Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, Third Edition

Preface vii

PART 1: The Perils of Traditional Management
1 Fads, Fantasies, and Fixes 3
2 Management by Common Sense Is Not Management at All 13
3 Louder, Longer, Meaner 21

PART 2: The Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement
4 Behavior Is a Function of Its Consequences 31
5 The ABCs of Performance Management 41
6 The High Price of Negative Reinforcement 49
7 Capturing Discretionary Effort Through Positive Reinforcement 63
8 Decreasing Behavior—Intentionally or Otherwise 75
9 Effective Delivery of Reinforcement 83

PART 3: The Scientific Approach to Leadership
10 Pinpointing 97
11 The Effective Use of Measurement 109
12 Performance Feedback 121
13 A Model for Problem Solving 129

PART 4: Turning Good Intentions into High Performance
14 Goal Setting to Shape Behavior 139
15 The Four R’s of Effective Management
Recognition, Reward, Reinforcement, and Relationships 149
16 Compensation and Performance Appraisal 167
17 Employee Engagement
It’s Not About the Employees 181
18 Technology and Behavior 191
19 Getting Smarter Quicker 203
20 Performance Management
The Executive Function 215

Epilogue 225
References 231
Index 235

Maximize employee performance with this updated edition of the classic bestseller

In Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, renowned thought leader and internationally recognized workplace expert Aubrey Daniels takes a look at today’s rapidly changing work environment, providing a timely update to his seminal book on performance management.

As one of the foremost speakers and writers in the human performance field, for nearly 40 years Daniels has worked with organizations to apply scientifically-based behavioral tools and principles to effectively address workplace issues—particularly as they relate to management, leadership, culture, innovation, safety, engagement, and collaboration.

Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, presents Daniels’ proven strategies that have been successfully adopted by hundreds of organizations worldwide—ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies—and delivers step-by-step instruction and positive practices to help you implement and sustain positive change.

With a behavioral foundation and new chapters on employee engagement and the impact of the exponential increase in technology, this latest edition features all new examples, updated approaches to effective recognition and rewards systems, tips for stimulating and fostering innovation and creativity, and productive ways to embrace and empower the multi-generational workforce, including Millennials and future generations.

This timely update tackles the changes in the contemporary work environment, while providing step-by-step instructions and proven practices that have been adopted by Daniels’ global clients, from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Learn how to:

• Create effective recognition and rewards systems that are positively reinforcing to employees
• Stimulate innovation and creativity in exciting new ways
• Understand fluency as an efficient way to reduce training costs and increase training effectiveness for all employees
• Engage employees in ways that lead to improved performance and a stronger culture
• Motivate and empower the multi-generational workforce
• Understand and shape how technology is affecting employee behavior—for better and worse