In this short, humor‑laden talk, author and entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz (host of the "Honor Roll" series) opens with sponsor acknowledgments before tackling the topic of employee discipline. He jokes about extreme, illegal “torture” methods to capture attention, then pivots to a practical, humane approach: during onboarding, ask each new hire how they would like to be disciplined if performance issues arise, and record that preference in their HR file. By tailoring the disciplinary method to the employee’s stated preference—whether a private meeting, an off‑site conversation, or an email—managers can address problems effectively while keeping employees satisfied. The segment mixes satire with actionable advice for managers seeking a respectful, customized discipline process.
Chapters
Welcome to Honor Roll. And now, here's your host, Mike McCallowicz. 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 Hermenda's 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, 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 to 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 by email first, find out how they prefer it most. And the rest is toast or gross or drossed, 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. It's it.
