Motivation

“I told you to do it this way.” “Weren’t you in the training where we learned how to do this correctly?” “Why do you keep doing this?” “I thought I was clear about how I wanted this done.” Anyone…

A topic that often comes up while discussing behavioral consequences with leaders is that of self-consequences. In other words, can a person provide consequences to themselves for their own behavior…

Let’s face it, today’s workforce looks very different than those of the past—especially if you're a manager. It is now very common for employee groups to extend across many generations, making…

Most of us have had the opportunity to work under great, and unfortunately not so great, leaders. More than likely when you worked with great leaders you delivered high levels of discretionary effort…

About 11 years ago, my father underwent successful open-heart surgery at age 74. The surgeons completed a triple by-pass and valve replacement. My family and I learned that among the many profound…

“My New Year’s resolution is to quit procrastinating . . . I’ll start tomorrow.” Unfortunately, that’s the dead-end road that a majority of our resolutions take. Most of us are familiar with Albert…

While preparing for a talk to a safety audience, I ran across several videos by Paul O’Neil, former President of Alcoa, about why safety was his number one priority in managing the company.  He…

We have just signed a new lease for our offices and as such, I am moving spaces.  As I started going through my “stuff” I ran across many articles that I previously put aside that I thought…

At the US Open in 1925, golfer Bobby Jones called a penalty on himself, a penalty that no one saw. That one stroke caused him to lose the tournament.  When people began to praise him for his…

Attracting and keeping your best performers continues to be not only a smart business decision but a very strategic one that all companies invest in. While some believe attracting talent is the first…

Shaping is a powerful tool for teaching any new skill.  Although most shaping of our behavior is done inadvertently, people who use this process purposefully are better coaches and leaders who…

In the ABC series, What Would You Do? host John Quiñones places ordinary folks in situations that force them to make tough, ethical decisions. Will they step in when someone is being mistreated? If a…

Ah, the New Year has arrived—our chance to hit the reset button.  This year is sure to be better…we resolve to get fit, be a better parent, heck, even be a better boss.  For many managers a…

The following is a copy of an actual letter sent by Sam Walton of Wal-Mart to his managers. It was sent to me by an impassioned client who wanted to thank us for bringing the science of behavior into…

While banking is a numbers-driven profession, watching the numbers like a hawk and pouncing when employees fall short is not the best way to boost financial results. Instead of merely tracking…

A few years ago I created my own bewitching list of things that scared me.  I have dusted off that list and provided an updated view of my top thirteen frightening things.  I’m afraid to…

Many of us are in the deliberate search for better, easier, faster, more effective ways of getting things done.  We look for optimization in all sorts of pursuits; fitness, cooking, business…

We may be at a tipping point.  It just might be that we have hit the limit on how much we can do on any given day, week or month.  Most of us have more work on our to-do lists than we can…