John D. Beckett was born in Elyria, Ohio, in 1938. After receiving a B.S. in Economics and Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1960, he worked as an engineer at Lear Siegler for several years. In 1963 he returned home to join the family business, a small firm that manufactured oil burners for residential and commercial heating. He has been president of the company since his father died in 1965. Beckett is active in church activities, and in 1973 he helped found Intercessors for America (IFA), a national ministry that encourages church leaders and congregations to pray for the country and those who govern it. The same faith in God and Christian values that guides Beckett's involvement in IFA… led him to write Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul. Beckett provides a blueprint for leading a principle-based business that can be both successful and compatible with a life of Christian integrity. Beckett is a founding member and the first chairman of Lorain County 2020, a collaborative endeavor that involves business and community leaders in efforts to improve both the economy and quality of life in Lorain County, Ohio.
Kenneth Hartely Blanchard was born May 6, 1939, in Orange, New Jersey. He married Marjorie McKee, a business consultant, in 1962. He founded Blanchard Training and Development in 1977. Blanchard has cowritten several books on management, including one of the best-selling management books of all time, The One-Minute Manager (1982) with Spencer Johnson. In the book, the authors describe effective and efficient management skills. The basics to good management are setting goals, praising, and reprimanding. Blanchard says that these skills can easily be translated to work in the home as well as the office. Blanchard lives in San Diego, California.