Rating: 
Summary: GREAT LITTLE BOOK - HIGHLY INTRIGUING!
Review: Positive thinking can be a powerful emotion, and that is the message revealed in this book. By researching whales as Sea World and studying their habits and emotional responses, the authors were able to apply their findings to human behaviour. Building trust, banishing negative behaviour and focusing on the positive can build strong relationships both at home and in the workplace. The book was extremely intriguing and some of the similarities between whales and the human species were both astonishing and inspirational. That, however should not surprise us. Animals in the wild do not need parenting classes or family counsellors to stress the importance of loyalty, harmony, commitment and family trust. Just as the authors have used methods of training animals, they have applied what they have learned to their personal lives to strenghten family relationships and increase productivity in the workplace without demoralizing people. That is quite an accomplishment! The book is well worth reading and most deserving of a five star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Take a balanced approach.
Review: Shamu, the giant killer whale is the hero of this story. He does incredible things at Seaworld and his trainer Yardley, ends up learning a lot from the whale on what makes the it perform. Les Kingsley , a disgusted manager, scoring low on managing people and performance, happens to be at Seaworld; and this changes his life at office and home forever, for the better. The Management Consultant Marie Anne enters the scene to give a formal academic touch to the theory behind the exemplary performance and behavior of the killer whales. Most managers respond in two ways to their reports- No response when performance is good; Negative feedback when performance is not as per expectations. There are two other ways that could make substantial difference to the lives of people and high impact on performance enhancement - Redirecting negative behavior and positive response to anything that is done in the right direction. The whole emphasis is to shift feed back from " catching people doing things wrong" to "catching people doing things right". The focus is on establishing trust and a strong relationship with employees as a means to facilitate a channel to enhance the positive side of working towards common goals. Appreciation is given not on completion of the task to perfection, but at every effort and step that leads to it. Ken Blanchard argues, as in many other works of his, against rating people as per the normal curve. He brings out a case to abolish performance management systems that compel managers to differentiate people and distribute them on a predetermined pattern. Personally, I am yet to come across substantial material and evidence to go by his argument. Managers are hired to perform, and in the process it is but natural that they would reward people who help attain business goals. This is not to say that people are to be treated as yet another set of physical assets purchased to produce goods and services. What is perhaps needed is a balanced approach that respects people as human beings and at the same time rewards them as per what they accomplish.
Rating:
Summary: Great advice for living on Earth!
Review: The underlying concepts are simple, but this is no mere handbook for squeezing serious effort from employees -- Whale Done! shows you how to interact with fellow humans and other inhabitants of our big, blue orb. Although Whale Done is an easy-reading page-turner, beneath its simple eloquence is terrific advice for changing behavior, whether your own or others'. If you're looking for a Machiavellian Manual, skip this one... But if you want happier, more fulfilling, and more effective relationships -- including those at work! -- Whale Done! is a must-read. The authors demonstrate that behavior is behavior... Whether you're being tested by a 10,000-pound buddy or your own two year-old. This book is for you, unless you have no spouse, parents, kids, friends, co-workers, pets, or desire to improve yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: I've got an idea.....Let's treat employees like animals!
Review: The wrath of Ken Blanchard strikes again. Does he know no shame?
The once promising leadership author has turned into a mill producing nothing but pulp trash.
Learn from trainers who work with killer whales? How not to gnaw of your leg or corner seals onto a beach.
Give me a break....
