How will you discipline you're child?

I work with a lot of fathers and mothers, so I often hear..."O jimmy did this" and "skyler did that..." but when I ask they what they did about it, I rarely got the same answer. So I'm asking you what is the most appropriate/effective way to discipline your child w/o crossing the line or getting walked over by your son/daughter.
Personally I think different offenses call for different disciplines...if your child has a good amount of respect for you, a stern talking to after a small offense may set the on the right path. If it because a frequent offense, clearly something more is required perhaps a spanking and taking away some of the privileges they take for granted. I think my kids will get a nice mixture of disciple when the time comes...its important to get them on the right bath from the beginning, because the older they get the less effective "parental discipline" becomes....in my opinion. Please share your opinion in the comment section...and look to the right for a pole (since its been a while w/o a new post, I'll leave the pole active for a while).