What do your people at work and your spouse and kids at home have in common with a five-ton killer whale? Probably a whole lot more than you think, according to top business consultant and mega-bestselling author Ken Blanchard and his coauthors from SeaWorld. In this moving and inspirational new book, Blanchard explains that both whales and people perform better when you accentuate the positive. He shows how using the techniques of animal trainers -- specifically those responsible for the killer whales of SeaWorld -- can supercharge your effectiveness at work and at home.

When gruff business manager and family man Wes Kingsley visited SeaWorld, he marveled at the ability of the trainers to get these huge killer whales, among the most feared predators in the ocean, to perform amazing acrobatic leaps and dives. Later, talking to the chief trainer, he learned their techniques of building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting negative behavior -- all of which make these extraordinary performances possible. Kingsley took a hard look at his own often accusatory management style and recognized how some of his shortcomings as a manager, spouse, and father actually diminish trust and damage relationships. He began to see the difference between "GOTcha" (catching people doing things wrong) and "Whale Done!" (catching people doing things right).

In Whale Done!, Ken Blanchard shows how to make accentuating the positive and redirecting the negative the best tools to increase productivity, instead of creating situations that demoralize people. These techniques are remarkably easy to master and can be applied equally well at home, allowing readers to become better parents and more committed spouses in their happier and more successful personal lives.

ISBN13: 9780743235389

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You'll be able to do so, too, in that it is real short . . . but
don't be fooled into thinking that there's not a lot of "meat"
contained in its 128 pages . . . Blanchard, along with
coauthors Thad Lacinak, Chuck Tompkins and Jim

Ballard, takes a simple tale and uses it to get you
thinking about how both whales and people perform
better when you accentuate the positive . . . that information
may sound basic, but it is far too often never used.

The story revolves around a gruff manager who visits
SeaWorld and is impressed with how animal trainers
of killer whales can get them to perform amazing
acrobatic leaps and dives . . . he begins to see how
these same techniques could be applied to his
business life, as well as his situation at home . . . in
addition, he learns the difference between "GOTcha"
(catching people doing things wrong) and "Whale
Done!" (catching people doing things right).

I particularly liked the many examples that were used,
and the fact that these could be applied to countless
work and home situations.

There were many memorable passages; among them:
"The point here is that progress--doing something better--is
constantly being noticed, acknowledged, and rewarded.
We need to do the same thing with people--catch them
doing things better, if not exactly right, and praise
progress. That way, you set them up for success and
build from there."

"Killer whales can 'take out' any other animal in the
ocean. We sometimes use that information when we're
working with dog trainers. Some of them scold and yell
at their animals. They use choke chains and sometimes
hit them. When they talk about that kind of treatment, I
ask them, 'If your dog weighed eleven thousand pounds
like Shamu, the whale, how would you treat him? Would
you use a choke collar or smack him around?' I don't
think so."

If you don't hire people on a performance review curve,
why grade them on one?

My only criticism is that some of the material seems
recycled from Blanchard's first bestseller, THE
ONE MINUTE MANAGER . . . but maybe that's not
such a bad thing, in that I still consider this his best
work . . . and a "must" read for anybody who has not
yet had the pleasure of experiencing it.

24 of 26 found the following review helpful:

Another parable blunder - Needs tools and resources to helpJun 15, 2002
By Dan E. Ross "Dan Ross"
Whale Done is another parable style (story telling) book that has (1) a singular theme, (2) is very easy to read and (3) is overpriced. If you buy this book you will find yourself delighted by the easy read and may think you have found a gem but most parables are simply overpriced information. Let me elaborate further.

This book, like other parables, are a great read for the following reasons.
* It is a quick read. I read it in about 2 - 3 hours and I am a fairly slow reader.
* The book is able to illustrate one point extremely effectively. For example, in this book they show how we tend to associate negative or positive feelings to individuals or situations and it affects our quality of life due to the way that we interact with people.
* These are the kinds of books that employees will read (great for training programs) as they are 100-200 pages in length and easy to read so a massive investment of time and energy isn't required by employees.

The simple theme illustrated in this book is that both whales and people perform better when you accentuate the positive. It is tougher to actually implement such behavior but it can be done and it can have a substantial impact on your life if you learn the tools and key behaviors to look for and modify in your life. The problem with this parable is that they give the reader very few tools to work with and actual exercises to implement. As a result, it is difficult for 95% of the people who read this to actually integrate this into their lives for the long-term.

