151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People

38No Across-the-Board Reprimands

A manager bent on impressing his bosses decided he’d punish wastrels by removing paper towels from the company’s restrooms. Without preparing the staff, he removed paper towel dispensers and installed hand dryers. After the fact, he explained that some employees had wasted too much paper. With dryers, his argument went, the company would save on paper and cleaning costs.

The decision was a dismal failure. In his zeal to punish all for the sins of a few, the manager didn’t think about the consequences of his actions. Employees had no towels to clean up coffee spills or to wipe spots from their clothes. Howls of protest went up. The manager reversed himself and restored the paper towels.

Employees seldom buy into ...