Adrian Gostick

Chester and I are excited to announce that we have updated and added tons of new content to The Invisible Employee and released a second edition with John Wiley. It was released officially on December 30, but we’re having some great promotions today and tomorrow for anyone who buys the book. Here are all the details:

Buy the second edition of The Invisible Employee on Jan. 14 or 15, and we’ll immediately send you these valuable tools:

*World’s Greatest Managers Audio Lesson: Chester interviews some of the world’s most successful CEOs and business leaders. It’s like stealing the playbook of the masters!
*A Carrot A Week: Receive a free subscription to 52 practical suggestions on how to provide meaningful recognition—tips you can apply today.
*Global Carrots: Heading on a business trip? Managing employees from other lands? Learn how to say “thank you” in dozens of languages.

Buy one copy and we’ll send you these resources. Buy 5 copies for your team and receive all these resources, a Garrett the Carrot plush Carrot, and a complimentary copy of the Wall Street Journal bestseller A Carrot A Day—365 recognition ideas for every day of the year.

Simply forward your e-receipt, dated today or tomorrow (Jan. 14 or 15), from Amazon or Barnes & Noble to and we’ll send you your stuff at no charge!

For more information on the book, check out this month’s newsletter found here.

Our brains learn more from rewards than from failures. Breakthrough research from a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has shown the remarkable power of rewards on the brain. The MIT study was published in the journal Neuron last summer and was summarized in this month’s Harvard Business Review.

In short, the data shows that success is a lot more informative than failure. If you receive a reward for a successful action, the brain remembers what it did right. But with failure, the brain isn’t sure what to store so it doesn’t change at all (unless there is a clear negative consequence such as the shock a child feels when sticking something into an electrical outlet).

Now neuroscientists have long known that the brain can rewire itself in response to experience—what’s known as neuroplasticity. But until this research scientists didn’t know what causes brain matter to begin changing. Positive environmental feedback in the form of a reward for success triggers plasticity. Equally important and somewhat surprising: It’s opposite, failure, has no impact on our development.

We can glean two things from this new research. First, if we are managers, know that our employees’ brains will learn when we reward them for their successes. They’ll do more of the same positive behaviors. But second, we learn that we need to pay more attention to our failures and ask ourselves why we are failing. Obviously we are not hardwired to learn from failure, and must push to ask why we failed.

December is a time of giving. And as a manager, there is no substitute for a sincere thank-you to your employees to help them feel valued and appreciated for their great work. And the holidays are the perfect time, since, frankly, employees are expecting some form of recognition.

Here are a couple of ideas to help your holiday celebrations lead to more productivity in the New Year:

Make the company’s gift your own. Here’s a way to be generous—without spending a dime. You can get more mileage from the company’s holiday gift—whether a fruit basket, turkey, or merchandise item—by personally picking them up and delivering them to your people. As you make the rounds with the gifts, spend a little time with each person and express sincere gratitude for specific contributions. We guarantee the time invested will be well spent.

Don’t forget the card. As important as your gift is to employees this holiday season will be the card that accompanies it. There is no substitute for a sincere thank-you from the boss. Be sure all your communication surrounding your holiday gift is positive and thankful. The ultimate goal of the gift is to make sure employees feel valued and appreciated. After all, they are the ones keeping the doors open every day through this recession.

Measure success. Since you’ve been recognizing throughout the year, it’s helpful to take a moment in December and measure the results of your efforts. Give a quick, verbal survey to your employees and ask what they like and don’t like about their work environment—especially recognition and rewards. The economy is going to heat up and it will become hip to job hop again, so make a plan now to continually improve by creating a workplace where people come and stay committed.

Happy Holidays from the Carrot Culture Group!

Click here to download our holiday card in PDF format!

When at work you are expected to remain somber and humorless, especially in this economy. Right? And yet research shows humor adds a sense of positivity and optimism in a negative environment. When you laugh or smile, it indicates you are happy and engaged in what you are doing.

A year ago Scott Christopher and I wrote the book The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up. In it we featured a host of research showing how fun at work increases the bottom line. An article from World at Work recently reinforced the point. The authors write:

Humor can help in employee retention. When stress levels are booming and the ability to solve a problem seems to diminish, humor acts an effective tool. It aids oneself to recline and start afresh. Working under stress can blemish the outcome hence it is required that you first pacify, attain stability and then try to achieve. Humor is the ingredient that can result into a successful recipe.