Rating: 
Summary: great message, hokey dialogue
Review: There are many sound success principles in this book. Build trust, accentuate the positive, redirect the energy when mistakes occur. Praise progress, catch people doing things right. There is meat to be found in this book, if you can dig it out of its somewhat sappy coating. Through the fictional story of Wes Kingsley, Whale Done! identifies proven principles that motivate killer whales at Sea World, and illustrates how they may be applied to benefit your relationships at work and home. Prepare to learn some sound information that will help you and your team become more effective, but brace yourself for dialogue that reads like a cheap infomercial. Larry Hehn, Author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory
Rating: 
Summary: A little fishy
Review: This book is a great reminder that we all need to look for the positive in our relationships and be more encouraging. It also gives excellent examples of how to do so. The major problem I had with this book, however, is that people are not WHALES and we are not training them to jump through hoops. The book advises that you do one of three things when dealing with other people. 1. No response, 2. Redirection, 3. Positive Response. Negative responses are not advised. The theory is that if someone is doing something WRONG and they are redirected or ignored and praised when doing something RIGHT they will be encouraged to do the right thing more often. This makes sense. However, when training whales you are trying to make them DO something. But what happens if you are trying to make them STOP doing something? Sure, this might work great when trying to get your kids to clean their rooms or an employer to hand in their work more promptly. But what if you are trying to get your kids to STOP jumping on the bed or dumping spaghetti on their heads? I can tell you as a mother of three that ignoring is NOT going to work, and redirection will only work if you can find something more fun to direct their attention toward. And after all, what is more fun than dumping spaghetti in your hair? This is a great book for anyone wanting to know more about how they can improve their relationships with people. But it shouldn't be considered the rule in managing people.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a waste of time
Review: This book is fluff and a way to make a quick buck for the author. It's makes Who Moved My Cheese seem like an epic novel. The print is about an 18 point font - like a Dick and Jane book. The concepts are simple-minded psycho babble. Save your money... here it is in full:
Provide positive response to good behavior
Redirect attention of animal when bad behavior is exhibited
Please... if people were as simple as animals, i.e., WANTED ONLY TO PLEASE, then maybe this would work. I guess it could be applied when training a pet, like a dog.. or maybe a 1 year old child.
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Summary: Babble
Review: This book reads like it was written on a two hour plane ride. Suppose the author is looking to cash in on his name in the field. Disappointing and a waste of money.
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Summary: The Missing Fundamental
Review: This is THE book about behavior that lies between the Golden Rule and the Baldwin's bible "Behavior Principles in Everyday Life." The review of this book printed above "A rather silly idea" makes me wonder how someone as sharp as this guy seems to be - still doesn't get it. He (writes like a 'he') says, "To assert that managers can command people to do what they want by simple rewards is silly, naive and just downright dumb! No company that I know works this way." In fact, ALL the good ones work this way. Starting with Mark McCormack ("What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School") is so positive with his thousands of employees all over the world that he can't fire anyone!! He says, "successful people spend most all of their time building relationships." But our reviewer friend above - Mr. "That's Silly" - apparently couldn't make the transition that being positive with people did not mean throwing them a fish and scratching them on the chin. Yes, its is more complex than that. Mr. "That's Silly" is right, having a TV remote with a buton that allows you to kill the person on the screen would have an instantaneous desired effect.... but the book explains that this doesn't work - yes, you win the battle, but over time, you will lose the war. 'Hit them with the big stick' will never - NEVER - let you "build relationships" which all successful companies have come to know are vital. After 9-11, the first business Bush, Powell and Runsfield attended to - was to cement our relationships throughout the world BEFORE we made any physical move - - and they did that cementing all with positives. (remember the "food bombs" - the Afghans love us for the positives) "Whale Done!" says to make friends BEFORE you get into the water.
Because with killer whales, if you don't have a positive relationship, you may end up being a whale's medium-well-done. Great book, where the carrot replaces the stick to build relationships that endure. Thank you for helping us all.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo! Or, Whale Done!
Review: To you if you've picked up a copy of Ken Blanchard's book. It could be the first step toward improving your relationships both at work and at home. Ken demonstrates how the concepts used by trainers at Sea World-build trust, accentuate the positive and, when mistakes occur, redirect the energy-can be utilized to improve our relationships-both personal and professional-and become more productive while doing it. When Wes Kingsley opted for a trip to Sea World rather than one of the other activities offered during his business conference, he had no idea how educated he'd become. He sat in awe as he witnessed such incredible performances by these killer whales. He was so intrigued that, following the show he sought out the chief trainer, Dave Yardley, to find out exactly how he got these animals to do such amazing performances. Dave told him how they have to build trust with the whales-you don't want to get in the water with these killers! You have to be sincere and honest, and your motives may be questioned initially depending on the relationship you're trying to repair or improve. This will take some time. Be patient! Next, he told him how and why they pay a lot of attention to what the whale does correctly. Progress is constantly being noticed, acknowledged and rewarded. The more you pay attention to what people are doing right, the more that behavior will be repeated. Even if things aren't exactly right, praise progress, set them up for success and build from there, or accentuate the positive. And, when the whale doesn't perform his task correctly, they immediately redirect his behavior elsewhere. You have to focus on the behavior and not the person. When a good performance is followed by something positive, naturally people want to continue that behavior. In Whale Done! Ken does an incredible job in showing how simplistic his concepts are, and how readily they can be applied both at work and at home.
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