ABSTRACT
Reinforcement is the most underutilized means of driving behavior change in organizations. Reinforcement is a means of making the incentive to change greater than the incentive to stay the same. Leveraging the power of reinforcement delivers clarity of purpose and focused energy to CHΔNGE™ initiative and by so doing, speeds up the process of change. Reinforcement refers to all means an organization utilizes to recognize and reward desired behavior and deliver negative consequences for undesired behavior. Rewards and recognition have significantly more impact when they are thoughtfully targeted to individuals or groups. “Generic” acknowledgement is well meaning but misses the real value of the emotional connection with people. Positive reinforcement is not valuable only because it rewards specific efforts or outcomes but because it also is a means of reinforcing organizational values and objectives. In many cases, just beginning to use the organizations reinforcement mechanisms as a tool to support behavior change can make a big difference.
