Discipline Without Punishment: The Proven Strategy That Turns Problem Employees into Superior Performers

More than 30 years ago, Dick Grote developed a powerful, nonpunitive discipline system that turned a troubled Frito-Lay plant from a hotbed of employee sabotage and toxic relations into a productive, respectful environment--one where employees took personal responsibility for their behavior, and managers helped problem employees become productive players.

Grote's method spread to other companies, and gained national recognition with the 1995 release of the first edition of Discipline Without Punishment. The book has become a management classic, helping thousands of companies and managers move to a responsibility-based approach for handling unacceptable performance, problem behaviors, and excessive absenteeism. But, despite the effectiveness of the DWP method, many supervisors and workplaces continue to cling to their long-established system of verbal warnings, written reprimands, suspensions without pay, and probationary periods--all fear-based approaches that instill lots of resentment, with little or no payback in improved performance.

This new edition of the bestselling Discipline Without Punishment has been updated to help a new generation of managers and HR professionals adopt a positive, proven method for getting problem employees back on track. Packed with real-life examples, sample dialogues, helpful worksheets, and a no-nonsense sensibility that busy readers will sorely appreciate, the book remains an eye-opening, forward-looking, practical guide to making your disciplinary system equitable and effective.

Dick Grote is Chairman and CEO of Grote Consulting Corp., in Dallas, Texas. He is the developer of the GROTEAPPROACH (SM) Web-based performance management system, and the author of The Complete Guide to Performance Appraisal, The Performance Appraisal Question and Answer Book, and Forced Ranking: Making Performance Management Work. His articles and essays have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Across the Board, and many other publications.