Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture.

Ken Blanchard was told in college he couldn't write. His graduate professors said he lacked academic ability. When he finished The One Minute Manager, his colleagues warned him it would embarrass him professionally. It went on to sell 15 million copies and become one of the most influential business books ever written.

In this episode, we sit down with Martha Lawrence — editor, novelist, and the woman who spent 22 years working directly alongside Ken Blanchard. Martha recently wrote his biography, Catch People Doing Things Right, and she's here to share what she learned about the man, the philosophy, and why his ideas matter more than ever in today's leadership landscape.

📖 What We Discuss with Martha Lawrence

1. The Book That Broke the Rules In 1982, business books were dense, academic, and hundreds of pages long. Ken Blanchard wrote a 100-page parable — and invented an entirely new category. Martha explains how a chance meeting at a cocktail party led to one of the most counterintuitive publishing decisions in history, and why Ken's colleagues thought it would ruin his reputation.

2. Leading With Love — What It Actually Means "Leading with love" sounds soft. It isn't. Martha unpacks what Ken really meant: getting yourself out of the way so other people can be magnificent. She explains why this philosophy is harder to execute than command-and-control leadership — and why it produces better results.

3. EGO = Edging Good Out In a world of loud, aggressive, title-obsessed leaders, Ken had a different definition of ego. Martha shares how his father's advice on the day he became seventh grade class president shaped his entire leadership philosophy — and why people follow leaders they trust, not leaders with impressive job titles.

4. What He Did With a Tape Recorder Two stories from Martha's biography that stop you in your tracks: what Ken did when an employee's widow visited the office, and what he did the night his own father was dying. Both reveal the difference between someone who talks about values and someone who actually lives them.

5. The 9/11 Test After 9/11, the Blanchard organisation was losing millions. The leadership team discussed layoffs for the first time in company history. What Ken did next is one of the most striking examples of transparent, human leadership you'll hear — and it ended with the whole company in Maui.

🔗 Connect with Martha Lawrence

Website: https://www.marthalawrence.com
Ken Blanchard's books: https://www.kenblanchardbooks.com
Blanchard organisation: https://www.blanchard.com

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com
Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.