This document provides guidance on improving team dynamics and workplace culture through focusing on four simple things each day: good morning, good manners, good work, and goodbye. It suggests practicing positive habits like greeting colleagues positively, avoiding negativity for four minutes, showing good manners, giving genuine praise and appreciation, and checking in with team members at the end of the day. Regularly reflecting on performance in these areas and making small adjustments can create positive change for both individuals and teams over time.

1. C L I M A T E C O N T R O L

2. “ALL YOU CAN CHANGE IS YOURSELF, BUT
SOMETIMES THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.”
GARY W. GOLDSTEIN
Having the best day possible at work can be determined by 4 very simple things. If you
keep them in mind throughout the day, you’ll increase the chances of everyone in the
team having a good day. And why does it matter? Because how you treat each other
affects how you treat your customers and their experience of the business you work in
matters, if you want them to continue being customers that is….
If you have responsibility for other people you can’t wave a magic wand and change
them, but you can focus on what you do, how you do it, and have a really positive
impact.
Doing these 4 simple things well, every-day, has the potential to make a huge difference
to you and your team. Being a great leader has a lot to do with developing good habits.
Good habits happen when you are disciplined and when you practice.

3. GOOD MORNING

4. GOOD MORNING
There’s something called the 4 Minute Rule. It’s simple. But it's not always easy to follow.
When you meet a colleague or a member of your team for the first time today, all you
have to do is think about how you can make it a good start for them, and, this is the
really important part, hold back from saying anything negative for the first 4 minutes of
your first contact with them.
That means you don’t complain about someone else in the team…for 4 minutes
It means you don’t criticise the work they did yesterday…for 4 minutes
And it means you don’t say anything negative about how you expect them to work
today…for 4 minutes.
You set the tone for the rest of the day from your very first conversation with someone.
By being negative with a person, through what you say or how you say it, you put them
into a negative frame of mind and that makes them less able to do the work they need
to do.
Which means they’ll be less able to provide good service to your customers and will find
it harder to solve problems on the job.

5. JUST ONE THING IN THE MORNING
Think about each member of the team in turn.
What could you say or do today that will set them up to have a great day?
What did you notice them do yesterday that was really good?
What positive feedback could you give them?
What were they up to last night……how did it go?
What puts a smile on their face……how can you get them smiling first thing?
How are you going to get the day off to a great start with each of the team?
Be ready to try it in the morning.
It’s just an experiment, you can’t fail and 4 minutes passes really quickly if you’re having
a good conversation

7. GOOD MANNERS

8. GOOD MANNERS
Have you noticed how bad manners and bad behaviour from just one member of the
team ripples out and can have an impact on everyone? You could laugh it off as banter
or excuse the behaviour by saying, “It’s just their way!” but if you are, you’re allowing bad
manners to shape the culture you work in. You could also be sending out a silent
message to the whole team that says, “It’s alright to behave like this because nobody
seems to care about it when it happens.”
Rudeness and bad manners have a big impact on how people feel about being at work
and bad manners create a negative working environment. We all know what good
manners are, saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ opening doors, being polite, showing
respect. It’s not rocket science but it’s easy to overlook. It’s an essential ingredient at
work. Nobody wants to work somewhere that feels uncomfortable.
The way you treat each other is noticed by your customers too, and if you want them to
keep coming back, you need them to get a good feeling about how you are with each
other and your good manners are easy for them to see and judge.

9. JUST ONE THING ABOUT MANNERS
Are you minding your manners?
Are you having a positive or negative influence on your team and the workplace?
Write a list of all the times during the day when it’s possible to show that you’ve got
good manners. It’s just ordinary moments you’re looking for….it’s at brew time, when
you pick up the phone for an internal call, when you’re parking your car, when you’re
heading through the door. You’re looking for a list of about 10 points.
Pick one example from your list and decide how you can show good manners in the
situation, then go and do it. You might think your manners are already perfect, but see if
you can dial them up just a bit. If you notice something on your list and you know that
you let yourself down in that situation, decide to be different today, stop the bad
manners right now!

11. GOOD WORK

12. GOOD WORK
This starts with you noticing the work that others do and genuinely being grateful for it.
It’s easy to be critical and pick holes in the what other people do, noticing everything
they do wrong. But why not look out for what they do well and comment on that
instead? Tell them what you saw them do, and what you really liked about it. And in turn
you’ll encourage more of the good work from the people around you.
When people notice what we do and show their appreciation, it reminds us that we’re
making a good contribution, we fit in and we’re doing something right. Our brains need
that. We need reassurance. And people who show gratitude are seen by others to be
more successful, so why wouldn’t you do it?

13. JUST ONE THING ABOUT GOOD WORK
Each day set yourself a target to spot one person doing one thing really well when your
going about your work. It can be anyone but it has to be real. It might feel a bit strange
at first because you’ve been trained to notice what’s wrong, but stick with it.
For the first 5 days just scribble a note so you remember who it was, what they did and
why you liked it. No one else is going to see it, it’s just for you.
From day 6 to day 14 keep spotting the good work people around you are doing, but
now you’re going to tell them out loud. You’re going to tell them what you saw them do,
and why you liked it, and you’re going to do it as soon as you can after spotting the
‘good work’ happen. It’s ok to say ‘thank you’ too!
After 14 days of doing this consistently it’ll start to feel more natural, you’ll have found
the words to say that make it feel like it works for you.

15. GOODBYE

16. GOODBYE
It sounds obvious that we would say ‘goodbye’ at the end of the day, but does it
happen? You remember how we started the day on a high note, with 4 minutes of being
positive? Well, at the end of the day it’s a chance to tie up some loose ends, to check in
with people about their day (the highs and the lows), make sure we know what the
people around us have achieved, to say thank you and to say goodbye.
Marking the end of the day in a positive way makes it easier for everyone to make the
shift from being at work to being back at home. It also makes it easier to get up the next
day and come back to work, because they’re looking forward to it, because their day had
at least 4 positive moments in it…and hopefully a lot more than that…and you were
responsible for causing those moments.

17. JUST ONE THING ABOUT GOODBYE
When it’s time for someone to leave for the day, if it’s possible to be there then check in
with them. It doesn’t have to be long winded conversation, but a brief chat with your
team is an opportunity to see what’s been happening, to say thank you and to set the
tone for the next day….it means the day ends on a good note. Try it today.
It’s as simple as asking them, “ How did the day go?” “What went well?” “Is there
anything I need to know before tomorrow?” People want and need attention and they
want their leaders to be interested in them and to support them; this is a quick and easy
way to get good information that you can act on. Be warned, you have to be willing to
listen to the responses to your questions! And remember to say ‘Goodbye!”
Top Tip: At the start of the day, when you’re doing Good Morning, ask a member of the
team to come and find you before they leave for the day and to tell you what they
achieved that they’re most pleased with….then you don’t have to remember to look for
them!

19. H O W A M I D O I N G ?

20. GOOD HABITS NEED PRACTICE
Read the notes on each of the cards, then try out each of the ‘just one thing’ activities.
You might be inspired to create some experiments and activities of your own.
Spend 5 minutes at the end of the day thinking about each corner of the model. Write
down what worked and what didn’t and give yourself a mark out of 10 for each of them.
What do you notice? What will you try tomorrow? What will you do differently?
By spending just a minute or two thinking about how you did, you’ll also think about
how you can do better tomorrow.

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