Geotechnical News • June 2012
51
ASFE NEWS
more than anticipated) with being
damaged (paying money for noth-
ing). Bodine likely would have
made such arguments had the case
gone to trial. Did the company try
to make such points before then?
• Be mindful of how long it takes
to resolve these disputes and how
much money. The $6,080 limit
was no doubt a pittance compared
to the cost of legal defense and the
value of billable time spent. While
Bodine can claim “We won,” the
fact is it simply lost less – maybe
a lot less – than it otherwise might
have. Cat Iron likely would have
lost nothing at all were it not for
the fact it decided to sue.
• Plaintiffs generally argue that LoLs
should not be upheld because: they
are against public policy; the firm
involved was willfully, wantonly,
recklessly, or grossly negligent; or
the firm committed fraud. These
arguments seldom prevail.
• It’s somewhat surprising that a
limit as low as $6,080 was upheld.
The man who conceived the idea
of LoL for geoprofessionals and
others – Ed Howell – convened
a national panel of attorneys to
suggest an appropriate limit. They
suggested $50,000 – in 1970!
• Knowing that one can in Illinois
infer “willful and wanton mis-
conduct” from simply failing to
uphold the standard of care, and
knowing that expert testimony
is needed to establish what the
standard of care was, why didn’t
Cat Iron have an expert testify? It
would not have been too difficult
to prove that missing 200,000
square feet of ACM constituted a
failure to uphold the standard of
care. Of course, for negligence to
have occurred, it has to be shown
that the failure to uphold the stan-
dard of care damaged the plaintiff.
See bullet one.
Human resources management
“Phantom praise.” That’s how a young
geoprofessional described what he
perceived as unexpressed praise.
“They give you a good bonus, which
is nice, but they seldom come out and
say, ‘Great job’ or words to that effect.
I know they must be thinking that and
that they appreciate my contributions;
that’s what the bonus is for. But you’d
think….”
Yes, you’d think that geoprofessionals
who toil in praise-free zones would
be eager to dole out praise when they
arrive in a position to do so. Regret-
tably, many don’t and even those that
do may not do the best job of it. All
of which may explain who so many
geoprofessionals who leave one firm
for another explain their move by say-
ing they weren’t appreciated by their
former employer.
Some employers make sure they dole
out praise by creating an easy-to-
implement, formulaic employee-of-
the-month program. The programs
aren’t bad, but their benefits are
extremely limited, given that praising
employees should:
• reward their efforts and accom-
plishments,
• reinforce positive behaviors,
• boost their confidence and self-
esteem, and
• build their motivation and enthu-
siasm.
So how do you praise employees so
they and you get maximum benefit?
Consider these five possibilities, and
note that each has one key element in
common.
1. Ask for help
.
Asking for help is
an act of vulnerability: It’s admitting
to the person you ask that you have
a weakness of some kind or lack a
certain skill. As such, by asking, you
demonstrate trust while also showing
that you respect the other person’s
skills or intellect, especially when
the help you need is only somewhat
(or not at all) related to the other
person’s job. Consider this anecdote
contributed by a branch manager who
attended a meeting “at corporate,”
where the subject was lay-offs. The
branch manager was opposed and tried
to win others to his way of thinking,
to no avail. By the time he returned
to his own office, word had spread.
“So, we’re going to have lay-offs,” an
employee said to him, to confirm the
rumor’s truth. “I hate it, but that seems
to be what’s best for the company,” the
branch manager replied. “I don’t know
how I’m going to tell the troops. Do
you have any ideas?” The employee
thought about it and then said, “Tell
them the truth and then let them know
where we go from here.” The branch
manager did exactly that and, later, the
employee told him how much it meant
that he had asked and that he followed
the advice.
2. Ask for ideas.
This is similar to
asking for help in that it’s best to ask
for ideas for improving functions the
employee doesn’t perform. In other
words, instead of asking, “What are
your ideas for performing your work
faster?” try, “You always meet or beat
your deadlines. I don’t know how
you do it. But we continue to have
problems in getting our bills out on
time. How’d you like to take a look at
the process we use and maybe come
up with some suggestions?” Doing
this could result in the development of
some good ideas, and it also says, “We
think you’re so good at doing some-
thing, we want you to use it elsewhere
in the company.” That’s a pat on the
back that a pat on the back cannot
duplicate.
3. Assign a short-term leadership
responsibility.
Assigning a short-term
leadership responsibility tells a person
that you trust the individual’s skill and
judgment. The more important the
task, the more significant the praise
and self-esteem boost. As an example,
“We’re having a problem with a major
activity for a major client, Jim. I can’t
get to it; I don’t have enough time.
Can you take two people and figure
out what needs to be done?”
4. Do something together.
You and
your employees do not have the same
standing; you’re the boss and they’re
not. As a result, you can recognize
