One of the scariest places where you shouldn’t even think about… negative motivation is the term for failure to meet deadlines.
In this case, “ the paradox of the log “It doesn’t turn on — the work still needs to be done, but there is a strong drift towards a decline in quality. We all remember the USSR and jokes like: ‘a jammed screw is better than a twisted nail.’ Screws were jammed to meet the quota; otherwise, you would lose your bonus. And bonuses in the USSR were not just extras, but a part of the expected regular income. So, losing a bonus was perceived as a penalty.”
At the same time, establishing “rules of the game” where an employee will be penalized (by losing their expected bonus) for failing to meet deadlines is an activity aimed at the future. It pertains to events that have not yet occurred.
When a penalty is imposed after a job is not completed on time, there is a typical struggle with the fact that has occurred. Nothing can be fixed at that point, but the mood for both yourself and your employees can certainly worsen.
We need to take action at the time when the tasks are being carried out. Here and now. Not “what will I do if they aren’t completed on time” or “what did I do when they weren’t completed on time.” But rather, what can be done here and now to ensure that the tasks are completed on time.