Psychologists have been talking about this for decades in what they term "neurolinguistic programming." People are attracted to what they have positive experiences with and try to avoid painful or uncomfortable situations. Pain=bad, pleasure = good.

My concluding thoughts: If you read this book try and seek out some other resource that will help you form the concepts into habits. Most experts say that it takes 21 days of continual implementation for something to begin forming a habit amongst people.

[....]

27 of 30 found the following review helpful:

Powerful Msg that's already having an impact @ home & officeFeb 15, 2002

I just finished Whale Done and I loved it. I've been a fan of Dr.Blanchard's books for years and feel this latest book really gets to the essence of what he's been teaching for years. One of the big take aways I had from the book was paying attention and noticing. I find myself at work and home either not noticing or keying in on the negative behavior that I don't want repeated. In talking with a member of my staff about this I learned how I need to focus much more of my attention on noticing and praising the positive. The issue was very emotional for this person and I was a much bigger deal than I ever would have imagined. Ken and his co-authors emphasize building relationships where people feel that you mean them no harm. If the majority of the feedback I'm providing my people is how they can do things differently, dare I say better, they can misinterpret my suggestions as catching them doing things wrong. I've been making a concetrated effort to catch my staff doing things right. I've been amazed at how my natural tendancy is to revert back to seeing the mistakes and not encouraging all the things being done right. The concept seems simple and yet I can't say enough about the change I've seen in the energy level in my department. I still need to redirect behavior from time to time but I'm looking for what is partially right and building off of that verus focusing valuable energy on what was wrong. This approach has been equally as impactful with my son and wife. I've been married for ten years now and admit that I've stopped noticing all the incredible qualities that caused me to fall in love with my wife to begin with. The qualities are still there I just stopped pointing them out like I did when I was courting her. I've gone on far longer than I should but I must end with the change I've seen in my relationship with my 4 year old son. His behavior and more importantly our relationship seems to be headed in the right direction after just 5 days of coming home and noticing all the things that he is doing right or partially right. He runs to the door to greet me now and seems to get in much less trouble. The suttle or not so suttle difference has been the attention he has recieved from me. I was a little skeptical applying the concept with him because he is testing us all the time trying to find out what he can and can't get away with. Its only been 5 days but he seems much more interested in getting the positive attention from me than he does finding out what he can't get away with. Its sad that the we had to learn the importance of developing trusting relationships in this manner because killer whales won't tolerate anything else from trainers that would otherwise be little more than a lite snack. A huge thank you to Shamu for forcing his trainers to treat him in a manner that we all deserve but rarely get.

14 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Very Relevant for Teachers and Everyone elseMar 09, 2005
By J. LEE
I feel extremely grateful to the authors of this book for writing this gem.

I am an Elementary School Teacher, and I was handed a very difficult class to manage. The children in this class came from homes with poor parental support, and they had poor social skills causing them to constantly pick fights with each other.

I tried using the disciplinarian manner of dealing with them. It just didn't work. They were already so jaded and used to being punished that to them it didn't matter one bit at all. In fact, it only served to make them even more defiant.

Then, I happened to chance upon this book. When I read this book, I could instantly link the ideas of positive relationship to William Glasser's Choice Theory - where positive discipline is emphasised. They are really very complementary.

When I tried using just Choice Theory alone, it didn't quite work. But when I used Whale Done together with Choice Theory, it took me just two days and the class became much more well behaved and cooperative. It was too amazing for me to believe that it was happening! But really, seeing is believing...

I think for people who have given poor ratings to this book, it's probably because the book hasn't given very clear instructions with regards to how to redirect the undesirable behaviour appropriately. If you can't figure out how to redirect, it is a sure thing that the Whale Done method will fail hopelessly.

If you really wish to give positive relationships a shot, try this:
Read William Glasser's Choice Theory first.
Then, read Whale Done.
Finally, use the Whale Done method, coupled with using Choice Theory as the basis for all redirections.

And very importantly...never give up! It is sincerely a very trying process in the beginning especially when you do not witness immediate changes. But be patient and push through with both the Whale Done method and Choice Theory, and you'll be able to enjoy better positive relationships around you.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Simplistic book that should be no more than an articleMay 04, 2004
By MythBuster DownUnder
Written as a fictional story with unnatural dialogue, very simplistic message, does not even scratch the surface of human motivation. Nothing new here, this would not even be noticed as an article by a popular magazine. A typical example of low content book that is no more than a streched and pumped-up 4-page article. Nuff said. Leave on the shelves.

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