"Everyone Likes His or Her Kind of Cheese," by Restaurant Expert Witness - Howard Cannon

Well, as a result of this mouse-play, intended or not, you probably learned something that's applicable to your professional life now and you never even realized it. I call it the Mouse Training Theory. This theory is quite simple and can be applied to anyone with whom you work.

Just like the mouse in your science fair maze, people need proper incentives (cheeses) in order to inspire them to work hard and “get through the maze” as quickly as possible while completing their tasks. The more immediate and continuous you make the incentives, the more consistently and steadily they will move toward the overall objectives you have set. Think back. How did you get the mouse to execute the task you had in mind?

If you have a perfectly square box with no walls, tunnels or dead ends, it would be difficult to lead the mouse on what you believe to be the best path to the exit, because the wide open space leaves too many options. On the other hand, if you add too many distractions, like tunnels, dead ends, etc., it can become difficult, as well. I mean, it’s not like you can "tell" the mouse what to do, he has to be led somehow.

Luckily, as leaders, we deal with people who can understand and reason, which makes the job a little easier. However, people can also be very complex. Employees can choose whether or not to listen to us, and can individually decide whether or not they are going to follow the directions we have laid out before them (our “bells” and “claps”). For instance, your restaurant may have a specific way to fold napkins, such as the ever-popular pyramid fold; but, you have a member of your wait staff who simply refuses to fold them any way other than like that of an envelope. Silly example, perhaps, but this type of behavior can make leadership extremely challenging sometimes.

Great leadership is mindful of the fact that people walk to the beat of their own drums. A manager has to size up the personalities he or she is dealing with and access what drives each individual. What gets one employee's attention versus another (what is each of their favorite kind of “cheese”)? Some people thrive on drama; others excel in a no-drama setting. Being able to take ownership of a project motivates one employee; whereas, another is on top of the world if he or she is accomplishing an objective with a team. Many people work best in a micromanagement environment - even though nearly everybody will say that they want the freedom to make their own decisions. More often than not, people do not perform at peak without very direct and detailed instructions. Yet, a leader also has to be on the lookout for the few who are empowered by autonomy and the hands-off approach. Autonomy can be its own reward. In the science project, we learned that the mouse must be rewarded with more than one piece of cheese along his journey if we expect him to reach the desired end result, regardless of the ease or difficulty of the maze. We must have intermediate cheese rewards for intermediate appropriate steps.

The same can be said for our employees. We must reward our people with more than monthly, quarterly, or annual incentives to raise their level of performance. Humans, too, must receive intermediate “cheesy” rewards for their intermediate appropriate steps. For incentives, rewards, and recognition to work properly, they need to be awarded immediately and be made available for both short and long-term achievements. A critically important, and often forgotten, detail is that the incentives, rewards, and recognition need to be something that the potential recipient actually wants.

The Golden Rule appears in one form or other throughout nearly all cultures. It's summed up as, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Now, if you've tested The Golden Rule enough times, then you've probably learned that sometimes it can get you into trouble when you apply it. For example, I like being dealt with forthrightly. I want the truth, no-holds-barred. Just tell it like it is; and, the less time you take, the better. But, some of your people are going to be sensitive, and they'll crumble if you're quick and blunt with them.

You need to add, what I call, The Platinum Rule to your leadership skills set; that being: Do unto others the way they want to be done unto. Find out how others want to be treated and what sort of interaction will help them thrive. Euripides said, "In every work, a reward added makes the pleasure twice as great.” Once you’ve figured out what kind of “cheese” they like, then you can reward each of them, respectively.

Take the time to discern who your people are and what motivates them. You may like cutting to the chase with your feedback, but you need to be smart enough to know when a certain employee responds better if you spend a little more time with him or her, or if you pair your corrective feedback with your belief in the talent that he or she possesses.

Determine what will inspire each individual to work in excellence and, then, respond accordingly. The end result is that you will all be justly rewarded.

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