improves data collection and reporting requirements for the SBIR and STTR programs, including developing metrics for annual evaluations by each participating agency, as reflected in the amendment by Dr. Coburn; For oversight and fraud prevention, mandates amendment of the SBIR/STTR Policy Directives to include specific measures to prevent waste, fraud and abuse; requires inspectors general of participating federal agencies to establish fraud detection measures, coordinate fraud related information sharing between agencies, and provide fraud prevention related education and training to agencies administering the program; and strengthens the SBA’s existing Tech-Net Database to help IGs combat cases of waste, fraud and abuse.

Do you know someone who is an energizer? When somebody is an energizer, when they come in the room, energy starts to increase. People’s energy picks up. Do you know other people who, when they come in, the energy just gets sucked out of the room? Ha!  You know, there are people like that. Things just seem down when they come around. And those are the kind of people that you should be nice to, and love them, but don’t hang around them. The question is: Are you an energizer? Does people’s energy increase when you’re with them? When you come home, does the energy pick up or are you the wet blanket that just slinks in? I think it’s so important that you be an energizer and you gather people around you who pick up your energy. Because what really makes organizations great, and families great, is positive energy. And it takes energizers around people to make the energy come out in them, too. So that’s my message today. Be an energizer. When you come in a room, light it up! Make something happen. You don’t have to be an extrovert to do that. Just by your interest and your energy in terms of what you do can make a difference, people can see that, even if you aren’t being Mr. or Ms. Exuberant. Life is about positive energy. So energize people! Energize yourself!

I was recently reviewing an old concept that I learned years ago called "The ABCs of Personal Power:" A stands for Activating Event. It’s anything that can happen to you. It can be good, it can be bad, or whatever. Things will happen. You get praise, you get a reprimand, you get promoted, you lose a job, your house burns down - you know, whatever. It’s something that happens to you in life. B stands for your Belief system. That’s where you store your beliefs about yourself, about other people, and about life. C is Consequence. What do you do about what happens to you? We can never control the activating events. Good and bad will happen to you in life. Things show up. The only thing you can control is your belief system—what do you do with what happens? I remember one time when I was a kid, walking with a friend in the woods when a snake came crawling across the path. I’m not a big fan of snakes, so I was about ready to turn around and run. And my friend said, "Don’t run! Snakes are beautiful—look at this thing!" And he bent down and picked up the snake. It was the same activating event from a different belief system. That’s the way it is in life. The same event happening to two different people gets programmed a different way. What do you do when something happens to you? Remember—it’s your belief system that will drive your life. You can’t control what happens to you but you have complete control over what you do about it.