In this Honor Roll episode, host Mike Michalowicz opens with sponsor acknowledgments before launching into a tongue‑in‑cheek discussion on employee discipline. He jokes about extreme, illegal torture methods to grab attention, then pivots to a practical, humane strategy: when hiring, ask each new employee how they prefer to be disciplined or receive corrective feedback. The preference is documented in the employee’s HR file and used whenever a performance issue arises, ensuring the disciplinary action aligns with the individual’s comfort style—whether a private face‑to‑face meeting, an off‑site conversation, or an email. Michalowicz frames this as a way to keep employees “happy” about discipline, emphasizing respect and clear communication while maintaining a humorous, provocative tone throughout.
Chapters
Welcome to Honor Roll, and now here's your host, Mike Michalowicz. Hey kiddos, welcome back to Honor Roll. I appreciate you being here. I'm your host, Mike Michalowicz, and I am the author of those great little books, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and The Pumpkin Plan. I got a good tip for you today. First, I want to start off with our sponsors. So thank you to Skype. Thank you to tremendous group. Thank you to Amex. Thank you to XDigital. And thank you to our newest sponsor, Nextiva. Now, there was a reason I was throwing things at you over there. Why? Because I want to teach you how to discipline employees. Now, I think you're asking to yourself, you know, could I take my employee, hang upside down, you know, hit him with chains and stuff like that in a torture room? The answer, unfortunately, is Yes, of course you can! If you're in Pakistan. Now, I presume you're not watching the video from Pakistan, known for their employee torture. Oh no! But you probably are watching from a country that prohibits that. There's another way just for you. And this is the technique: ask them in advance to disciplining them how they want to be disciplined. Now, this isn't after they make this egregious mistake or error that you need to fix. This is when you first bring them on board. You say, "Hey, welcome to our company, and by the way, if we ever have challenges that we face together, what's the best way to notify you of a challenge?" They tell you, you're staged for it, you write it in your HR folder, and then the next time the issue comes up, you present the challenge, the discipline, to them the way they want it. Some people want to be pulled into a private room in your office. Others want to go off-site. Some would like to get it by email first. Find out how they prefer it most, and the rest is toast. Or gross. Or drost. Which is not even a word, it's someone's name. Now, while you can't torture people, you can use enhanced interrogation techniques. Like this.
