Whale Done!

What could killer whales have to do with building positive relationships? Amused and curious, I was determined to find out, and let me tell you what an amazing learning experience it has been!

“Whale done” by Ken Blanchard, speaks of the many ways in which people can be empowered to perform well, thus building a positive network leading to success. The book revolves around the techniques implemented by the trainers in training whales to perform tricks in Sea-World, Orlando. Surprisingly, all of it can be implemented successfully on humans too!

Wes Kingsley is curious to find out about how killer whales are trained to perform and entertain large crowds. His curiosity leads him to chat with the trainer, Dave. He learns how trainers’ techniques at Sea-World, Orlando can have amazing real-life results.

Being anywhere near an eleven-thousand pound animal can itself be intimidating. Can you imagine how hard it would be to train them to perform tricks! The first step that Dave mentions as critical is the ability to build trust, and trust is built by accentuating the positives and redirecting the negatives.

This is perhaps the biggest learning ever. It is so true that we tend to focus so much on what went wrong, that we sometimes fail to see and acknowledge all that went right! Dave explains that the more focus there is on a particular type of behavior, the more is the likelihood of the same being repeated! So all we need to do is to accentuate the positives, and when mistakes occur, just redirect or rechannel the energy to something else. The more stress there is on the positives, the more is the likelihood that the behavior is repeated.

The thoughts flow on to the ABC’s of management. A being the Activator, B being the behavior and C being the consequence. Activator is anything that stimulates our performance, in our work environment the activators could be our goals. Behavior is the actual performance and consequence is what happens after the desired performance is achieved. Normally, we tend to focus so much on the activators and the behavior that the consequence, which is by far the most important of all, is ignored.

The book goes on to detail the four types of consequence:

No response.
Negative response
Redirection
Positive response.

The most widely prevalent consequence is “No response”. The attitude of not reacting or simply ignoring when things are going well enough, is so common that it is almost perceived as normal. What is more disturbing is the negative response. Negative response can be any kind of criticism. As is evident, both these responses do not contribute to accentuating the positives, and are best avoided.

Redirection is rechanneling the energy, when things go wrong. Redirection is very important as it has the potential to convert a negative into a positive! The following are the steps to the redirection approach:

Describe the error as soon as possible without blame.
Show negative impact
If appropriate take the blame on oneself
Go over the task in detail and make sure it is understood
Express continuing trust

Well, the last and the best of all is a positive response to behavior. Redirection is one step to a positive response. Spontaneous and true appreciation can double the motivation levels. It is important to praise progress or even a step in the right direction, not waiting until the ultimate goal is achieved.

Then the book goes on to detail the difference between the “GOTCHA” approach and the “WHALE DONE” approach. The Gotcha approach is catching people doing wrong, and the Whale Done approach is catching people doing right. Sadly, what we see in most work environments today is the Gotcha approach. When everything is going right no one seems to bother, but the minute something goes wrong, all attention and focus is on the perpetrator!

The Whale done approach teaches us to catch people doing right. The following are the steps listed for a clear Whale done process:

Praise people immediately
Be specific about what they did right or almost right
Share positive feelings about what they did
encourage them to keep up the good work

It is important to note that Whale Done works only when you are sincere and honest!

Wow! What an eye opener! There are so many occasions when people do right repeatedly, but are not praised or acknowledged. Let us wake up today and catch people doing right… and applaud them for a job “Whale Done”!