Like Jeff, many leaders believe that the best way to motivate their people is to create a “burning platform,” a way of scaring them out of complacency. This can work to motivate people to do something that they already know how to do. But in a case like Jeff’s where his team must change their behavior, a burning platform tends to backfire (pun intended) because instilling fear drains their energy and keeps them reacting with old patterns instead of learning new behaviors.
