5 comments about Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations.

1. I've been reading Dr. Ken Blanchard since The One Minute Manager came out. Perhaps you have been, too. While I haven't read all of his collaborations, I've usually read the books where the title seemed relevant to my interests.
   
   More than once, I've wondered how I should fit all the pieces of his views on leadership into one finished jigsaw puzzle. Clearly, the views are humanistic, idealistic and inspiring. But how do we combine them all? My confusion was eliminated by reading Leading at a Higher Level which does an excellent job of integrating three decades worth of writing into one coherent set of ideas and directions for implementation.
   
   If you tried to boil down this book into one idea, it's that of having the right target . . . what Dr. Blanchard and his partners and associates call the triple bottom line -- being the provider of choice for customers, the employer of choice for employees, and the investment of choice for investors. I'm not inclined to quibble, but in the rest of the book it's clear that other stakeholders are supposed to be considered (people who use the offerings, partners, the community, suppliers, and those affected by the company). I wonder if the triple bottom line doesn't need to be expanded to have more bottom lines.
   
   Here's how the book is organized:
   
   I. Set Your Sights on the Right Target and Vision
   
   1. Measuring leadership performance -- the HPO SCORES model which is:
   
   a. Shared information and open communications
   b. Compelling vision
   c. Ongoing learning
   d. Relentless focus on customer results
   e. Energizing systems and structures (ways of getting things done that fit with the vision)
   f. Shared power and high involvement
   
   As you can see, this is a highly participative concept of leadership where everyone has a role.
   
   2. The Power of Vision
   
   II. Treat Your Customers Right (Raving Fans created by Gung Ho people)
   
   III. Treat Your People Right (Direct, Coach, Support, or Delegate depending on how prepared your people are for the task, and use one minute praisings and redirections and apologies)
   
   IV. Have the Right Kind of Leadership (Servant leadership and diagnosing your own leadership perspective and style)
   
   The bulk of the book is focused on the third topic, treat your people right, which is Dr. Blanchard's key operating philosophy.
   
   The most interesting aspect of the book for me, however, was Dr. Blanchard's occasional revision of his philosophy. For instance, I could never understand why Dr. Johnson and he emphasized one-minute reprimands as much as one-minute praisings in The One Minute Manager. Dr. Blanchard makes a long-needed shift in that view to point out that one-minute redirections and one-minute apologies are needed much more often than one-minute reprimands.
   
   Who will gain the most from this book? Someone who wants to see a process spelled out that can be used for being a humanistic leader and who hasn't read many books on the subject. If you've already read everything that's ever been written and feel comfortable with how Dr. Blanchard's many books fit together in application, you probably won't gain much additional knowledge from this book. But if you would like a friendly review of books you've enjoyed, you'll find the reading to be a pleasant experience. I enjoyed learning more about Dr. Blanchard's various colleagues.
   
   If you haven't read anything by Ken Blanchard, just buy and read this book. It tells you everything you need to know about the other books. You could then expand your appreciation selectively by reading the fables that go with those books where you want to have a deeper understanding . . . by adding a story to go with the leadership lessons.
   
   Be the leader you would like to have! That's the advice of Norman Schwarzkopf. I'm sure he would approve of this book.



2. Management expert Ken Blanchard has spent more than 25 years helping individuals and organizations become and stay great. Known for his co-authorship of The One Minute Manager, for the first time Blanchard combines his collective wisdom to show managers and leaders zero in on the right target and vision.
   
   Blanchard argues that in high performing organizations everyone's energy is focused on three issues:
   
   1. Being the provider of choice. To keep your customers, you must go beyond satisfying them, you have to turn them into raving fans.
   2. Being the employer of choice. Workers seek opportunities where they feel their contributions are valued and rewarded.
   3. Being the investment of choice. Money flows to organizations that provide viability, visibility and performance over time.
   
