Author: Mike Foti

Here are some suggestions to encourage employees to develop a good work ethic and enhance productivity:

• Team oriented incentive-based compensation systems. When we give others an incentive to produce at a higher level, it spurs their creativity and desire to give their best.

• Accountability, no matter how small. Put every person in charge of something. When we are given a sense of purpose, we can start to take pride in ownership of what we’re doing.

• Create a team environment. Utilize goal setting to learn the aspirations of others and to try to find matches and opportunities within the company that will be mutually beneficial.

• A flexible attitude. Cultivate a spirit of helpfulness and accommodating the unexpected.

• Standards and expectations, not rules. Be clear about high standards, but give people the freedom to do their best.

Some suggestions for keeping yourself on task, whether it’s fulfilling a New Year’s Resolution or completing a business project.

• Set up a system of mini-rewards. To get to our grander preferred future, it will take many small steps along the way. Set specific quantifiable goals with deadlines. Celebrate the little victories. Consider going out for ice cream or taking a walk. Have fun!

• Recognize that progress comes in a zigzag fashion. Nobody takes a straight line up! Setbacks will occur. Learn and adapt from the setbacks and move on. Keep a journal of what you learned from something that went awry and write down how specifically you are going to minimize this happening again.

• “Rotten apples” will try to take us off course. Some people will try to sabotage our efforts because they are jealous or spiteful. Minimize your interaction with “rotten apples” and don’t let them dissuade your dreams.

• Learn, learn and learn. Self-education is the key to new ideas that can reinvigorate us and move us forward. Read books, listen to tapes, and go to seminars. Most importantly, develop an “action plan” after the tape, book or seminar detailing actions you’re going to take based on what you’ve learned. Move those action items onto your planning system.

To be truly effective decision-makers, we must first have a clear mental picture of what our preferred future looks like. Here are some possible strategies:

• Ask the experts. Go to people who are doing what you want to do and come prepared with questions on how they got where they are. Learn the “price” that will need to be paid to achieve your preferred future.

• Learn to say no. Saying no to less important projects means saying yes to focused goals.

• Make sure your schedule meets your goals and objectives. Keep a log for a week and see where the time is going.

• Define your passion in a larger purpose. When your passion is not just “me-centered” and has a larger positive impact on others around us, it’s possible to motivate many people to take action.

• Get others involved with your dream. When we include others in our dream we do two things. We “set ourselves up,” putting our integrity on the line to achieve what we set out to do, and we “open ourselves up,” so that others who know our goals may begin to consciously recognize opportunities for us and refer us.

• Make sure your organization provides an outlet for your passion. Strive to create a workplace where meaningful and challenging work is created. Take the initiative to make it happen.

The real challenge in keeping employees is maximizing their gifts while minimizing their blemishes. Here are some thoughts on addressing this challenge:

• Create a “no fault” environment—To borrow a term from the insurance business, we need to create an environment where people are not reluctant to experiment with new methods. If we fail with out new methods, we learn, grow, don’t repeat them, and move on.

• Individual stamps—Provide an end objective for a task or a project, but don’t specify the exact steps that are required to meet the end. Let people put their individual stamp and creativity on the project.

• Provide a common vision—It’s nice to know what the larger goal is. Let others know how smaller assignments fit into the larger picture. If we know why we’re doing something, it’s a lot easier to feel good about our diligent effort.

• Few rules, but high standards—None of us wants to be managed, but we need accountability for our results. We need to create an environment with high goals that don’t block individual freedom.

• Willingness to help—All great things happen through others. We work together as co-workers, not employers/employees. We should help others in times of need, regardless of whether it’s convenient for us.