Book Titles

Research… suggests that when a downturn hits, companies that use layoffs last and least recover more quickly and hold a competitive advantage when good times return.

…researchers concluded that although widely used, this ‘binge and purge’ approach is a bad way to control labor costs.

When… it is difficult or impossible to punish employee misdeeds or remove poor performers, imaginative bosses sometimes still find ways to persuade people to change their destructive behavior.

…trying something creative rather than punitive may be the most promising path – no matter how much the perpetrators may deserve to be punished and sent packing.

All bosses can be more effective when they work with, rather than against, the peer culture. Bosses who are known as fair and consistent will get more support from the peer culture when they do their dirty work.

Research on employee theft shows that ridicule, ostracism, and nasty gossip by peers is 250 percent more effective for deterring stealing than forms of punishment by supervisors.

If you, as the boss, believe that you are doing splendid dirty work, stop patting yourself on the back and figure out if you are deluding yourself. Just because you see yourself as fair and humane, does not mean your people see it that way.

As a boss, you can’t always know (let alone control) how other people react to you.

Research on everything from negotiation, to revenge, to company integrity reveals that when people believe they are dealing with a liar… they get angry, retaliate… and lose faith in otherwise competent bosses and colleagues.

…although there is a time for open communication of facts, destructive rumors (and facts) can fly and people can be damaged by bosses who can’t keep their big mouths shut.