Merry Lee Olson
Institute for Management Solutions
858-451-6545

Newly Released Winning Ways Climbs Charts

SAN DIEGO, CA-- Since its February launch by The Ken Blanchard Companies® and G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishers, Winning Ways, 4 Secrets for Getting Great Results by Working Well with People has risen rapidly on the Amazon.com reader rankings for new releases.

Winning Ways was written by Dick Lyles, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, and carries a foreword by Blanchard who is widely known as the coauthor of The One Minute Manager and 14 other best-selling titles.

Described as "the best book ever written about how to work well with others" -- the charmingly written parable tells readers how to produce high-quality results when working with other people without relying on formal authority. It presents strategies that will produce short- and long-term results while nurturing long-term relationships. The book also shares the knowledge needed to unleash the full potential of everyone who has great ideas, but struggles to get them accepted or acted upon in today's competitive corporate environment.

"I wrote this book to help today's executives -- and aspiring executives -- meet and conquer their greatest challenge," Lyles said. "That challenge is not learning the latest software or mastering the global market. It's working with people -- the crucial skill for everyone in business whether they're in the mailroom, at the customer service desk, or at the company headquarters."

Lyles has been an active speaker and management consultant with an international clientele for more than 20 years. His client base encompassed numerous cities and countries, various departments of the U.S. government, and Fortune 500 companies including Exxon and Hughes Aircraft.

He joined The Ken Blanchard Companies (formerly Blanchard Training and Development) in 1997, in order to provide his international management experience to an organization that has a rapidly expanding global customer base.

Another Lyles-authored book, Responsible Managers Get Results, was selected by Soundview Executive Summaries as one of the 30 best business books published in 1998. Written in conjunction with Gerry Faust and Will Phillips, the book addresses the two crucial skills of a responsible manager -- problem solving and getting people to work together.

The Ken Blanchard Companies was founded in 1979 by Ken and Marjorie Blanchard. Among the best known of the organization's core programs are: Situational Leadership®II; Situational Self Leadership; Building High Performing Teams®; and Raving Fans®," a service improvement program based on the best-selling book of the same title.

In addition to its global headquarters in San Diego, The Ken Blanchard Companies has two wholly owned international subsidiaries located in London and Toronto, and offices located across the United States in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, Princeton, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. The organization also has an international sales network in more than 35 countries throughout Europe, the Pacific Rim, and Latin America.