Our History

"Our work is founded on the belief that people make the most difference in an organization. They deserve our praise, our best coaching, our honesty, and fair value for work done.  Most important, they thrive best in organizations that support growth, skill development, creativity, and alignment with stated values."

–Ken and Margie Blanchard

THROUGH THE YEARS

How It Started

  • Blanchard Founders

    1979

    The Legacy Begins

    • Blanchard formally incorporates as Blanchard Training and Development, Inc.
    • Founding Associates (Ken Blanchard, Fred Finch, Pat Zigarmi, Don Carew, Drea Zigarmi, Eunice Parisi-Carew, Margie Blanchard, and Laurie Hawkins) are formally named and acknowledged for the creation of the company and its intellectual property. It is a bond of friendship with a shared focus to make a difference and challenge conventional business wisdom to create a more just and equitable world.

The Early Years

  • Spencer Johnson and Ken Blanchard

    1980

    A Perfect Partnership

    Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson meet at a party and begin collaboration on The One Minute Manager. They self-publish The One Minute Manager, selling 100,000 copies in its first year.

  • Ken giving a class circa 1982

    1982

    Fame Starts to Grow

    Publisher William Morrow buys the rights to The One Minute Manager and promotes it nationally. Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson appear on the Today Show. Shortly after publication, the book becomes a New York Times bestseller. The One Minute Manager goes on to sell 15 million copies and be translated into 47 languages.
  • SLII workbooks circa 1985

    1985

    SLII® is Born

    • The company completes construction of Blanchard’s 15,000 square-foot headquarters in Escondido, giving the company its first permanent office space just north of San Diego.
    • The Blanchard Foundation is established for nonprofit activities and charitable contributions.
    • William Morrow publishes Leadership and the One Minute Manager, highlighting new research from Blanchard. SLII®, Blanchard’s flagship leadership development program, is introduced based on the new research. SLII® becomes the world’s most widely used leadership training program, teaching leaders how to build meaningful connections with coworkers that create exponential impact.
  • Food Drive at Blanchard in 1989

    1989

    Philanthropy Thrives

    Blanchard for Others, an employee-supported, nonprofit charitable organization, is created, collecting contributions and organizing volunteer activities to serve the needs of charitable causes in the community. Blanchard for Others has a proud history of enabling employees to become active supporters of local, national, and international community service groups.

Expanding Growth

  • Teams book on desk

    1990

    One Minute Manager for Teams

    The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams is published and catalyzes Blanchard’s comprehensive Team Leadership training program that teaches managers to diagnose their team's development and apply the right leadership style.
  • Blanchard Founders in 1991

    1991

    Entrepreneurs of the Year

    Ken and Margie Blanchard received the distinguished Entrepreneurs of the Year award from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.
  • Big Ben in London

    1993

    Expansion Into Europe

    Blanchard opens a wholly-owned office in the UK, marking the beginning of a European hub and continued expansion. Blanchard currently operates in over 40 countries to meet clients’ global leadership training needs.
  • Ken at first client conference

    1994

    Our First Client Conference

    Blanchard conducts its first Client Conference. The event continues to this day, featuring client speakers sharing presentations focused on results and partnering.
  • Current Blanchard HQ

    1998

    The Ken Blanchard Companies

    • Blanchard officially changes its name from Blanchard Training and Development to The Ken Blanchard Companies.
    • Blanchard expands its footprint into Canada and establishes a Canadian headquarters.
    • Blanchard launches Self Leadership, a program that empowers individual contributors to become self leaders.

