Blanchard Quotes & Sayings

It's unfair to be hard on yourself the first time you attempt something new. It is also unfair to expect others to meet such an unrealistic expectation. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

As a manager the important thing is not what happens when you are there, but what happens when you are not there — Ken Blanchard

Once leaders embrace the role of coach, they realize the weight of leadership is now balanced between themselves and their direct reports. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

People have trouble admitting there are problems, but everyone has an area he or she would like — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Vision is a lot more than putting a plaque on the wall. A real vision is lived, not framed. — Ken Blanchard

Empowerment requires a major shift in attitude. The most crucial place that this shift must occur is in the heart of every leader. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. — Ken Blanchard

The day was hot, the sun high, and the silence was so think you'd have thought the sky didn't have any air in it. — Alice Blanchard

From the air Anguilla looked narrow, flat, and scrubby, but that was only part of the picture. — Melinda Blanchard

Ultimately, the purpose of a certification is to establish a particular level of proficiency in a discipline. Unfortunately, "social media" in and of itself, is not a discipline. Digital crisis management, on the other hand, is. So are digital customer service and online community management. This means that a certification program that focuses on social media without addressing each specific business function adapted to social media won't end up certifying anyone in much of anything. — Olivier J. Blanchard

One of the primary mistakes that leaders today make, when called to lead, is spending most of their time and energy trying to improve things at the organizational level before ensuring that they have adequately addressed their own credibility at individual, one-on-one, or team leadership levels. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

I like looking cute. So I want to look cute in the water. — Alana Blanchard

If you give up on what you want so will your dream. — Richard Blanchard

I love acting so much that I have to have that as much as I have to have my time with my kid. — Tammy Blanchard

We have two choices every day: We can feel good about ourselves, or we can feel lousy about ourselves. Why would anyone choose the latter? — Kenneth H. Blanchard

To learn from the past is good, but to live there is a waste. To plan for the future is good, but to live there is a waste. You are happiest and most productive in life when you are living in the present. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

One of the biggest obstacles to high performance in organizations comes from unclear expectations and accountability. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

A few birds sang in the distance; everything was still. We were truly alone. This was it, no turning back now. Even if we did, it was a long walk home. — Dennis R. Blanchard

Leaders today must have a strong vision and positive beliefs that support that vision. If they don't, their people will not only lose, but they'll be lost. When difficulties arise, their minds will not be prepared to stand up to the challenge. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

When you touch, don't take. Touch the people you manage only when you are giving them something - reassurance, support, encouragement, whatever. Manipulation is getting people to do something they are either not aware of or don't agree to. That is why it is so important to let each person know up front what you are doing and why. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

It's more important as a manager to be respected than to be popular. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Throughout history, men have tried to play God by moving rabbits, goats, sparrows, mongooses, and a hundred other species to oceanic islands and island continents, and later have wished to God they hadn't. — Victor Blanchard Scheffer

Most companies spend all their time looking for another management concept and very little time following up the one they have just taught their managers. — Ken Blanchard

Don't quack like a duck, soar like an eagle. — Ken Blanchard

Your mind and a computer have one thing in common: neither of them know the difference between the truth ... and what you tell it. — Ken Blanchard

Do your best to succeed and push the limits without violating them. — Ken Blanchard

Good thoughts not delivered mean squat. — Ken Blanchard

If you don't seek perfection, you can never reach excellence. — Ken Blanchard

I always like to play roles where I either love the character or think that it's a story that I can tell better than anyone else. There are always reasons for me to do whatever I do. — Tammy Blanchard

I grew up doing stage work as a child and as a teenager, so the stage is my home where I feel most comfortable. — Tammy Blanchard

Pleasures lie thickest where no pleasures seem: There's not a leaf that falls upon the ground But holds some joy of silence or of sound, Some spirits begotten of a summer dream. — Samuel Laman Blanchard

The best way to develop responsibility in people is to give them responsibility. — Ken Blanchard

