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…
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…
In a recent Legendary Service course, one of my participants—we’ll call him Chad—wondered aloud if leaders ever adhered to the same standards they continually ask of their service providers. When asked for an example of what he meant by this, he said, “Well … we are asked to acknowledge the customer, get details about the…
People are stuck in place, not particularly happy with the way things are, but staying put because they don’t have any better options. It’s a “quit and stay” mentality that has been hard for leaders to address. The tools they’ve used in the past to motivate performance—pay raises, promotions, etc.—are no longer available. Instead of…
It’s the start of a new year and a great time to take stock of where you are and where you are going as a leader. The ability to think clearly and make the best decisions is a key part of any leader’s role. Yet, many leaders tend to fall into bad thinking patterns—especially after…
The average organization is losing an amount equal to $1 million dollars each year that better leadership practices could prevent according to recent white paper from The Ken Blanchard Companies. So why isn’t there a greater sense of urgency to change things? Of course, it’s different in different organizations, but here is one of the…
Join The Ken Blanchard Companies for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern). Madeleine Homan-Blanchard, coauthor of Coaching in Organizations and Leading at a Higher Level will be discussing three strategies for getting people off to a fast start in a new role in a special presentation of On-Boarding:…
Organizations around the world have been forced to change the way they do business. The worldwide recession, downsized workforces, and value-conscious customers have created a new set of expectations. A new white paper from The Ken Blanchard Companies identifies key strategies for leading successfully in the new business reality. Here are four of my favorites…
Even under the best of circumstances, creating a business plan and getting others to actually buy into it is a difficult task. Don’t make things three times as hard by trying to do everything yourself. That’s the advice from Jesse Stoner in a recent article on Creating a Vision Statement that Works. Stoner explains that…
During the next couple of weeks, executives at hundreds of thousands of organizations around the world will be getting together to review their past year’s performance and to make plans for the coming year. Many will make a common mistake during the planning process that will greatly reduce the amount of alignment and buy-in they…