Catching People

My friend and co-author Ken Blanchard travels all over the world giving speeches to top leaders and heads of companies. People soak up what he says, and many show up after a talk to ask the same question: “If there were one bit of advice you could give us, above all the rest, what would it be?” Without hesitation Ken replies, “Start catching people doing things right.”

Back in 2004 Ken and I, working with friends Thad Lacinek and Chuck Tompkins — the guys in charge of training killer whales at SeaWorld--put that advice in the form of a book titled Whale Done! the Power of Positive Relationships. It’s a story about Wes Kingsley, a man who’s not getting along with people at work or at home, who goes to the Shamu Show. Like the rest of the audience, Wes wonders how they get those killer whales to perform so spectacularly. When he meets the trainer and asks if they starve the animals or otherwise punish them, he’s told, “It’s not a good idea to punish a killer whale and then get in the water with him.” Instead, Wes learns that the formula is simple:

1. Set things up for success.


2. Ignore or redirect failure.


3. Praise success (ie., give a Whale Done!).

The idea is an old one: accentuate the positive; eliminate the negative. When Wes starts applying the steps at work and at home, his world turns around.


The second book in the Whale Done series, Whale Done Parenting, is due out in October. As the title implies, its story focuses on raising children following the same rules. Amy, a mother of a two-year-old, is training to be a killer whale trainer. She brings the Whale Done principles home and applies them to the raising of her son. The typical issues of parenting a tot -- potty training, tantrums, mealtimes, bedtimes, sharing, etc. — all get the Whale Done treatment. A third book, The Whale Done School, is in the works for next year. It’s to be based on the work of Cynthia Zurchin, a courageous elementary principal who turned a troubled Pittsburgh school around using the Whale Done approach.

Catching people doing things right is simple, but it’s far from easy. That’s because we’re accustomed to noticing the things people do wrong. A simple misteak grabs our attention, and we think we should correct it. But strange magic happens when we begin to shift our attention onto what people do right. When we do, there’s plenty to pick up on. As soon as you start noticing people’s good stuff, and calling their attention to it, be ready for them to do some weird things. We’re all of us so used to living in a world of gotcha’s that a Whale Done — a pat on the back, a compliment, a praising or bit of recognition – coming out of left field can turn us around. It can change our motivation, because we want to do more of what got the sunshine.

So take Ken Blanchard’s advice with your kids, your students, your employees, your spouse, or even your boss: Start catching them doing things right.

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"Catching" people requires retraining our attention, a skill of invaluable worth. Need a coach for this? Visit www.myjimballard.com

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