What if two negatives make an affirmative ... does it follow that two nobodies shall be some body? — Samuel Laman Blanchard

As a servant leader the way you serve the vision is by developing people so that they can work on that vision even when you're not around. The ultimate sin of an effective servant leader is what happens when you are not there. That was the power of Jesus' leadership-the leaders He trained went on to change the world when He was no longer with them in bodily form. — Ken Blanchard

Everybody's word is worth Nobody's taking. — Samuel Laman Blanchard

Empowerment is all about letting go so that others can get going. — Ken Blanchard

It seems to me that, with but slight reserve and modification, we may apply to our departed friend his own pathetic and beautiful elegy upon another. — Samuel Laman Blanchard

Catching people doing things right provides satisfaction and motivates good performance. But remember, give praise immediately, make it specific, and finally, encourage people to keep up the good work. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

When people don't know what's going on, it's human nature for them to imagine a version that's ten times worse than the truth! — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Yes. However, remember - productivity is more than just the quantity of work done. It is also the quality. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

A good life is built on strong, solid values such as integrity, love, honesty, and purposeful work. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Many people measure their success by wealth, recognition, power and status. There's nothing wrong with those, but if that's all you're focused on, you're missing the boat ... if you focus on significance -using your time and talent to serve others -that's when truly meaningful success can come your way. — Ken Blanchard

It is an odd mode of diminishing one's own weakness to ask a friend to lend us the equal force of his. — Samuel Laman Blanchard

People should learn Less More and not More Less — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Take what you do seriously, but yourself lightly — Ken Blanchard

It's only when you realize that it's not about you that you begin to lead at a higher level. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

When you judge someone, it impairs your ability to see him or her clearly, as if a filter is screening out everything about that person except what fits your assessment. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

How often does it happen that an obscure line finds its way into a periodical ... is requoted in every book that comes out during the next three months, and sleeps again! — Samuel Laman Blanchard

Don't look at how it is. Imagine how it was... -Suzanne Blanchard-Wells — Brandy Heineman

There's a difference between interest
and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it
only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you
accept no excuses - only results. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Successful organizations have one common central focus: Customers. — Ken Blanchard

Vision is knowing who you are, where you're going, and what will guide your journey. — Ken Blanchard

Perpetual prosperity comes to those who help others. — Ken Blanchard

What you resist, persists. Until you deal with your feelings, you will be stuck with them. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Take a minute: look at your goals, look at your performance, see if your behavior matches your goals. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Connect the dots between individual roles and the goals of the organization. When people see that connection, they get a lot of energy out of work. They feel the importance, dignity, and meaning in their job. — Ken Blanchard

People who feel good about themselves, produce good results. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Once you awaken, you will have no interest in judging those who sleep. — James Blanchard Cisneros

Spouses often point out each other's deficiencies. Instead, we should be each other's motivator. My husband touches my spirit, and I try my best to motivate him, too. — Ken Blanchard

We're fragile things, Harb. It doesn't look like it but we are. We're here one minute, and just like that, we're gone. The Peacemakers (The Nemesis Engines) — Olivier A. Blanchard

The entrepreneur explained that she was having a hard time finding people who were willing to work as hard as she was. "I feel I have to do everything myself. I can't count on anyone to take on some of the things that need to be done," said the entrepreneur. "What you have to do," said the One Minute Manager, "is learn to delegate. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

All of the authoritative books on bears seem to agree on one thing: if you're close enough to a bear to cause it to change its activity pattern, you're too close, and in possible danger. — Dennis R. Blanchard

Sometimes the solutions to our problems come from looking backwards, not forwards. — Jane V. Blanchard

We can't always control what happens in our lives- things will go well, things will go poorly-but what we can control is our response to those events. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Feedback is important to people. We all want to know how well we're doing. That's why it is essential for an effective performance review system to provide ongoing feedback. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Empowering means helping teams develop their skills and knowledge and supporting them to use their talents. — Ken Blanchard

