Credit: © Philipdyer | Dreamstime.com

Imagine yourself transported to an unknown city by helicopter.  A stadium comes into view below you.  The chopper descends and lowers you gently into a seat.  You are handed a hot dog and a pennant and given one instruction:  Cheer for the home team.

You glance at the pennant to see what team you’re rooting for, then start cheering halfheartedly: Uh…woohoo.  Go, uh…team!  Beat the visitors.

No matter how many foot-longs they feed you, this is gonna get old fast.  You can’t plop me down in a random stadium in a random town and expect wholehearted, red-in-the-face cheering as if it was MY team!  You’ll go through the motions until you’re full, then all bets are off.

Seems like a wacky scenario, doesn’t it?  But take a look around corporate America and you’ll see much the same approach to employee morale and productivity.  Employees are expected to be productive and loyal to the company that happens to own the chair they’re sitting in just because it keeps them in hot dogs.  And it doesn’t work. (more…)