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MANY THANKS, MATE!
What’s the most common reason people leave the U.S. Navy? It’s not the notoriously low pay or the long months at sea. When sailors
decide to reenter private life, their biggest complaint, according to a study reported by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff in his book
It’s
Your Ship,
is feeling underappreciated at work. To keep their ranks full, many top naval officers are now consciously bestowing small
rewards in the form of compliments and public recognition.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
—Aesop, “The Lion and the Mouse”
Small Rewards: Where Do They Fit into Your Plan?
The couple above used small rewards as the principal kaizen element in their plan for change, even
though the husband preferred to make the change—giving up fat-filled foods—all at once, instead of
breaking the process down into small kaizen actions (for example, removing one fry from his plate before
eating). That’s perfectly fine. For this husband-and-wife team, one small reward was enough.
In fact, small rewards have an especially useful place when incremental steps just aren’t possible. This
is often true when, say, a pregnant woman must give up smoking or when a boss demands instantaneous
results at work. I love sharing the example of Karen Pryor, who was a trainer of whales and dolphins
before she turned her skills to land mammals in her book
Don’t Shoot the Dog.
At one point in Pryor’s
life, she was working all day and attending graduate school at night. After a long day at work, she found it
hard to motivate herself to spend an hour on the subway, three hours in class, and a long hour on the
subway home. But even if she’d wanted to try very small kaizen actions—just walking to the subway
station and then going home, or just standing on the platform every evening for a week or two—they
simply weren’t practical. By the time she grew comfortable with her schedule, the semester might well
have been over.
Instead, Pryor broke her journey down into a series of distinct segments—walking to the subway
station, changing trains, taking the stairs to her classroom. Each time she completed a segment, she
allowed herself a square of chocolate. In this way she was training herself to associate each segment of
the journey with pleasure. “In a few weeks,” she says, “I was able to get all the way to class without
either the chocolate or the internal struggle.”
But you can also use small rewards as part of a more complete kaizen program. While giving a
presentation at the Canyon Ranch spa in Arizona, I met a businessman named Jack Stupp. Over a long
career, Jack had instinctively—and shrewdly—used kaizen to build up his multimillion-dollar catalog-
sales business step by step. But at age fifty-four, he’d developed severe rheumatoid arthritis and was
hospitalized with more than twenty swollen joints. Every moment was misery. Confined to a wheelchair
and taking multiple painkillers, Jack was advised under no circumstances to consider exercising. As Jack
told me his story at Canyon Ranch, I grew curious. He showed no obvious limitations from his rheumatoid
arthritis; he was clearly mobile and exercised every day. How had he overcome his disorder?
He attributed his success to small steps and small rewards. Each morning, when he awoke in pain, he’d
tell himself that all he had to do was just get out of bed. When he was standing upright, Jack would give
himself a mental pat on the back: “Atta boy, Jack!” he’d say. This compliment, short but sincere, was his
reward. Then he’d say to himself:
If I can just walk down the street to the gym, I’ll enjoy a chat with the
staff there.
Once on the treadmill, Jack started by walking for just two minutes, rewarding himself with
praise and encouragement. Minute by minute, and small reward by small reward, Jack slowly worked
himself into physical fitness. By the time I met him, he was in his seventies and had won the Mr. World
bodybuilding contest for his age division!
There are plenty of terrific ways to incorporate rewards into a kaizen plan. One client of mine lists the
chores she does not want to do; if she completes these chores, she rewards herself at the end of the day by
getting in the hot tub for ten minutes. Other people who are trying to change a behavior, such as lighting up
a cigar after dinner, will get a five-minute back or foot massage from their partner instead. This not only
rewards them for not smoking; it also helps take their minds off the cigar during that vulnerable time.
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