Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I can appreciate your perspective.

I take it from your comment that the message I communicated to you was that people should only be rewarded and not held accountable for their actions. If that’s what it sounds like I mean, then I didn’t state my position very clearly.

I think that it is important to distinguish between the bare minimum performance necessary to keep the paycheck and the encouragement and recognition we should give as leaders and parents when people go above the bare minimum.

I am definitely not an advocate of willy-nilly, feel-good comments. I am an advocate of letting people know that they did a good job, and the survey data I have seen indicates that the vast majority of people will not stay engaged if they are not personally recognized in ways other than through their paycheck.

If the paycheck is the only reason people show up, a high number of people will do just enough to keep the paycheck. What I’m trying to do is inspire high-level rather than “just enough” behavior.

If your approach to working with people works for you in your situation, I am happy for you. I just haven’t found the approach to work with that many people. To paraphrase the words of James Madison, I chose to take human nature as I find it rather than try to change it.