   To achieve these goals, Blanchard argues, your organization must become a HPO - a high performing organization. The author employs the acronym SCORES to illustrate the six elements found in every HPO:
   
   1. Shared Information and Communication.
   2. Compelling Vision.
   3. Ongoing Learning.
   4. Relentless Focus on Customer Results.
   5. Energizing Systems and Structures.
   6. Shared Power and High Involvement.
   
   In an HPO, Blanchard writes, every thing starts and ends with the customer. Each organization member is passionate about developing sophisticated knowledge of customers and sharing the information throughout the organization. This is accomplished three ways:
   
   1. Decide. If you want raving fans, you do not announce it. You plan for it.
   2. Discover. After you decide, it's critical to ask your customers' for suggestions to improve their experience with your organization.
   3. Deliver + 1 per cent. Excite your people to deliver this experience, plus.
   
   Enablement is the key to beating your competition day-after day. Allowing your people to pit their brains and allowing them to use their knowledge, experience and motivation is critical. To guide this transition to an enablement culture, leaders must use three keys:
   
   1. Share Information.
   2. Declare the Boundaries
   3. Replace old Hierarchies with Self-Directed Individuals and Teams.
   
   This requires a special leader: the servant leader. Leadership has two parts: vision and implementation. They need to find out what their people need to be successful and they make a difference in the lives of their people and in the process, their organization.



3. Dramatic changes have altered the workplace over the course of the past 25 years, but many executives stick to outdated scripts even as corporate directions shift. Fortunately, The One Minute Manager guru Ken Blanchard offers insightful coaching exercises that give leaders new ways to proceed. Using straightforward language, Blanchard provides templates, examples and guidelines for employee education, performance reviews and promotions. The reader may become impatient with the repetition of key points and with Blanchard's slightly jarring habit of referring to himself in the third person, but despite these minor annoyances, this book is an excellent primer about modern leadership roles. In fact, Blanchard says that it "pulls together the thinking from the Ken Blanchard Companies for the past 25 years." We recommend this leadership overview to managers, board members, team leaders and every employee in a cubicle who aspires to reach higher levels.



4. Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, and his colleagues at The Ken Blanchard Companies have spent more than 25 years helping good leaders and organizations become great and stay great. In this book, they describe how leaders can empower people and unleash their incredible potential. This book must be required reading for everyone who wants to become a better leader.
   
   A better definition of leadership, according to the author, is the capacity to influence others by unleashing the power and potential of people and organizations for the greater good. Leadership should not be done purely for personal gain or goal accomplishment: It should have a much higher purpose than that. Leadership can be defined as the process of achieving worthwhile results while acting with respect, care and fairness for the well-being of all involved. When that occurs, self-serving leadership is not possible. It's only when you realize that it's not about you that you begin to lead at a higher level.
   
   Being a successful leader is not only about leading your organization, but your customers as well. According to the author, to keep your customers, you can't be content just to satisfy them; you have to create raving fans. Raving fans are customers who are so excited about the way you treat them that they want to tell everyone about you. A good example of how this works is Domo Gas, a full-service gasoline chain in Western Canada, cofounded by Sheldon Bowles. Back in the 1970s, when everybody was going to self-service gasoline stations, Bowles knew that if people had a choice, they would never go to a gas station. But people have to get gas, and they want to get in and out as quickly as possible. The customer service vision that Bowles and his co-founders imagined was an Indianapolis 500 pit stop. They dressed all their attendants in red jumpsuits. When a customer drove into one of Bowles' stations, two or three people ran out of the hut and raced toward the car. As quickly as possible, they looked under the hood, cleaned the windshield and pumped the gas (p. 42).
   
   A successful leader must also have a workable vision, and be able to clearly communicate and share this vision with his organization. When Louis Gerstner Jr. took the helm of IBM in 1993-- amid turmoil and instability as the company's annual net losses reached a record $8 billion -- he was quoted as saying, "The last thing IBM needs is a vision." In an article in The New York Times two years later, Gerstner conceded that IBM had lost the war for the desktop operating system, acknowledging that the acquisition of Lotus signified that the company had failed to plan properly for its future. He admitted that he and his management team now "spent a lot of time thinking ahead." Once Gerstner understood the importance of vision, an incredible turnaround occurred. In 1995, delivering the keynote address at the computer industry trade show, Gerstner articulated IBM's new vision -- that network computing would drive the next phase of industry growth and would be the company's overarching strategy. That year, IBM began a series of acquisitions that positioned it to become the fastest-growing company in its segment, with growth at more than 20 percent per year. This extraordinary turnaround demonstrated that the most important thing IBM needed was a vision (p. 24-25).
   
