Focus on the Positive to Reduce Negative Behavior
by Kevin Kennemer, MA, SPHR
  Mrs. Searcy, my eighth grade social studies teacher, was really mad at me. The Madison Junior High School teacher was lecturing about writing on our desks, a significant problem at the time. Because students were writing on their desks, she was laying down the law. I suppose the offense was right up there with cutting class, loitering in the halls and smoking in the bathroom. It was the 1970's.
In response to her Do Not Write on the Desk lecture, I took my pencil and wrote on my desk, "Do not write on this desk!" - about 25 times. I was just being funny. However, when Mrs. Searcy strolled down my aisle she didn't see the humor in my message.
Since I apparently enjoyed writing that phrase, Mrs. Searcy proceeded to assign homework as an object lesson. That evening I was required to write "Do not write on this desk" 500 times and return the assignment the next day. My writing hand felt like an out of shape and overweight middle aged man trying to play football: cramped, injured and lifeless. I wrote that phrase 500 excruciating times while watching the Six Million Dollar Man and Charlie's Angels.
Moral of the Story
What's the moral of this story? When you focus on telling people what they can't do, be prepared for the results: One or more individuals just might try it.
When human resource professionals develop policy manuals, the tendency is to focus on the negatives; what not to do. The human response is to test boundaries. I have found discussing the positives of employment rather than the negatives to be much more effective in creating a great working environment.
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