A Whip to spur the intellect.

We all know that sometimes our interest in our work flags, or that the people under our supervision need more than jovial encouragement to apply themselves properly. In this event, I can think of three "whips" to use to motivate people. 1. Don't tell me why it can't be done, tell me how it CAN be done. Not much to explain, except to remember it can be a whip. 2. Make hay while the sun shines. This has biblical precedent in Pr 10:5. The point is that greed is not the only reason for hard work. That being said, mis-applied this can become oppressive. 3. If you feel that people are being less than candid with you, you can put up a plaque that says "Silence is Consent." This is not necessarily true at all times... discretion CAN be the better part of valor, BUT a plaque like that can lead the quiet ones to speak up. 4. A whip I don't use: "There are NO stupid questions." I believe that some questions are not worthwhile, but I say that "The un-asked question is never answered," instead. This is my way of saying that no matter how elementary the question, IF your intellectual estate is such that you need to ask it, by all means ask any question you need to ask - there is no offense.