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A Tribute to Ken BlanchardBy: Joseph W. Norman
Last Friday, I had the opportunity to see Dr. Ken Blanchard speak at the RIT Inn and Conference Center. Ken, a man often referred to as insightful and compassionate, is considered one of the world’s most prolific authors on management. His best selling book, The One Minute Manager, is a quintessential text for any manager’s library. I was fortunate enough to listen to Ken’s thoughts on his new book, The One Minute Entrepreneur. His talk was truly tremendous! In addition, I had a chance to speak to Ken afterwards and get my pre-released copy of The One Minute Entrepreneur signed!
The following is compiled information about Ken and notes from his talk in Rochester.
From the Ken Blanchard company website;
“Ken is Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Blanchard, founded in 1979 in San Diego, California. He is also a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees. Ken is cofounder of The Center for FaithWalk Leadership, which is dedicated to helping leaders walk their talk in the marketplace.
Ken has received many awards and honors for his contributions in the fields of management, leadership and speaking. The National Speakers Association awarded him its highest honor, the "Council of Peers Award of Excellence." He was inducted into the HRD Hall of Fame by Training magazine and Lakewood Conferences, and he received the Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International. And in 2004 Ken was awarded with The Thought Leadership Award for continued support of work-related learning and performance by ISA—The Association of Learning Providers.”
From his Rochester talk on leadership and entrepreneurship:
VIP Fact Sheet:
-Wife, Margie, was born in Rochester, New York. Although the couple lives in San Diego, California, they continue to consider Upstate New York home.
-Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester is one of his top five favorite golf courses.
-The couple has a summer home in Skaneateles, New York
What Ken thinks creates your self worth?
1-Fate
2-Early childhood interactions with adults
3-Failures
4-Perceptions of the first three
Ken believes the last principle is the most important.
Success stems from mastering the “Four P’s”
1-Passion
2-Profit
3-People
4-Priorities
Passion:
Do you really love what you’re doing? You want to be able to lose track of time with your “work.” There should be a difference between “having” to do something and “getting” to do it. That is passion.
Profit:
If you don’t make money then it is a hobby. The true test of purpose is getting paid. It is not dirty to make money. Profit is the applause you get from taking care of your customers and motivating your people.
People:
You’ve got to be a servant leader. This is the key determinant to managing the people game. There are two parts to that concept. 1) Visionary, or the strategic leadership, and, 2) Implementation, or the operational leadership. You have to do the right things, right.
Ken believes that most companies do not have a compelling enough vision statement. You need to define your vision in a creative and succinct way. For example, Disney is in the happiness business. Everything they do revolves around that. What is your picture for the future?
Set the vision and then turn the pyramid upside down to put the people closest to the customers on top. One person can change the whole game!
Priorities:
If something is important in your life, put structure to it. For legendary NFL football coach, Tony Dungee, his priorities are, 1) God, 2) His wife, 3) His children, and, 4) His job.
There needs to be a set of operating values, in order of importance that everybody in the organization needs to know.
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Joseph W. Norman, resides in Geneseo, NY, and is Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of The VIP Profiles. He offers lectures and keynote talks on leadership, personal, and professional development and is always up for a business lunch.
Joseph can be reached at Norms1523@gmail.com or 607.743.8569.
