I listened to an interesting TED talk this morning by Dan Pink - http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html
It's worth a listen, especially if you are running your own business (or plan to) or leading a group of individuals and need to find ways to motivate.
The premise of his talk centers around the idea that traditional carrot and stick incentives, like money, ONLY work in tasks that require a narrow "mechanical" like focus. In all other cases where creativity and free thinking are needed, carrot and stick incentives do not work!
I am a subscriber to this notion. We are working in a world where blue suits and polished shoes are no longer needed. Big offices with all the trimmings are a waste. In my business, we hire freelancers often and they are hired based on the ROWE principal. They are not measure by when they do their work (in regards to time of day) or where they do their work (usually at home)...they are measured by the results they produce. They define the parameters to accomplish their tasks!
If people are given the autonomy to accomplish a certain goal, they will be inclined to work towards mastery of this goal because they will find purpose in what they are doing.
It's not a sweeter carrot or a sharper stick...
mj
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