- First is biological drive to do certain things. Second is the drive owing to external motivations like rewards and punishments.
- When money is used as an extrinsic reward for some activity, subjects lose intrinsic interest for the activity. Just like caffeine cranks u up for a few hours, money acts as a short term booster only.
- As human beings we have the inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, extend and exercise, to explore and to learn. This is the third drive. It includes the need to direct our own lives and live a life of purpose.
- Motivation 2.0 is for profit maximizers. Motivation 3.0 is for purpose maximizers. Enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation – how creative a person feels while doing a project is the biggest motivator.
- Motivation 2.0 works for algorithmic tasks routine ones. Motivation 3.0 works for heuristic tasks creative ones.
- Routine work requires direction and management, non routine work requires self direction and self management.
- Unexpected ad hoc rewards motivates. But if-then rewards take away autonomy to some extent and hence they impact performance badly by converting play into work.
- Shift from if then rewards to now-that rewards.
- Those who are least motivated to pursue extrinsic rewards get them.
- Carrot and stick can promote bad behavior, create addiction and promote short term thinking instead of long term thinking.
How to build a great team
- Baseline rewards e.g. salary perks etc must be at par with the industry.
- Give them autonomy and tell them the outcome, not how to do.
- Give them a chance to pursue mastery.
- Their daily duty must relate to a sense of larger purpose.
- Give them urgency and significance.
- Now Get out of talent’s way.
Feedback should focus on:
- Specifics
- Effort and strategy and not outcome
This is SDT Self determination theory. Our three innate needs are:
- Competence
- Autonomy
- Relatedness
- People fundamentally like work. Under certain conditions, they not only accept but seek responsibility.
- Starting from intrinsic reward is to start from Samadhi. Starting from external motivators is to start from Yama.
- Type X vs Type Y (extrinsic vs intrinsic). Money is imp for type X people because it takes money off the table so they can now focus on work. For type Y people money is the table.
- Human beings are not human resources. They are human beings. Or they are partners. Treat them like that.
- Use a ROWE. RESULTS ONLY WORK ENVIRONMENT. People just produce results – how,where and when is Upto them.
- A typical work environment is all about control. It’s assumed that people do not work without a prod. And once they get going, they need a firm and reliable guide to keep them from wandering. Both these premises are faulty.
- Resist the temptation to control people.
- Autonomy is not cow boy type go-it-alone independence. People are yet ready to work in an interdependent way.
- People will not move out of a results only work environment for increased pay.
- Management and empowerment are dirty words for an organization. This is the era for self-direction.
- Hire good people and leave them alone.
- Let them have control over their task, time, technique and team selection. Four T’s. Best strategy for an employer is to figure out which of above is most important for each employee.
- Encouraging autonomy doesn’t mean discouraging accountability. People wish to be accountable and giving autonomy is a path to it.
- Control leads to compliance, autonomy leads to engagement.
Flow requires foll conditions:
- Goals are clear
- Feedback is immediate.
- Challenge is neither too easy nor too difficult; just a notch or two above the current abilities.
- Flow also helps defeat depression (my corollary)
- Type X behavior believe in the entity theory of intelligence and performance goals over learning goals. Type I behavior prefers learning goals and incremental theory of intelligence where intelligence is not a fixed inborn entity but improved with effort. This can be applied to any faculty besides intelligence.
Mastery is a:
- Mindset
- Pain
- Asymptote
- Organizations nowadays often are NOT ONLY FOR PROFIT organisations. Their purpose is to pursue purpose and use profit as a way to do so.
- When goals are hitched to something larger than themselves then they are more motivated.
Deci’s study showed:
- In purpose goals: you value, u attain it, u r better off.
- In profit goals: u value it, u attain it, u r worse off as a result of it.