A New Millennium

  • Screen shot from 2000

    2000

    Coaches Services Launched

    • Coaching.com, Blanchard’s full-service coaching practice and website, is launched. It becomes the genesis for Blanchard Coaching Services, working with executives at all levels to identify and practice new behaviors and strategies, improve alignment between decision-making and organizational objectives, and hone leadership skills.
    • Blanchard enters the digital world with its release of SLII® 2000 on CD-ROM.
  • Workbook from 2005

    2005

    Teaching Managers To Coach

    • Blanchard launches Coaching Essentials® to help leaders learn how to coach their employees effectively—not just manage them.
    • Ken Blanchard is inducted into the Amazon.com Hall of Fame as a distinguished author.
  • Leading at a higher level book

    2006

    Celebrating 25 Years

    • 25 years of research, development, and thought leadership at The Ken Blanchard Companies culminates in the publication of Leading at a Higher Level—the definitive guide for leaders.
    • Blanchard launches Building Trust, teaching managers how to build trust to increase engagement, creativity, and commitment.
  • online program screen shot

    2009

    Introducing Virtual Courses

    • Program delivery options are expanded when Blanchard makes its first all-virtual courses available. Blanchard goes on to offer a variety of digital programs and tools that allow you to deliver our world-class leadership training in a flexible, self-paced format that’s available when and where your learners need it.
    • Blanchard expands its academic influence with publication of research into the factors that influence Employee Work Passion.

A Changing World

  • Blanchard Trainer Network screen shot

    2012

    Trainer Network Opens

    • Blanchard launches the Blanchard Trainer Network—an online support community for trainers.
    • Ken Blanchard is honored as a First Generation Legend by the ISA Association of Learning Providers.
  • SLII course materials

    2013

    SLII® Evolves

    Blanchard introduces The SLII Experience™, the latest evolution of its flagship leadership development program, incorporating Blanchard’s latest research and state-of-the-art design theory.
  • Blanchard Institute logo

    2014

    Giving Back

    Blanchard Institute, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is created. Its vision is to use Blanchard's content and intellectual property to adapt and tailor leadership training programs for middle and high school students, without any charge to the students, teachers, facilitators, parents, schools, or organizations involved. Learn more about Blanchard Institute here.
  • The New One Minute Manager book

    2015

    Rebooting a Classic

    William Morrow publishes The New One Minute Manager. Blanchard releases First-time Manager program the following year, based on the concepts contained in the best-selling book.
  • Self Leadership course materials

    2017

    A New Self Leadership

    Blanchard releases a new version of Self Leadership, a training program based on the best-selling business book Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager.

Poised for The Future

  • Scott Blanchard

    2020

    A New Face

    • Scott Blanchard is named as incoming president of The Ken Blanchard Companies just as the organization finds itself facing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company quickly pivots from primarily face-to-face solutions to virtual alternatives, and is grateful to clients and associates for their partnership and dedication.
    • Blanchard greatly expands its product offerings by releasing Conversational Capacity® which teaches how to have balanced dialogue about difficult subjects, followed by the release of Courageous Inclusion™ and Servant Leadership Essentials™ over the next two years.
    • Blanchard enhances its digital offerings with the release of KenBot™ for SLII®, multiple Digital Learning Journeys, and a new collaborative online course curriculum on the Intrepid platform.
  • Ken and Randy Conley with book

    2022

    Innovation Lab Launches

    • The Blanchard Innovation Lab launches. The Lab is a strategy and solutioning center focused on meeting customers where they are by chartering small, cross-functional teams to create learning experiences addressing specific learner personas and business needs. It employs diverse perspectives and innovative methods to help people learn on the job.
    • For the seventh year in a row, The Ken Blanchard Companies is named a Top 20 Leadership Training Company by Training Industry, Inc.
    • Ken Blanchard and trust expert Randy Conley release Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust, published by Berrett-Koehler.
  • Blanchard's new brand at ATD 2023

    2023

    A Fresh Rebrand

    • The Ken Blanchard Companies rebrands as Blanchard.
    • Blanchard Community and Propel by Blanchard™ are launched, bringing human-powered learning experiences to everyone in a shared online learning space.
    • Essential Motivators™ and Fearless Innovation™ programs released.
    • Kristin Brookins Costello, Chief Organizational Excellence Officer, wins Silver Learning in Practice Award from Chief Learning Officer for the second year in a row.