Quote for today: "He who doesn't risk, never gets to drink champagne."
- Russian Proverb

Article by Barry Maher

This is a phenomenon first noted back in 1924, several years before the era's leading "can-do" guru, Herbert Hoover, led the nation into the Depression. Elton Mayo was trying to study the effect of lighting on productivity at a Western Electric plant in Hawthorne, Illinois. He divided workers into two groups. For the test group, he increased the illumination in their work area. Productivity went up. For the control group, he left the lighting the same. Productivity went up.

That made no sense to Mayo, so he tried another study. He took a group of female workers, gave them regularly scheduled rest periods, company paid lunches and shorter work weeks. Productivity went up. Eighteen months later, all those perks were eliminated. And productivity? It went up once again.

Mayo concluded that productivity increased every time he paid attention to workers.

Tip: Pay attention to your people. 

You might never get them to leap out of bed at 6:00am with delight at the prospect of heading off to work. But you can make them a lot happier and a lot more productive once they arrive. And you can keep them from ever asking, "Why am I wasting my time here?"

Of course there's always the school of management exemplified by the CEO who told Fortune magazine, "Leadership is demonstrated when the ability to inflict pain is confirmed." If that's what you believe and you think that fills the glass for you, good luck to you.

You're going to need it.

Still, Hawthorne effect or no Hawthorne effect, effective long term management means rewarding behavior you wish to encourage, and only that behavior.

Don't claim you want long range planning then base bonuses on the short-term fix. Don't expect innovative thinking if you give the best evaluations to employees who march lockstep to the company beat. Don't look for streamlining and promote those who create ever more complicated controls. Don't expect cost cutting when departments that exhaust this year's allocation get more money next year, and those who don't spend every cent face cutbacks.

Rewarding accomplishment is usually more effective than rewarding behavior. Whenever possible set quantifiable goals, track progress towards those goals, then reward their accomplishment.

Reward each employee according to what motivates them personally: more responsibility, more recognition, pats on the back, perks and privileges, more freedom, more challenges, fancier offices, exposure to decision makers, titles, parking spaces, staffing, more flexible hours, the opportunity for more creativity. Even a lunch or dinner with you can be an extremely meaningful reward for some people. Just as it could be the worst possible punishment for others.

Additional training can be a particularly effective reward. It demonstrates the commitment the company has in the employee's future. Yet it's giving them something they give right back to the business.

Never reward indiscriminately. I know of one manager who sends out a steady torrent of "You're Fantastic" cards. Everyone gets them. For everything. All the cards are the same, and none ever mentions a specific reason for the acknowledgement.

"He probably fills them out in advance at home at night then writes in the name as needed," one of his clerical people decided.

Most of the cards quickly find their way into the trash. Some people do save them: for the "Pearl Harbor files" they keep to defend against possible disciplinary action or dismissal. And more and more of these people are keeping Pearl Harbor files. Though all they ever hear from the boss is how wonderful they are, he's developed such a reputation for insincerity that nobody trusts him.

Once while flying back from a successful European trip, George H. W. Bush took the time to personally write 40 notes of appreciation to various members of his presidential staff. When aides compared the various notes, they discovered that every single one of them was different. To me, the sheer volume of notes might call in question their sincerity and devalue the worth of any one of them. But I'll bet each of those 40 people appreciated his or her note. And most of them probably still have them.

Tactic: Compliment people who deserve it.

Always individualize the compliment with specifics. When the same compliment is given repeatedly to several different people, it rings false - even when it isn't.

Tip: Compliment the action, not the individual's character.

"Gee, you're so intelligent," is general, may be embarrassing and can sound insincere. But, "Damn, that was a smart idea you had in the meeting today," rings true, and it's less likely to make the recipient self-conscious. 

Still, as Elton Mayo discovered in Hawthorne, Illinois, back in 1924, any attention is better no attention.

Barry Maher consults, writes and speaks on professional development, motivation, management and sales. This article is adapted from his book, "Filling the Glass: The Skeptic's Guide to Positive Thinking in Business" which Today's Librarian recently cited as "[One of] The Seven Essential Popular Business Books." You can sign up for his free email newsletter at www.barrymaher.com or contact him at  805 962-2599 or barrymaher@barrymaher.com. Copyright 2003, Barry Maher, Barry Maher & Associates

Mow & Edge

Article by Jack Stone

Q&A
Questions from our readers...