   Leaders must also know how to lead their workforce. Giving people too much or too little direction has a negative impact on people's development. Situational leadership is based on the belief that people can and want to develop, and there is no best leadership style to encourage that development. You should tailor leadership style to the situation. This is pretty much common sense. But leaders should also train their people in self leadership. For example, Bandag Manufacturing experienced the value of self leadership after a major equipment breakdown. Rather than laying off the affected work force, the company opted to train them in leadership. The company began holding their managers accountable and asking them to demonstrate their leadership capabilities. They were asking managers for direction and support and urging them to clarify goals and expectations. Suddenly, managers were studying up on rusty skills and working harder. When the plant's ramp-up time was compared to the company's other eight plants that had experienced similar breakdowns in the past, the California plant reached pre-breakdown production levels faster than any in history. The determining factor in the plant's successful rebound was primarily the proactive behavior of the workers, who were fully engaged and armed with the skill of self leadership (p. 104-105).
   
   Leaders must also encourage team work, and be part of the team themselves. Teams provide a sense of worth, connection and meaning to the people involved in them. A study of 12,000 male Swedish workers over a 14-year period revealed that workers who felt isolated and had little influence over their jobs were 162 percent more likely to have a fatal heart attack than were those who had a lot of influence in decisions at work and who worked in teams. Data like this -- combined with the fact that teams can be far more productive than individuals functioning alone --provide a compelling argument for creating high involvement workplaces. Furthermore, according to a 2003 Gallup study, "actively disengaged" people -- workers who are fundamentally disconnected from their jobs -- are costing the U.S. economy between $292 billion and $355 billion a year. The Gallup survey found that 24.7 million workers (17 percent) are actively disengaged. These workers are absent from work 3.5 more days a year than other workers, or 86.5 million days in all. Statistics show an even less engaged work force worldwide.
   
   When people lead at a higher level, they make the world a better place because their goals are focused on the greater good. Making the world a better place requires a special kind of leader: a servant leader. Robert Greenleaf first coined the term "servant leadership" in 1970 and published widely on the concept. Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela are examples of servant leaders. Servant leaders feel their role is to help people achieve their goals. They try to find out what their people need to be successful. They want to make a difference in the lives of their people and, in the process, impact the organization (p. 249).
   
   Research shows that effective leaders have a clear, teachable leadership point of view and are willing to teach it to others, particularly the people they work with. If you can teach people your leadership point of view, they will not only have the benefit of understanding where you're coming from, but they'll also be clear on what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. They may also begin to solidify their own thinking about leadership so that they can teach others too. Some say that learning, teaching and leading should be inherent parts of everyone's job description.
   
   The world needs more leaders who are leading at a higher level. Perhaps the day will come when self-serving leaders are history, and leaders serving others are the rule, not the exception.



5. Leading at a Higher Level is an excellent book that really "puts it all together" related to leadership and Blanchard's principles. I highly recommend it for a comprehensive book about leadership. I am using the book with our management/administrative team. Each person is reading the book and then facilitating the discussion of one chapter. The website resources are an added bonus. I am very excited about the individual and team development possibilities. Thank you!

5 comments about The Secret: What Great Leaders Know - And Do.

1. Excellent book for managers and employees to read to become better leaders. Makes a distinction between being a manager and a leader.



2. Wow this is such a good audio book, I listen to it many times; and began to apply it rapidly; it is very simple and applicable!



3. Learned nothing new! The characters are comical, unreal, and unbelievable. Save your money and read your bible instead.



