You are playing a game at work.
You are losing, though, because you didn’t know you are playing a game.
The game is called “Cup of Pennies.”
Basically, imagine going through your workday with a cup. You can earn pennies and lose pennies in your cup.
Here are the rules:
- You earn 1 penny = You earn one penny for every time you do something nice for a person. It can be a tiny courtesy like saying “good morning” or smiling.
- You lose 5 pennies = You lose five pennies for every time you are rude to someone.
You lose more pennies for being bad than you win for being good because research on relationships shows that that is how the human brain works.
Here is how you win the game:
When you enforce a rule, you can cash your pennies in in exchange for voluntary compliance.
It is that simple.
What if you don’t have any pennies?
What if you never earned any?
What if you spent them all being rude?
Well, then you are going to have problems with people following your rules.
By the way, this is the single most important thing I teach in my trainings.
If you like this technique and want to learn more, your organization can get a membership for our trainings. Start by request a free trial for one staff member.