I borrowed the book "Whale Done!" by Ken Blanchard from a co-worker this past weekend. It's a quick read regarding "the power of positive relationships". It basically teaches you how to manage people and relationships based on how the trainers at Sea World manage their relationships with the killer whales. I enjoy reading on the subject of rewards in the workplace and evaluations. I have never agreed with most companies methods of evaluations. I'm always intrigued to read new ideas on the subject. The Sea World question: how do they teach the whales and get them to do what they want? Obviously they don't lecture the whales or hurt them if they don't follow instructions. The whales aren't just performing for the fish treats either or else they'd have to starve the whales before shows so the whales would be hungry enough to want to perform the tricks. So what do the trainers do?An analogy used in the book is a toddler learning to walk. When a toddler stands up and takes a few steps, parents cheer, clap and smile. When the toddler falls down, the parents don't discipline him or her, they just wait for them to be successful again by standing up and the parents cheer again. It keeps the toddler focused on the positive...and you get better results. Interesting concept.
The other idea is regarding annual reviews where managers are forced to put their employees into categories of poor to above average performance. Somebody has to be a poor performer. The book points out that companies don't hire employees based on these categories - you hire winners or potentials winners. So if you don't hire people on a performance review curve, why grade them on one? In most companies I've worked in, there have been a few employees that just don't get it or are slacking off. But it's usually an exception and that person leaves the company anyhow. Forcing a few people to be put in the poor/low performer category just because you have to have a bell-curve is ridiculous. Many books I've read suggest categorizing people is ineffective, yet they don't offer other options.
And yes..."Whale Done" is a play on words of "Well Done".