4. We have given this book to all of our management team. It is simple and sound. Buy and enjoy!



5. Another outstanding quick read by Ken Blanchard. I usually listen to audiobooks due to time contraints. This book was actually given to me as a gift.
   
   I began to read it and had a hard time putting it down. I just ordered five copies to share with others, including my children. Although they are not in the business world yet, I believe there is invaluable information they can benefit from and apply immediately. It also highlights the importance of character in leadership.
   
   I recommend ordering more than one...this will make a great gift - it was for me!

5 comments about Managing for Dummies, Second Edition.

1. This is the first dummies book that actually made me feel like a dummy. They actually take the time to explain what a fax machine is! I'm sorry but anyone who does not know what a fax machine is does not have what it takes to be a manager, no matter how many books they read. The content that is there is great, but it is highly repetitive. Just when you think you understand how important it is to reward employees they bring it back towards the end of the book, several times. Ok, we get the point! I got bored reading this and started skimming it, just reading the bold phrases and/or the bullet points. I didn't miss anything. It's full of fluff. If you want a book to pass the time or make you fall asleep, this is a good book. But I just felt a little cheated. They take an intuitively obvious point like how delegation is useful and beat it to death. I also felt like I was watching a commercial for the authors' other books as they seem to mention them every few pages.
   
   Overall the subjects they covered were good. I wish they would cut the fluff and cover more topics. The book could easily be one half the size. I guess it depends on the reader. If you've never managed anyone before, even a 2 person team then this book may be for you. But if you've led others before I think you'll find you already know most of what's in this book. Skim it over at the bookstore and you'll see what I mean..



2. I'm fairly new to the business world and when the possibility of a promotion to supervisor arose, I knew I had to be ready. While I have a degree, it is not in business. I was looking for a book that would help me a)learn what issues I would have to deal with as a supervisor, b)help me prepare for the interview when they asked "what would you do in this situation" questions and c)teach me some ways to be successful (or at least not fail!).
   
   This book did all of the above. The authors skipped the boring theory of management and delved into real world issues that managers and supervisors face. I highly recommend this book.



3. I hold a BS in Business Management and thought I had been taught pretty much everything there was to know about business management... was I mistaken! This book should be required text for every business management student. Managing for Dummies is easy to read, easy to understand, and makes implimenting the methods defined in the book easy.



4. I was just promoted to Manager, and this book has been a very useful tool.
   It provides very easy to understand concepts and guides you on both basic and advanced managerial skills that you need to develop or improve in order to become a better manager.
   Almost every page that I read on it can be applied to my day to day activities as a manager.
   Managing for Dummies is a Manager's must have.



5. This book hits about every subject you need to know. I found it very informative and would recommend it to anyone starting out in management, or to anyone who would like to brush up on their management skills.

5 comments about What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Hypothyroidism: A Simple Plan for Extraordinary Results.

1. This book is quite good, really focuses on learning to balance T3/T4 not only with lab tests but also based on how you FEEL regardless of what the labs say. Very interesting read.



2. Geared toward helping you get the most out of your thyroid treatment. Best for people already diagnosed.



3. Dr. Blanchard has some good ideas about how to balance T4 and T3, but the book was
   lacking information I had hoped it would contain. The human thyroid actually produces
   10% T3, and 90% T4 -- so I'm not quite sure why Dr. Blanchard arrived at the 2%
   solution -- perhaps most of his patients still have functioning thyroids, but functioning
   at a lower than normal level.
   
   There is almost no discussion of patients who have NON-functioning
   thyroid glands, thyroidectomies, or myxedema. As a patient with a non-functioning
   thyroid, and also having experienced myxedema due to lack of adequate medication, I found
   this book was not very useful. There was no discussion of a full physiological replacement
   dosage. I am unfortunately familiar with the symptoms of myxedema, and aware than incompetent
   physicians are capable of inducing myxedema in a severely hypothyroid patient by relying on the
   TSH test and underdosing the patient.
   Also, I would like to have seen more discussion on the MANY types of thyroid
   antibodies, and how these can affect the type of medication and dosage a
   patient needs to feel well. I would also like to have read a discussion on why
   some people need a higher than normal dosage to feel well -- due to poor stomach
   absorption, thyroid resistance, anemia, etc. For reasons not well understood, other individuals
   do not adequately convert T4 to T3 in their bodies; thus they require high amounts
   of T3. There was no discussion on this point, either.
   
