Review
One of Ken Blanchard's strengths is his ability to produce easy to read, interesting books that convey basic - yet extremely important - business principles. Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships is no exception. This story is told from the perspective of a sales manager (Wes Kingsley) who is facing challenges of poor productivity and low morale at work, as well as strained relationships and lack of communication at home.

While at a conference in Florida, Wes is awed by the amazing performance the killer whales put on at Sea World. After the show, he approaches the trainer, Dave, who explains to him the process of training whales. The discussion leads to the problems Wes is facing at work, and Dave takes the time to outline how the same techniques used with training whales work just as well with people, and that they could help Wes with his challenges. Of course, Wes is skeptical.

Through further discussions with a friend of Dave's, Anne Marie (who happens to be a business consultant), over time Wes begins to understand that utilizing these training techniques with people does not mean that you are treating them like animals. Rather, he begins to see that the concept of positive reinforcement is much more effective with people than negative reinforcement or punishment - as is the case with animals. As he applies the techniques he learned from Dave and Anne Marie in his own life, Wes is amazed that it works. There is skepticism among his direct reports and family at first, but ultimately the result is seen: improved relationships due to increase of trust, increased productivity, open communication, and a desire on the part of others seeing these positive changes to learn the secret to the success.

Whale Done! is a simplistic, straightforward story about a premise that most of us are aware of, but not committed to. How many of us know the saying, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?" This is the essence of positive reinforcement, yet how many of us consistently live that principle at home and at work? Too many leaders of organizations are solely committed to the bottom line - the product - rather than the people who make that bottom line possible. However, when business leaders focus on building positive relationships with the people within the organization rather than harping about the bottom line, the people will rise to the occasion to meet and even exceed productivity expectations.

This quick read is a terrific reminder of how relationships influence motivation in the workplace. Its uncomplicated language and clear-cut message will be easily understood by everyone in the organization - not only the leaders. We recommend this book to all levels within the organization. We recommend that the responsibility of implementing the strategies to the leaders, starting at the top.

Summary of Main Points
The main theme that is threaded throughout the book is that, like whales, people respond exponentially better to positive reinforcement than they do punishment or threats. Although it sounds strange, when leaders use the techniques of professional animal trainers like those at Sea World, the people in their lives will grow to be encouraged, motivated and enthusiastic. The three techniques that get these results are:

• Build Trust: The foundation of a positive relationship is trust, which is essentially an absence of fear.
• Accentuate the Positive: Pay attention to what people around you are doing right and ignore what is being done incorrectly.
• When Mistakes Occur, Redirect the Energy: Do not spend precious time or energy on what is being done incorrectly (in other words, ignore it). Rather, re-channel the attention back on how things are done correctly, and/or focusing on the individual's strengths.

Blanchard, et al, explains that when faced with a behavior - any kind of behavior - we react to it. How we react to it works as a consequence for that behavior. The five possible consequences for behavior are:

• No Response: Unfortunately, people are used to being ignored. The old expression "no news is good news" would fall under this category of responses. For many of us, this consequence is the status quo in the workplace.
• Negative Response: The Negative Response can be verbal, facial expressions, or some kind of punishment or penalty. Too often people only get feedback about their behavior when someone is unhappy with them. This is called the leave-alone-zap approach, which is when the Negative Response follows a period of No Response. This is also called the "GOTcha" response, when the focus is on catching people doing things wrong.
• Redirection: When an individual does something inappropriate or incorrectly, his/her energy and attention is redirected back to what he/she was supposed to do, or possibly onto something else. It is a method of getting people back on track while maintaining respect and trust in the relationship. This response, in combination with the Positive Response, is the most misunderstood, yet most powerful method of addressing unacceptable performance and improving low morale.
• Positive Response: This response is praise for the efforts made toward reaching a goal. Through the process of paying positive attention to what is being done well, we encourage and inspire people to achieve and exceed. One thing to remember is that you should never assume what motivates someone. When praising or providing a reward, ensure that the Positive Response will have its intended effect by learning what motivates the individual and then providing an appropriate Positive Response.
• The WHALE DONE Response: This response only works when it is delivered with sincerity. This response includes a series of four steps that combine Redirection and the Positive Response…
        • Praise people immediately.
        • Be specific about what they did right or almost right.
        • Share your positive feelings about what they did.
        • Encourage them to keep up the good work.

Call To Action
As a result of reading Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships, the following five strategies jump out as immediate steps to effective leadership:

• Make a commitment to build positive relationships by promising to focus your efforts on building the trust within your organization.
• Talk with the people who work for you, with you, and even people in your personal lives about the concepts of Whale Done! Encourage them to read the book and incorporate the Redirect Response, the Positive Response, and the WHALE DONE! Response with co-workers, supervisors and direct reports.
• This approach of focusing on positive relationships is not the norm in the business world today, so be prepared to withstand criticism and adversity from those who do not understand.
• Keep track of the impact of these techniques. Chart improvement in retention, productivity, morale to demonstrate the effectiveness of these concepts.