100 Ways to Motivate Others

33. Learn to Experiment

Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the most common complaints of today’s executives is this: The people they supervise hate to make changes though they are constantly being required to in this highly competitive business environment. The executives then tear out their hair trying to get the needed changes implemented.

The way we respond is that it may feel difficult to encourage people to change. But try this possibility: People may prefer not to change, but people love to experiment. As business consultant and journalist Dale Dauten has observed, “Experimentation never fails. When you try something and it ...