   Something I had expected in the book (from other reviews) was a discussion of the physical
   symptoms of inadequate or excessive T4, and T3 levels. Instead, the reader was
   referred to the blood test again.
   
   So for those patients with severe hypothyroidism, or non-functioning glands, you're still
   on your own to figure out the best treatment regimen. The 2% T3 plan is
   just too simple, and this book offers no explanation of what a full physiological
   replacement dosage should be.



4. Great book for anyone with a new diagnosis. It provides the information so you can be an informed patient and ask the right questions of usually an uninformed or under-informed medical staff.



5. If you have hypothyroidism, you have to read this book! I learned more from this than I think my doctor could have ever even TRIED to tell me!

5 comments about Whale Done! : The Power of Positive Relationships.

1. This book was so good that I bought it as a gift for a client as well as the principal of my childrens' school. Worth reading multiple times.



2. Easy read, but got all I needed from chapter two. (I did read the whole book.) All these books are overpriced, so if your interested go to your library and check it out. If your short on time, just read chapter 2.
   
   However with that said, the information is solid and helpful.



3. An excellent book on the power of positive reinforcement and the importance of focussing on what is being done right rather than wrong. Ken Blanchard has once again created a powerful story to help illustrate key points and make reading this book fun and memorable.
   
   So intriguing are the principles presented in this book that I actually travelled to Sea World San Diego and spent a day working hands-on with their trainers to learn it first-hand (great program - TFD - Trainer for the Day also highly recommended).
   
   The book is a nice quick read and you may find yourself reading it several times it is so compelling. It is good addition to one's personal library as I have referred back to it a number of times as I have had to deal with difficult co-workers, working with challenging children, etc.
   
   Enjoy this book and apply its simple principles in your life!



4. I purchased this book as a reading for my management class in college and I love it! Although the story is fictional, the idea behind it is real. Perfect book for someone starting their own business or someone who is having a hard time running one!



5. This book gives you the key secret of how to get people to do what you want them to do - AND be happy about it! Whether they are your team mates, your employees, your friends or your kids, THIS STUFF WORKS!!!

5 comments about The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book.

1. 
   
   This is a well written concise book on emotional intelligence that should benefit everyone. It teaches techniques that people can employ to enhance their emotional intelligence; on our rational and emotional minds and why it is very important to our careers, our relationships and our destiny.
   
   This insightful book examines emotional intelligence in an easy to follow and understand format which makes the book useful to a wide readership. The book pragmatically examines what emotional intelligence is all about and what it can achieve for individuals and organisations. The author methodically explains how the rational and emotional minds can effectively work productively together. As you go up the corporate ladder, it is critical to know how to manage emotions so that you can relate better with others.
   
   This is not just an academic book but also one that looks at the whole aspect of emotional intelligence to see how it "fits in" with all aspects of life. The book examines all the relevant issues and provides sound, sensible advice succinctly.
   
   The book will change the way you look at life and relate with people. This is particularly the case with people with professional backgrounds that tend to emphasise logic and rationality such as engineers, doctors, mathematicians and the like. It is critical to realise that emotional issues affect the way you work, your motivation, satisfaction and productivity and affect the quality of relationships among spouses or friends. Understanding and embracing EI can make you much happier and more effective as a manager and therefore I recommend this book strongly to anyone who wants to live a happier and successful life.



2. I've heard the term emotional intelligence thrown around over the years, but this is the first book that broke it down for me in a palatable manner. It was quick, but not in a bad way. The stories were interesting, the research was poignant and thorough, and the online test was downright fascinating.
   
   I just finished the book last week, and I can already see several ways in which it is having an impact on me at work, as well as with my family. Now that I understand the four, core emotional intelligence skills: self awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management, I find I have so much more control over my life.
   
