Competition and Innovation—Are you a fear-based organization?

Senior leaders play an important role in setting the cultural tone in their organizations.  Without a shift in thinking at the top of an organization, it is almost impossible to change an organization’s culture. In a new article for Fast Company online, Scott and Ken Blanchard share a story and discuss the results of a study…

Leverage the Gift of Diversity–4 ways to be a learner with everyone you meet

Trying to keep your internal (employees) and external customers coming back? Maybe it’s time to engage diversity, embrace new and innovative ideas from all of your customers, and be a learner with everyone you meet. Last week I was with a client teaching a session on the topic of Legendary Service.  There were people in…

Join us for today’s webinar: A Closer Look at the New Science of Motivation

. Join best-selling business author Susan Fowler for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern). In a special presentation on A Closer Look at the New Science of Motivation Fowler will be sharing some of the research underlying Blanchard’s new Optimal Motivation program and workshops.  Participants will explore three…

Innovators—3 ways to invite others to your next big idea

Innovation requires passion.  It takes a lot of energy to develop an idea and implement it successfully in an organization.  Fortunately, innovators have passion in abundance. Innovation also requires collaboration.  Very few ideas can be successfully implemented without the cooperation and buy-in of others.  Unfortunately, innovators often struggle in this area–especially if they fall in…

Does your company culture resemble this classic arcade game?

The way an organization responds to mistakes tells you a lot about its corporate culture.  In an article on innovation for Fast Company, Scott and Ken Blanchard look at the different responses they’ve seen in working with organizations. Some organizations see mistakes as opportunities to learn.  These are the organizations that create innovative environments where…

How do you deal with emotion at work?

Scott Blanchard, principal and executive vice president at The Ken Blanchard Companies calls it the new “F” word—feelings.  And it is something that managers and organizations struggle with on a regular basis.  Should you ask people to repress feelings and “check them at the door” or should you encourage people to bring their entire selves…

Most employees performing significantly below their potential—but does anyone care?

Leadership development training is a smart, prudent investment that drives economic value and bottom line results. But if senior executives don’t care about development then—guess what—development will not be a priority in the company. That’s what Scott Blanchard, principal and EVP with The Ken Blanchard Companies, found out the hard way when his company lost…

The Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make and How to Avoid Them

Join best-selling author and consultant Chris Edmonds for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern). Chris will be exploring three actionable steps leaders can take to self-diagnose, assess, and change unwanted behaviors in a special presentation on The Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make and How to Avoid Them. The webinar…

One time you shouldn’t treat co-workers like family

One of the most overlooked gaps in well-meaning organizations is recognizing the need to treat internal customers even BETTER than external customers—at least initially.  Within an organization, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking of your fellow employee as your family that you can treat however you want because “they have to love…