Pitfalls of Performance Appraisal
No activity in corporate life is more universally despised, by both managers and employees, than performance appraisal. Richard Warner and I discuss the pitfalls and what to do instead.
Still Driving
My recent post DRiVE Me Crazy!, sparked a dialogue in the blogosphere and in particular, blogger Lisa (www.managementcraft.com) and I continued to trade thoughts.
Here is her last entry:
[Lisa] I…
How The Mighty Fall
With 1:55 left in the game and with the Minnesota Vikings leading the Dallas Cowboys 27 to 3, the Cowboys had no real chance of winning. Surprisingly to many, Viking’s quarterback Brett Favre…
"DRiVE" Me Crazy!
In his new book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Dan Pink says that a new motivational operating system, what he calls Motivation 3.0, is needed for today’s business because what…
The “Underwear Bomber” Incident – My Two Cents
Almost everyone has written or talked ad nauseum about Abdul, etc. so I might as well weigh in. I am reminded of one of our customers in the carpet hauling business where they would put carpet on a…
Hope Springs Eternal
I have quoted the poet, Alexander Pope, a lot lately, but he wrote so many good things. He wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast; …”
As I think back about all the problems in our country…
The Folly of Early Commitment in Washington
As one who studies behavior for a living, I couldn’t help analyzing last week’s “horse-trading” in the Senate around the health care reform bill. Do the leaders in Congress ever concern themselves…
The Reason Some Athletes Think They Are Above the Law is Because They Are!
My opinion of Falcon’s head coach, Mike Smith, dropped several notches week before last because of his action in the Babineaux case. For those who don’t follow the Falcons NFL football team,…
"Up In The Air"
With all the buzz surrounding the new movie “Up in the Air” I’ve put it on my must see movie list for the Holidays. I’m particularly interested because in today’s business environment, these…
Great Example of Natural Reinforcement In Action
The Fun Theory is a clever marketing campaign from Volkswagen that has caught the attention of behavior analysts because it shows how to change behavior (in this example increase exercise) by…
Missed Tackles + Missed Blocks = Tebow Tears: The Danger of Being #1
I confess to being a Gator fan. Darnell Lattal, President and CEO of ADI, is an Alabama graduate and fan. I don’t know what to call her, a Tide? I sure won’t call her an elephant. Alabama uniforms…
Did McChrystal Get What he Wanted? I Think So!
When I was in the Army there was a saying about budgets, “Ask for three, expect two and get one.”
I was reminded of this when watching President Obama’s speech at West Point last night. When…
Fun With Positive Reinforcement
ADI - Aubrey Daniels International, Fun with positive reinforcement. Contact an ADI consultant today.
What Can We Do To Motivate Our Employees?
What can we do to motivate our employees?" This is a question I get a lot as a consultant. Managers want to know how to motivate people. How should we respond to this question? "Thank you."
This…
A Teacher Puts "Behavior" Into Action
Some really get this behavior thing. I received this email from a teacher out West. Wouldn’t you like to have had all your teachers like him or have Scott teach your children?
I've been using the…
Oops #6: Salary and Hourly Pay
In his latest podcast, Aubrey Daniels discusses the reality that salary and hourly pay produces the lowest performance, and instead companies, at the very least, need to build in contingencies of…
Young Entrepreneurs Get It
I spoke last week to a group of 500 managers at Fortune Small Business Growth Summit, a yearly conference in Dallas organized by Verne Harnish. The group was composed of small business owners and…
Oops #5: Rewarding Things a Dead Man Can Do
What do having no accidents, making no errors and handing out a bonus across the board have in common? They all reward things a dead man can do! Listen now.