   This book is a Godsend!



3. This is a really fun book. It's a rare thing in that it teaches you about a concept while really teaching you about yourself at the same time. The authors pose interesting questions, anecdotes and research to show you how emotional intelligence operates in the world around you. And the online test that comes with the book is a huge bonus. I was fascinated to discover my emotional intelligence score, and was surprised to see that the test actually provides recommendations for what I can do to improve myself based upon my score profile.



4. Emotional intelligence is paramount to success in business and this book opened my eyes to how this all plays out. The authors' connection between emotional intelligence and job performance (and how little EQ senior executives have on average) is fascinating. More importantly, it showed me how to apply my emotional intelligence to get ahead and achieve my goals in life. Great book!



5. What I liked best about this book are the practical strategies for understanding how you respond and react to other people, based upon the emotional intelligence skills, and how you can use your EQ to connect with people. If you struggle with difficult conversations and difficult people, this book is a must.

5 comments about Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization.

1. The anti-cliche corporate example used as the basis for this book and its powerful message prove again that the best ideas are the simplest ones. The brilliance of the author's writing is its quick and easy-to-read format. An author with a larger ego could have easily mired this message in excessive wordiness to lengthen the page count, but why? The concepts are logical and straight-forward. Blanchard is to be commended for presenting them in a similar format.
   
   As for the message itself, the three basic lessons are gifts that keep giving. They can be applied to nearly any work environment, of any size, in any industry, by any manager. The message is particularly powerful for managers who are either constrained in their abilities to provide powerful financial incentives for employees, OR are surrounded by Gen X and Y employees who may only be marginally motivated by money in the first place. By actively incorporating these philosophies in day-to-day operations, managers are likely to not only see productivity improvements, but to see employee retention and motivation gains as well. The book is a roadmap to creating an environment that will nurture Gen Y's endless craving to work in a team-based atmosphere flush with positive feedback.
   
   Overall, a highly relevant read for anyone in management or aspiring to be so.



2. I was amazed at how quick we received these books. We ordered 12 of them for the office and received them before we were told we would and the packaging was in perfect condition. I love Amazon.com and how dependable they are in getting your product to you in a timely manner and how they package their products so that they are not damaged during shipment. Thank you Amazon.



3. We went GUNG HO at work. This was easy to read with clear concise examples on how to put this common sense advice to use. Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw attempt to change their organization in order to save the company and town they live in. The story is a simple parable about how to motivate people to be productive, encourage leadership and increase customer service. The Spirit of the Squirrel, The Way of the Beaver and The Gift of the Goose discuss various ways to make employees feel important and provide positive reinforcement for work well done.
   
   I definitely recommend this book for managers/leaders that may be stuck in a rut and looking for motivation. If you are a student of leadership, this will be a 45-minute read and much will be review. Small business owners can use these techniques when dealing with their employees...I did.



4. Gung Ho! Turn on the People in Any Organization is an interesting mix of management principles and personal narrative (as related to the reader utilizing allegory) with the express purpose of motivating and inspiring the reader to become "turned on" about the work they do...and to, in turn, "infect" others with that same spirit and motivation. The author's talk about three guiding principles (The Spirit of the Squirrel, The Way of the Beaver, and The Gift of the Goose) which are on the surface, quite simple and are, basically, common sense. Digging deeper, if one really thinks about these guiding principles; how they should be applied, what impact they have, or explores them through discussion with co-workers (or peers), one finds that they are indeed profound and can have an incredible impact on both individuals and businesses.
   
   The main drawback to this book, well, the story is so simplified and, well too corny to be fully believable. The characters are all basically caricatures...overly simplified and way too pleasant. This story is either entirely untrue or has been overly distilled, leaving only a syrupy sweet outer shell which gives one a bad aftertaste. I was left with the feeling that the reader was supposed to get to the end and have eyes brimming with tears (HOORAY, they did it) AND a big, cheesy grin on one's face (awwwwwwwww, they did it). All in all, Peggy's narrative had a very "after-school special" feel to it (everything works out just so perfectly that it becomes unbelievable when compared to normal everyday life, there is even a tragically overacted death scene) which was not, in the end, entirely enjoyable or believable.
   
