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I hope this never happens to you
August 05, 2009
We received some frightening responses to our recent request for your recognition horror stories. Here’s a humorous one that many of you have probably seen played out at some point in your career:
I work for an insurance company in the Boston area. I recently attended a department meeting with about 75 or so fellow employees. A presentation regarding upcoming proposals, changes, and an outlook on how the company was doing was followed by an awards presentation for certain employees who had worked here for 30, 25, and 10 years. They each received some sort of arrangement of flowers in a decorative vase and were called up individually to receive their award. However, the presentation consisted of calling out each employee’s name, a handshake from management, and the word “Congratulations.“ No mention of who these people were, what they did at the company, or any tribute to their dedication and devotion to the company. I half expected management to call out—“Here’s yer flowers…see you in another 30 years.“
A few weeks later, a memo was sent around saying that our company was entered in a newspapers’ “Top 100 Places to Work” in the state, and that we would all be asked to anonymously answer surveys. I can only imagine how the award recipients, and others who witnessed the event, will respond to the survey! It seems we’d be more likely to win “Top 100 Places to Get Away from Before You Spend The Rest of Your Lives There Underappreciated!“
-Brent in Boston
Good luck, Brent. I suggest you send a copy of The Carrot Principle to your upper management before the next awards presentation. You never know…
Leading a team of rivals
July 30, 2009
As leaders, we can learn much from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, which details how President Abraham Lincoln formed a team of cabinet members who preserved a nation and freed the country from slavery.
The rise and fall of workplace engagement
July 23, 2009
In this economy, we are spending more hours on the job than ever before. Faced with a shortage of good jobs, increased competition, demanding executives, layoffs and off-shoring, most of us are plugged into work at all hours through laptops, wireless connections, cell phones, and other digital devices. In fact, some 25 million U.S. workers today report working an average of more than 50 hours a week, with 40 percent of those workaholics logging more than 60 hours a week. An average American or Canadian worker puts in a full month of hours (160 to be precise) more each year than a generation ago, more than the citizens of any other Western/European country, and even longer hours than medieval peasants did in servitude.
Are you above average?
July 17, 2009
This week, Chester and I spoke at the international gathering of the Meeting Planners International. Two of our team members were passing out Carrot books in a booth in the exhibit hall. A couple of women hustled up to our folks and asked if they would give a copy of The Carrot Principle to their boss who was coming along just a few paces behind. “He really needs it,” they whispered quickly, then moved away to watch.
The manager when handed the book shook his head and said, “Don’t need it. I’m good at that stuff.” Hmmm. How do you say, “Your employees want you to have this?” Actually, just like that. And our team members say the honesty felt great.
Sharing Stories
July 08, 2009
We receive stories from readers all the time. Some are of great, touching recognition moments and others are, well, let’s just say they’re not so touching. Brian Dickinson, UK Strategic Project Facilitator with Piramal Healthcare in England sent in a great story. We really liked how his company leadership found a really cost-effective but high-impact way to recognize their people when there was a really tight timeline for a really big project. Says Brian,
Is the Downturn Making Recognition Passé?
July 02, 2009
I was asked this week to comment on some workplace trends for the Meeting Planners International annual conference where Chester and I will keynote in July. Here are the questions and answers.
What does appreciation have to do with innovation?
June 29, 2009
Had an interesting interview yesterday with Braden Kelly of Blogging Innovation. I thought you might find it interesting.
‘I Love You’ at home = ‘Thank You’ at work
June 23, 2009
Before working with corporate groups, we’ll send out pre-surveys that ask employees to note the last time they were recognized. How would you answer that question? While we’ve shown in our research the most productive workplaces provide specific praise to their people every seven days, the majority of workers we survey say it’s been at least six months since their last public recognition moment, and about a third say it’s been longer than a year. Yikes!
One simple way to begin building a Carrot Culture is to remember that effective recognition is frequent. To hit that “every seven days” goal, your methods will vary from providing specific words of encouragement, to hand writing a note of thanks, to thanking a team member in a staff meeting, and so on.
Almost all of us understand the need for this type of frequent recognition in our personal lives, but we don’t translate this to our business lives. Think of it this way: Have you ever been in love? How often do you tell your significant other that you love them? In our personal lives, we tell those closest to us that they are important to us just about every day. We say it with three simple words, “I love you.”
At work, it’s even easier. We tell employees that they are important to us by saying just two words, “thank you,” about once a week. Now don’t get those two mixed up! But ask yourself, how often do you tell those that work with and for you that you appreciate them?
To illustrate this point, the amazing animator Sean Womack has put together a fabulous little film. It takes about a minute to watch, and I promise you’ll never forget the message.
Check out the world premiere of Don’t Say I Love You right now, and send this link along.
The Six Million Dollar Man Gets What?
June 23, 2009
I did an interview yesterday with Rick Corrado, host of “The Independent Business Owner” show on VoiceAmerica’s Business Channel. I mentioned how a recognition award should fit the achievement, and Rick gave an interesting anecdote. Before becoming a successful entrepreneur, Rick said a good friend of his worked for a large corporation. The man was a rising star, and developed a new product that brought a whopping $6 million into the corporation. This fellow and his teammates were summoned before the CEO, who praised their efforts. But the CEO ruined the sentiment by rewarding them for their hard work with a company t-shirt.
Money Magazine Says it’s Carrots That Get People to Work Harder
June 17, 2009
Flipping through the July Special Report of Money magazine, it’s hard to miss the glowing Carrot on page 21. Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University, has written an article that says to get your people working harder in this economy you’ve got to “dole out cheap carrots.”