Q. My lawn care business is growing rapidly, but so far I've "signed" all my customers with a handshake. Since we have nothing in writing there have been a few disagreements as to what the service should be providing and what they should be paying extra. I'd like to start using a written service contract, but I need some ideas on how to write it.

A. A written agreement is an excellent idea and all service people, lawn care or other, should use them. For a pre-made landscape maintenance agreement form see "Being a Pro: Templates & Forms". Many contractor forms can be found at your local office supply store.

Q. I'm looking for some ideas of very thirsty plants.  Here's the problem:  We have a lot of groundwater running through our back yard.  Moss grows well!  At the same time, there is a septic field back there.  No, the field hasn't failed according to the local health inspector.  He had us install curtain drains last year to divert the excess groundwater but it is still damp all over.  I would like to plant some sort of hedge or other plant along the back fence to soak up that excess groundwater, but I don't want anything with an extensive root system that will make its way into the septic field.  It gets morning sun but is in the shade the rest of the day.  We are in zone 5.
 
C.S.

A. I can't think of an easy solution for your problem as any plant that will do well to soak up the excess water will by nature have an extensive root system that will find your septic system very attractive. Try checking with your local Ag Extension Department. They should have some helpful ideas.

Q. I live in Durham, NC (Zone 6).  A 15 foot-square area in my backyard remains boggy and silted despite a drainage system (underground gravel/pipes, sloping ground).  As a result, the nearby potting shed and house foundation are damaged by standing water in the fall and winter during the rains.
 
Can I plant anything that is a voracious drinker specifically to dry out this area?  The soil is shallow, but rich in organic matter.  An added problem is the semishade.
 
Whatever I plant, it can't be poisonous because of my pets.
 
L.F.

A. I doubt that there is any plant that will dry this area out. There are many plants that will survive in such conditions, but few that would dry the area out. It really sounds like the drainage system is inadequate. I'm sure that's not the answer you were seeking, but a better drainage system is probably the only real solution.

Q. I live in Windy Wyoming where the soil is sand and the drought is
common! My problem is what to do about the trench my dogs make when they run around the property? They have created a nice round DOG PATH around the house and yard.  I tried to stop them by putting up barriers, but they would just go around those.

I am not rich.  I like the natural styles of the outdoors.  What can I
do so that the trench does not get deeper?  I would hate to put
something safe for them to run on and then have them run outside of
that as well.  HELP!

Kellie

A. This is probably more of a "dog question" than a landscape question, but
there are several approaches to solving the problem.  From a dog perspective most would suggest proper training.  I'm not a dog expert, though, and I don't know if there is an effective training solution for your situation.  There are also the "invisible fence" products if you want to keep the dogs in a certain area (not everyone agrees on the use of these, as they use an electric shock collar).

From a landscaping viewpoint you can always separate the dogs from the
main yard area with fencing and decorative plantings.  A simple idea would be to build several decorative yard barriers that can be placed in the current run paths. Such as lawn furniture, small potted plants with a wide trellis, or others... just use your imagination.

It will cause the dogs to run in different paths.  Periodically move the
barriers as you see new paths developing.

Have questions? We have answers. Send your questions to editor@progardenbiz. Your questions are welcome and will be answered by email and appear in our "Letters" or "Ask?" columns.

Starting a Landscape or Gardening Business:

ProGardenBiz, a landscape and garden magazine for the Green Industry is your online resource for starting and operating a business as a landscape contractor or landscape and lawn maintenance gardener. Related fields covered by ProGardenBiz are irrigation installation and maintenance, sprinklers - repair and maintenance, waterscapes, water features, and ponds. You will also find information on plants, plant identification, trees and tree maintenance, and many other topics that span the Green Industry.

If the answers you seek are not readily found, then drop us an email at: editor@progardenbiz. Your questions are welcome and will be answered by email and appear in our "Letters" or "Ask?" columns.