The Problem Isn't the Kid: It's the Room

We've all had people who "know what they should do," but don't do it.

And it's frustrating. But there's a solution.

The Marshmallow Challenge

Do you know the marshmallow challenge? It's a very famous experiment.

They put a child in a room. There's only a table. A chair. And a marshmallow.

The adult says something like: "If you don't eat it now, when I come back I'll give you another." And leaves.

So the child stays there. Alone. With the marshmallow in front of them. White. Soft. Sweet. A few inches from their face.

They look at it. They smell it. They touch it. They act like it doesn't exist. But it does.

And after a while, they eat it. Of course they eat it.

Not because they're bad. Not because they didn't understand. Not because they want to fail.

They eat it because the room is designed for them to eat it.

The Same Thing Happens in Your Company

They ask the employee: "Treat them well." "Follow up." "Smile." "Advise, don't sell." Blah, blah, blah.

But then they put them in a room full of marshmallows.

They have to remember 17 things. Say 5 stiff phrases. Guess what the heck "good service" means. And on top of that, have a boss who almost never corrects, almost never trains, and almost never tells them what to improve.

Well, of course they fail.

And it's not a lack of attitude. It's a lack of design.

Because if doing the right thing depends on memory, desire, and willpower, sooner or later the marshmallow wins.

Change the Question

The question isn't: "Why doesn't my team do what I told them?"

The question is: "How easy did I make it for them to do it well?"

Want it to happen? Make it inevitable.

Make good service easier than bad service. Make following up easier than forgetting. Make doing the right thing natural.

How? With three things:

• simple protocols;
• support tools;
• and bosses who repeat it, correct it, and train it.

You don't need another motivational speech. You need to design the room better.