Primer One

Bad Behavior,
People Problems and
Sticky Situations...Defined

Bad Behavior. A few years ago, while doing a"pulse check" (internal focus groups and private interviews) for the leadership of a large corporation, I uncovered some bad behavior that shocked even me, and I thought I'd seen it all. After receiving anonymous tips from low level employees, it became clear to me that an executive in the company's administrative group, with the help of a few colleagues, had been secretly siphoning off hundreds of thousands of dollars every year from internal expense accounts. They'd been using the money to buy expensive cars, homes and boats for themselves and their families.

When a secret internal audit confirmed my findings, the CEO decided to dismiss the executive and his cadre in one fell swoop. But the company didn't want the group tipped off in advance as to their fate. So, the CEO asked an assistant to set up a run-of-the-mill budget meeting with the executive, to see if they could trim some fat.

On the appointed day, the CEO and a team of security agents flew into town to deliver the bad news and escort the group from the building. Without warning, the offenders were called together in a conference room, terminated on the spot, and asked to clean out their personal belongings from their offices.

Now here's the shocking part: Out of the desks and closets of these folks came automatic and semi-automatic rifles, 10-inch hunting knives and a host of handguns, pistols and other military-type weapons and ammunition! Remember, this was an administrative group – literal paper-pushers – and yet they were armed to the teeth! After pausing to push up their jaws, the CEO and his security team confiscated the weapons and ejected the group from the building. This bizarre little incident helped me to realize that no matter how much experience you have, it's never safe to assume you've seen it all.

The term “Bad Behavior” refers to all those behaviors that could get the person (or people) engaging in them"on the job" in trouble with your organization or the law. Many behaviors fall into this category, from offensive language or joke-telling to theft and property destruction.

Here's a partial list:

• Harassment (including creating a hostile work environment)

• D