Blog Topics
Looking for something specific? The following topics address a wide range of business needs and challenges.
At Risk Behavior: When Unsafe Conditions Stare You in the Face
No, the image above is not an iStock photo nor one taken from a safety magazine. This is a live action shot I took from the window of a hotel where I was conducting a Safety Leadership workshop for a…
The Poisoned Cue: How Management Practices Could Be Affecting Your Employees
In one of my recent blogs, Leaders Can Make or Break Engagement, I provided concrete steps leaders can take to move from managing to coaching. This topic proves to be a very important one so it…
The Truth About Building Habits: No You Don't Have to Do This Forever
Many times in the course of working with clients, they hit a point of realization about using a scientific approach to behavior on the job, and it sometimes sounds like this: “You mean I have to…
Technology and Behavior Around the Office Coffee Machine
An office familiar to me has for many years generously provided coffee packets to its employees as a benefit. One selects their particular type from a large assortment, inserts it into the machine…
Economics is Not a Science
And neither is most so-called behavioral economics
Despite being the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Paul Samuelson famously stated, “Economics has never been a…
Leaders Can Make or Break Engagement: Moving from Managing to Coaching
In Gallup’s most recent State of American Workplace Report, they indicate that only one-third of the American workforce is actively engaged in the organization that employs them. An even more…
Resolution Solutions for the New Year
“My New Year’s resolution is to quit procrastinating . . . I’ll start tomorrow.” Unfortunately, that’s the dead-end road that a majority of our resolutions take. Most of us are familiar with Albert…
Does your job add meaning to your life?
While preparing for a talk to a safety audience, I ran across several videos by Paul O’Neil, former President of Alcoa, about why safety was his number one priority in managing the company.
He…
Does Recognition Make You “Over-Confident”?
We have just signed a new lease for our offices and as such, I am moving spaces. As I started going through my “stuff” I ran across many articles that I previously put aside that I thought…
Reinforcement Schedules and Everyday Life
A reinforcement schedule is a prescription for arranging reinforcers in time and in relation to behavior. “So what,” you may ask? “Why should I care about something so esoteric and seemingly removed…
Reinforcement is a Reciprocal Relation
Reinforcement in most human situations commonly is arranged and administered by another person. Teachers reinforce appropriate behavior of their students and parents praise good acts of their…
Is Behavior Ever Beyond Change?
We behavior analysts consider ourselves pretty skilled at changing behavior. But are there circumstances where behavior can’t, or won’t, change? Probably, but let’s consider the circumstances where…
Barking Dogs and Delayed Reinforcement
Not too many years ago we had a wonderful Golden Retriever named Molly, whose greatest pleasure in life was human contact. Sure, she would step outside in the morning for a quick relief, but within…
Creating Alignment With Consequences
The science of behavior has much to teach us about how to improve performance and create a more engaged culture. One of the key teachings from the science is that precise application of…
Taking a Safety Culture Selfie
My teenage kids are constantly taking selfies. Despite my general distaste for the practice, there are some positive side effects. It occurs to me that my kids have more accurate self-images than I…
What Does It Mean to Emit a Response
In behavioral circles it is common to hear expressions like “the child emitted the response” or “the rat emitted a bar press.” Use of the verb “emit” comes from an old distinction in psychology.…
Creating an Achievement Culture
I have often said, “The best job you will ever have is one where you know at the end of every day how well you have done.” The students at Morningside Academy can wholeheartedly agree that this…
Safety Rewards Can Be Dangerous
I just finished reading an ISHN article on safety incentives and the value of a gift card reward system to promote safety. To say that I didn't like it is an understatement. It reminds me of the many…