As a leader, the most important earthly relationship you can cultivate is your relationship with yourself. — Ken Blanchard

We can't control everything in life, that's for sure, but we can reach out to the people we love to tell them we love and care about them. — Ken Blanchard

In the past a leader was a boss. Today's leaders must be partners with their people ... they no longer can lead solely based on positional power. — Ken Blanchard

The best use of power is not to have to use it at all. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

My Emmy is in my china closet. People don't really look at it, though. — Tammy Blanchard

The only job security you have today os your commitment to continuous personal improvement. — Ken Blanchard

A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

(Hadley and Mary in the Garden at Blanchard House)
He laughed, a harsh sound, all sign of humor leaving his eyes. "Don't let any of it fool you, my dear, for even the most tarnished silver can acquire a fine and gleaming polish. And believe me, there is far more tarnish here than an innocent and unschooled eye such as yours can discern."
"Why would you speak so of yourself?" Mary protested.
He reached for a red-gold curl that had escaped her lace cap and coiled it around his !nger. "I would forewarn you, Miss Edwardes that I am a man, and men in general are not to be trusted ... " He held her gaze as he slowly released the ringlet, allowing his fingers to skim her cheek. " ... especially not by pretty young virgins. — Victoria Vane

Too many leaders act as if the sheep ... their people ... are there for the benefit of the shepherd, not that the shepherd has responsibility for the sheep. — Ken Blanchard

People don't mind being challenged to do better if they
know the request is coming from a caring heart — Ken Blanchard

I think people are just haters. When they see people doing well, some people, if there's something wrong, they'll pick at that. — Alana Blanchard

The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision. — Ken Blanchard

If you want to know why your people are not performing well, step up to the mirror and take a peek. — Ken Blanchard

Some of the greatest advances happen when people are bold enough to speak their truth and listen to others speak theirs. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Empowerment means that people have the freedom to act. It also means that they are accountable for results. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Great rule of thumb is to never say anything behind someone's back that you wouldn't say straight to the person's face. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Before something can become a habit it must first be practiced as a discipline. — Ken Blanchard

I love going to the local market and seeing friends that I grew up with ... and having conversations. I love the community of Bayonne. — Tammy Blanchard

Winston Churchill was not entirely British. His mother was American, making Sir Winston part Iroquois Indian. — Rachel Blanchard

Effective team leaders adjust their style to provide what the group can't provide for itself. — Ken Blanchard

But I make a decision. This will be the last time I shed a tear about my baby's gender. I will pull myself together. Throughout — Lucinda Blanchard

If God had wanted us to talk more than listen, he would have given us two mouths rather than two ears. — Ken Blanchard

Help People Reach Their Full Potential
Catch Them Doing Something Right — Kenneth H. Blanchard

People who produce good results feel good about themselves. — Ken Blanchard

Author Kenneth Blanchard says, "There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results." That's what leaders do. They commit and follow through. — John C. Maxwell

If I went to a regular job, if I was a secretary or something, I'd want to look good. I'd dress up for that part. — Alana Blanchard

What we give our attention to, grows. — Ken Blanchard

Their silence was not the result of boredom or apathy, nor were they quiet because it was expected of them or through fear of consequences; but they were listening, actively, attentively listening to those records, with the same raptness they had shown in their jiving; their bodies were still, but I could feel that their minds and spirits were involved with the music. I glanced towards Miss Blanchard and as though she divined my thoughts she smiled at me and nodded in understanding ... — E.R. Braithwaite

I cannot say Who Art in Heaven-If all my interests and pursuits are in earthly things. — Ken Blanchard

Humility does not mean you think less of yourself. It means you think of yourself less. — Ken Blanchard

The best minute you spend is the one you invest in people — Kenneth H. Blanchard

As a collaborative leader, you support people in their work - you remove roadblocks and help them win. — Kenneth H. Blanchard

Although Nature needs thousands or millions of years to create a new species, man needs only a few dozen years to destroy one. — Victor Blanchard Scheffer