As a comic noted, sometimes you have the right to remain silent, but not the ability. That happened to me today when I was quickly flipping through a catalog and came across the following product listing. Download Recognition stickies Again, I should probably just let it go, but I can't! They are selling sets of pre-printed sticky notes for the busy manager to use to give positive feedback to employees. You just sign and deliver, according to the ad. Let's face it. What employee doesn't get a boost out of getting a pre-printed sticky note from the boss saying "You Nailed it" or "You Rock"?

What makes these even more of a value is that they come in sets of four in a binder that has inside the cover several  reasons why you might "reward" someone with a sticky. If you are a negative person, it is probably good to have the handy reminders that you might award a sticky for "keeping focused" or "being persistent." But I hope this comes with a warning label to keep it hidden within the desk. If the boss is out, seeing the locked and loaded stickies combined with the reminder list of why a subordinate might deserve such a reward open on the desk of the boss might generate many Facebook postings, if not outright laughter.

There is a point here, which I hope is obvious. if you are so bad about giving your employees feedback that buying pre-printed stickies to give out kudos is tempting to you, that siutation probably merits some more time and consideration. Law offices are busy places and competency is just assumed. But people like to hear when they are doing a good job, even if a pre-printed sticky note doesn't seem like the right tool for most law offices.

But if you want to try passing out a few notes to employees for positive feedback, I do have an idea for you.

Pre-printed isn't always bad.

You can be a hero…….

…… if you pass out cards that have "Gift Card" preprinted on them!