Humor also alleviates the degree of bonding between the employees and their organization. You feel connected to the workplace because humor provides with a sense of comfort. It highlights your creative intelligence and the ability to make others happy in an environment where it is utmost important.

Humor translates positive emotions. How can a positive emotion not add to ascendancy? It either shows that you are ecstatic or on the pathway to attain contentment.

At the Thanksgiving table Uncle Eddie dives into the mashed potatoes, Cousin Nikki the rolls and salad, Aunt Ruth would drink gravy if she could, and little Tyler saves room for pumpkin pie.

All of us are driven by a desire to dig in, but each of us chooses to receive it in different ways. New research shows the same is true with recognition. While sincere appreciation drives performance in everyone, there are some differences in the way younger and older employees want to receive it.

The findings below are unpublished data from a global study conducted for us by Towers Perrin* for the second edition of The Carrot Principle.

We found people 25 and under (younger employees) are motivated by working with a successful organization and doing exciting, challenging work. Want to keep them happy and engaged? Then give them regular promotions and formal recognition for their work efforts. The data shows their engagement increases as they feel that their work is noticed, has an impact on the company and their own careers, and that the organization cares about them.

We also found that you, as a manager, are the most significant factor in these younger employees’ attitudes towards their organizations. A positive impression of their manager leads to positive impressions of their company, and vice versa.

Of course, we don’t stay young forever (sadly).

As employees develop in their careers, their shifting desires turn from seeking to be noticed to needing to be empowered. Employees age 25 and up (older employees) are primarily driven by a need to feel their company and manager trusts them to perform. These workers are also motivated by doing exciting and challenging work, but thrive on duties with variety. Like younger employees, they want to work with a successful organization with a strong future, but they value more autonomy. While they need recognition to be engaged, they do not need it as frequently as younger workers.

So, can everyone get what they want?

As a manager, it’s your job to help drive engagement at all levels of an employee’s career. We know, it’s a hard job—but that’s why you get the corner office and comfy leather chair.

Here’s one thing to think about as you look to engaging your people. In our research in The Carrot Principle we uncovered the number one driver of engagement for employees universally is Opportunity and Well-being. Employees must feel that they have the necessary opportunity to develop, advance their careers, and enhance their skills. They also need to feel their manager and company care about them as individuals.

“Opportunity and Well-being” is the Thanksgiving meal itself—something everyone wants. From there, however, we see an interesting preference emerge in the number two driver of engagement. Younger employees feel engaged when they are given clear goals and feel “accountability” for the results. Accountability is still important to older workers, but not as important as “trust.” As we age we want to feel that management has faith in our abilities, and we want to feel our leadership has integrity.

So, in short, everyone wants to grow and develop; everyone wants to know their boss cares about them. Younger workers thrive on deadlines and clear responsibility; as we get older we are driven by a need to work in a trust-filled environment.

And we all want recognition. But as we age, we get less and less.

Here’s some more meat from the survey. While 44 percent of those surveyed below the age of 25 say they “frequently receive recognition” at work, by the time someone reaches age 35 that number drops to 30 percent. Again, 44 percent of those under age 25 said recognition was “excellent” in their organization, while only 25 percent of those over age 35 agreed.

So what creates great recognition? In one word: alignment. When appreciation is aligned with values and goals that matter, it is more motivating for younger and older workers alike. For instance, if we say our company is all about customer service, but the majority of our recognition praises operating improvements or teamwork or innovation, we are probably misaligned. It’s an important finding that teaches us to be specific in focusing appreciation on great work that drives our company forward.

But once again we see an interesting split on the second driver of recognition based on age. Appreciation needs to be “meaningful” for the young. In other words, recognition is most effective when the gratitude itself is an important event in the person’s life, evoking positive feelings. The appreciation event should also show that the company cares about them as an individual. For older workers, however, emotion is not as important as is specific acknowledgement of their above-and-beyond “performance.” As we mature, we want to know that our individual or team performance is valued.

Bottom line: Everyone on your team is ready and willing to dig in. While each member will be motivated in slightly unique ways, the good news is that everyone at the table loves Carrots.

*2008 Global Recognition Study commissioned by O.C. Tanner and conducted by Towers Perrin.