Work Archives | Shortform Books

Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Book Overview

What is the book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work about? Why doesn’t motivation based on financial incentives work anymore? How can employers make employees feel motivated to do their best work? In the book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, Paul Marciano argues that engagement stems from respect and that employees don’t want to feel like a cog in a chain. That’s why Marciano suggests that managers use the RESPECT model to motivate their employees. Continue reading for an overview of Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work and the RESPECT model.

Reward Incentives: 20 Reasons They Don’t Work

What are the top 20 reasons why employee reward incentives don’t work? What are the different types of reward incentives that employers offer? In his book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, Paul Marciano argues that traditional employee reward incentives such as bonuses and recognition programs don’t actually improve employee performance. Marciano compares reward incentives to dangling a carrot in front of a mule to get it to move. Here are the 20 reasons why employee reward incentives don’t work.

Why Job Engagement Is Crucial to Performance

What does it mean to be engaged at work? In what ways do engaged employees do better? How can you increase your workplace engagement? According to Paul Marciano in his book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, employee job engagement is essential for your employees to produce their best work. However, studies show that most employees feel disengaged from their work. Here is why job engagement is so important and steps you can take to increase your employee engagement.

How to Promote Empowerment in the Workplace

What are the benefits of employee empowerment in the workplace? What can you do to empower your employees? In Paul Marciano’s book Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, he discusses the many benefits of employee empowerment and autonomy. Marciano says that it’s only when employees can make independent decisions that they don’t detract from the team. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of employee empowerement and some actionable pointers for empowering your team.

Building a Cohesive Workplace: Learn From the Bees

Are you part of a cohesive workplace? Is everyone truly working together? A key to creating a cohesive workplace is to think of it as a hive. Bees operate in the interest of the group rather than the self. You can tap into employees’ hiving tendencies to create a cohesive team. Read more to learn three ways to build a cohesive workplace.

Giving Employee Feedback: Tips for Managers

Looking for advice on giving employee feedback but don’t have a lot of time to spare? Why is giving supportive feedback so important? Many managers struggle to give good, constructive criticism to their employees outside of performance reviews. Paul Marciano, the author of Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, says that managers should give feedback immediately rather than months later to improve employee performance. Here are some tips on how to give employee feedback that will help your team members grow.

How to Schedule Your Day—The Indistractable Way

Do you want advice on how to schedule your day from Nir Eyal’s book Indistractable? What are the two essential elements of indistractable scheduling? Indistractable author Nir Eyal says that in order to stay on task and reach your goals, you need to schedule your days. To do that effectively, you should use timeboxing and leave no blank spaces. It is also helpful to adopt some new mindsets in order to maintain your schedule. Continue reading for Eyal’s advice on how to schedule your day from Indistractable.

How to Reduce External Triggers for Distraction

Do you struggle with workplace distractions? What are the two worst external triggers for distraction and stress? Is it possible to control the environment around you and cut them out? According to Nir Eyal, the two biggest external triggers for distraction at work are other people and email. It may be impossible to cut them out of your workday, but it is possible to reduce distraction from communication by setting boundaries. Here is what Nir Eyal has to say about reducing distractions from communication at work.

Distracted at Work? Cut Down on Your Email Time

Does your work often get interrupted by emails or group chats from coworkers? Is there a polite way to put off answering emails? One of the biggest distractors at work is email. Reading and responding to emails takes a lot of time, not to mention that switching tasks makes your work take even longer to complete. Thankfully, Nir Eyal came up with a solution that will reduce your email distractions. Here is Nir Eyal’s advice for when you get distracted at work.

How to Make Your Workplace Meetings More Efficient

Do you often find yourself stuck in workplace meetings that feel like a waste of time? How can you organize your meetings so they cause traction rather than a distraction? A lot of the time, workplace meetings pull you away from your productive work and force you to listen to unproductive conversations. But this doesn’t have to be the case. Here is Nir Eyal’s advice on how to make workplace meetings more productive and efficient.

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