   Overall, Gung Ho! would certainly be an excellent start to any reading an individual might undertake to improve (or learn) management techniques, but it is not a one stop solution to all one's management needs (even discounting the simplicity of the story as it's told). It's lacking in several areas that most other books on management cover...namely, conflict resolution (it's all well and good to infect people with enthusiasm, creativity, and encourage productivity but there is nothing here on how to deal with problem employees over the long haul). This book would (and likely has) make an ideal selection for discussion groups or as a tool for introspection. I give Gung Ho! 4 stars and would readily recommend it for its intended purpose, while it's not without flaws, it is an excellent resource.



5. I was told to read this book, eventhough I am a squirrel. I thought it was very degrading that the author compares working people to animals-rodents in particular. Let me tell you it just don't work that way! The story was so bad that it has given all of us "squirrels'" quite a bit of laughter at managements expense. I have watched some of Ken Blanchard's seminars on his website and I see that he likes to compare working class (blue collar) employees to animals. Treat people fairly, pay them adequately, and give them your respect is what will get results. I don't want my coworkers to sing happy birthday to me, or charts on the wall. All of the things that my employer has done in the past two years since going "Gung Ho" have only increased Ken Blanchard's income. They have bought posters, books and t-shirts from his business. The man and my employer are clueless!!! If things have gotten that bad in your organization that you would resort to reading this book I would suggest that changes in management personnel are in order. I wonder if Ken knows that a leopard doesn't change it's spots.

5 comments about Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership.

1. Very good book for any one that supervises or directs employees. Primarily for a manager with salaried employees, but applicable for first line supervisor of hourly.
   
   This book examines different levels of ability, and the different responses required to deal with different conduct/performances.



2. 4 Stars.
   
   Leadership and the One Minute manager, by Ken Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi, is a great book on leadership methods. In particular, Blanchard's "Situational Leadership 2"(tm) model is an outstanding description of effective leadership approaches. The idea that your approach to leadership should depend not only on the individual(s) you're leading, but also on the context (i.e. - the situation) of leadership is sadly overlooked by many other theories/philosophies on leadership.
   
   Admittedly, Blanchard's parable style approach to the matter is a little hokey, and some of the dialogue is contrived. Nonetheless, this book sends a message that many of today's leaders and managers would do well to pay attention to.
   
   Also recomended are Blanchard's other One Minute Manager books, particularly:
   
   - The One Minute Manager, with Spencer Johnson, and
   
   - The One Minute Manager Builds High Performance Teams, with Donald Carew and Eunice Parisi Carew.



3. The style of the book is great, it's a story. Someone discovers the method just like we would do it.
   It's fiction (I suppose) but the situations are clear and the lessons are clear.
   This makes the methods usefull, you understand them immediately.
   Putting it into practice will require some thinking and self-training, but the principles are sound.
   It's all too obvious, but in practice I see that not doing this is very unproductive.



4. I purchased these books so that our boss could hand them out as Christmas presents and they arrived right on time for our Christmas party. The books came in excellent condition and the price was a good one. Thank you for prompt delivery. I will purchase from you again.



5. A very effective tool in leadership and management. Clearly defines several styles of leadership, as well as several levels of "competence" among employees. This makes it quite easy to understand Blanchard's point about needing to treat different people differenlty in order to get the best result out of them. I think that is the key point, is that you are working to maximize your return on each employee.

5 comments about The One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business.

1. I've read and learned from other books in the "One Minute" series, but this book was pure drivel. The entire book revolves around simple, common-sense concepts any entrepreneur better already know - make more money than you spend, treat your customers well, don't abuse your employees...
   
   In the world this book was created in, everybody wants to help, be on your advisory board, donate money, mentor you, etc, and totally for free (including the time to talk with you, be on your board, fly to your office at their own expense...). It's pretty rare for any of that to come in the real world without a steep price tag.
   
