The underlying belief of exhortation is that people simply are not giving it their all, and so management’s job is to entice and encourage people to do a better job than they previously have.  The great search for ways to engage employees involves many well-intended but misguided approaches. Exhortation. Management by objectives. Tools and techniques.  Check out <a href="http://www.massingenuity.com/2012/01/22/employee-engagement-by-exhortation/" target="_blank">my post</a> and see if you agree or disagree with my logic on the topic.