Maximizing Performance Through Applied Common Sense*

When you think about life, whether at work or at home, you really would like to be told more often what you are doing right. Most of the time there are three options of what you can get: criticism, you can be told what you are doing right or you get nothing (silence). Mostly we get criticism or very little of anything. We want more reinforcement. I encourage you to give more reinforcement. Tell people what they are doing right, write them a note, tell them out loud, or make a toast of them in public. Whatever it is, tell them what they are doing right and be specific. Instead of just saying, good job” say, “I want you to know that you did a wonderful job it added a lot of value and here’s specifically how well you did…” So remember, tell people what they are doing right. You are at low risk of doing it too much.

If you are like most people you truly believe that if you reinforce the behavior you’re looking for, you’re probably going to get more of it. Do you believe that? Somehow we feel its okay to reinforce two populations: small children and dogs. If it works on small children and dogs, do you suppose it works on grown ups? Of course it does! Most people generally hear criticism or they hear nothing. Yet, most of us thrive on being told what we are doing right. Therefore, make a point of increasing the frequency of telling everybody what they’re doing right. You’re at very low risk of doing it too much. So if you’re terrific, that’s terrific. If other people are terrific, tell them!