   I remember their advice on open-book finances being a quickly passing fad 15 years ago or so. If you're having financial problems, don't count on your employees to care as much about the business as you do. For the most part, employees care about their paycheques, not about your bottom line. Yes, you can be careful with your screening process and get some good employees, but people are more worried about their own problems, not yours. Nothing is as simple as this book would lead you to believe.
   
   There is nothing practical about the advice in this book. Nothing in the book will help you start a business from scratch. Go read The One Minute Salesperson instead.



2. I understand that this is supposed to be a "parable," but I find the characters one-dimensional and difficult to identify with. There is a traditional, conservative thread running throughout the book -- Jud is very, very much a down-home, clean-cut type. He marries (of course), has two children (of course), and ends up creating a corporate culture that includes the typical terminology we're all so sick of -- "contact with the customer" is relabeled as "moments of truth," the company's philosophy is centered around some acrostic of the words "I CARE," and so on.
   
   I couldn't quite finish this book, short though it was. There were some pieces of wisdom that may or may not be obvious ("play to your passion," "listen to others," "don't be afraid to ask for help"), but overall, I found the characters and story to be too flat and smarmy to endure. The book seems to be a poor approximation of life. I like the fact that the authors made an attempt to put their advice into context by forming a story around it, but the entire book is unrealistic.
   
   Jud and Terri are not like real people. I couldn't identify with them. The whole adventure reads like a "family-values" sitcom written by conservative businessmen.



3. This book is a fast, easy read to remind those in business to keep what is important in the forefront of their minds. For most business professionals the key points are common sense, however, sometimes we all need to be reminded.



4. A pleasant book to read as it conveys ideas and teachings in the form of a story. 3 stars for the content though...as it could have conveyed more useful information as suggested by the lucrative front cover.



5. Overall this book was filled with inspirational wisdom and while somewhat common sense approaches to life I still felt it was a good experience to read them.

5 comments about Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service.

1. As with any approach to business improvement, sometimes you just have to go back to the basics. There is still application in business for "the golden rule" and all of us can "give back" by mentoring someone who is trying to learn what we have gained through experience. Beyond that we are only limited by our ability to translate what we "hear" from our clients and use our imaginations to delight them. In the end, we must differentiate ourselves (positively) and stand above the crowd. We must also inspire our Team to do so as well, for that is how long-term results are achieved. This book, through the use of storytelling (and some fantasy), illustrates how we can turn those "shoppers" into clients for life who can't stop bragging about us and buying from us. Read this book, brainstorm with your Team, and set your company apart!



2. I'm excited by the concept of Raving Fans, but the author uses a storytelling approach with a fairy god mother (no kidding) to talk about a few simple principles.



3. This is one of the most informative and fun-to-read books I've ever read. There is so much to be learned and to think about. Really gets your energy and mind going.



4. This book has a rather flimsy message. Simply stated it is that you can smash your competition and achieve exceptional success in sales by adhering to a deceptively simple formula: Know what you want; know what the customer wants, deliver beyond the client's expectation, and never stop enhancing your service. The message is delivered in a writing style known as "mystical realism" in the fiction world, and which doesn't work quite as well in the non-fiction world. There is some real magic here, though, and it's on the cover of the book, "More than One Million copies sold." This probably relates to the fact that the target audience is, in fact, probably not all that literate, that it reduces an MBA in Marketing to a 75 minute read, that the print is large, and of course the whimsical and all too frequent references to the game of golf. The fact is that salesfolk periodically need to have their batteries recharged, and this book is a quick-charge. It gives the reader the feeling that he has learned something new, and that the business world is really much less complex than appearances would suggest. I read it as mandatory preparation for a Xinnix seminar, and if they thought this book had exceptional value, I'm worried about how simplistic their seminar might be.



5. I bought this in lieu of buying th book and am glad I did. We slipped it in and played it while on a day trip on the road. We are Amazon booksellers and found the information very helpful in our applying it to our bookselling business. The narration is story form which helps keep it interesting as well.