by Mike McCarthy An excited employee said, "I told my boss, ‘If I don’t get Employee of the Month this month, I’m going to quit,’ so he gave it to me. Yay!"  What’s wrong with this picture? Two things. First, we should never reinforce people for unproductive behaviors, negative talk, or threats (this will only [...]

   A manufacturer had hired 24 employees from a company which had laid them off. Most had been with that company for a long time and had trained newer co-workers (who weren’t laid off). These 24 people were still feeling “burned” from their experience when their new boss asked them to cross-train each other. The goal [...]