THE WHIP

I’ve had partners who used the whip. There certainly are times when you have to discipline. However, my contention is that the whip needs to be used very sparingly—and never as an immediate reaction. If you whip someone (verbally, of course), you may get a burst of incredible performance. But you will inevitably lose your long-term productivity (and your top performers) if you punish too often.

I have seen people who use the whip over and over. Soon the people around them reach the breaking point and basically say, “I don’t care. Whip me to death. I am done.” They check out, and apathy sets in. I know a young, up-and-coming executive who was a master with the whip. Unfortunately, he was so hungry to prove himself that he burned through all the people around him. Now, no one in our area will work for him.

There is a fine balance between knowing when to reward and knowing when to discipline. When there is an out-of-bounds problem, discipline needs to be meted out. In our home, we do not have the long lists of rules I have seen some parents enforce. Instead, the rules we do have are rules that fit with our core values, and we are very strict with these few rules. I often say to my kids. “You will make some mistakes. That is how you learn. Just don’t make the big mistakes!” Too many little rules can create confusion and can actually undermine the more important rules.