If your employees or customers complain when things are going well, what is your expectation for them when things get tough? No matter what, there is going to be a time when things get tough. Use the good times as a gauge of what is to come and if you don’t see the behavior you expect, use the good times to build your team for the hard times. A complaint during the good times can be easily dismissed, but during hard times that same complaint can be infectious. Is complaining negative behavior what you need when the team or organization must rally? Or would a positive can do mind set be the oxygen your team needs?

It may be very expensive for you to address the negative employees during the bad times because you feel even if they are negative, losing them will dig you deeper in the hole.   It is much better to do it while things are going well, when your back is not against the wall.