01 Apr 2010
This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.
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DR A - 19 Feb 2012 6:00pm
Best way to raise kids...
Rex Castle - 03 Feb 2012 3:37pm
When I hire people (I'm in HR, so it's pretty often) I try to hire really smart, really happy people, pay them really well (https://www.createspace.com/3691301). I also try to evaluate whether someone is self-motivated or waiting on me. Sales professionals, developers, support...take your pick. Pay people well, offer some ownership and purpose, be respectful, don't treat them like Harlow did his rhesus monkeys, give them a great vision and then get out of their way and I generally find performance far beyond what incentives produce. That's not science, and maybe not totally Daniel Pink (whose work is great by the way); that's my experience.
David Hobson - 14 Jan 2012 10:29pm
Awesome! I wanted to put this video side by side with the original, so I could see the drawing and Danial Pink at the same time. Thought it would be a cool effect. But I can't find the original video. Obviously there's tons out there, but none that I can find follow the same timeline and exact flow. Do you think you could send a link to the original? Or was it based off the 40 minute talk at RSA, and parts spliced together? Thanks!
Hans de Jong - 14 Apr 2011 8:46am
FANTASTIC
Steve edison - 11 Apr 2011 12:09am
As a salesman and sales manager, I don't think that this generalization holds water. It is interesting, and it may be true on average, but we look for people that are motivated by money...commissions then, are a simple and easily communicated technique for motivation (of those that self select) for salespeople. But 21st century sales is complex and demanding...not the simple tasks offered in this piece. I wonder why no mention was made of sales commissions as motivators.
Peter - 21 Feb 2011 8:01am
That was really great. Is there a possibility to download the complete picture. I would like to show it in my office.
Paul - 11 Feb 2011 11:21am
Video's on website not loading
expose - 07 Feb 2011 6:57am
why not show us the whole piece of paper at the end? just for a moment. why not? Also, you know about gamification: SAPS, status, access, power, stuff (money)?
Disgruntled programmer - 07 Feb 2011 5:29am
The narrator goes says that people work on open source for free and gives the example of linux. This is completely bending the truth because most of the people that work on linux are paid to do so, albeit they do it because that's what they like doing, however these are superstar level talented people, not your every day programmer that gets to dictate what they work on. My main gripe with this video is that its counter productive to what programmers have been fighting for a long time which is better salaries and working conditions. Find the "EA spouse" wikipedia entry. THAT is your typical programmer and it took three class action lawsuits against Electronic Arts before anything happened. For years we've had to fight with poor working conditions, poor salary and unpaid overtime then just as things can't get any worse this video spends 5 minutes talking about how one doesn't need to give programmers raises, "it's proven by science", awesome, thanks a lot buddy. I know that wasn't the video's main point but it doesn't make a difference because management doesn't care, all they'll see is the first five minutes and use that to justify yet more pay cuts and unpaid overtime. Science has proved it time and time again like he said after all.
Jason the Geek - 07 Feb 2011 4:58am
Wait... wait. Regarding the low-medium-high pay experiment in India (time 3:36), that the low & medium steps performed equally suggests that they were paid *before* the work was done; where is the incentive to perform if you've already rewarded them? Secondly, if I recall, the initial incentives behind Linux & Apache were not necessarily altruistic; rather there were no efficient, cheap alternatives to these on the market at the time and these guys were tired of waiting for the market to make those alternatives. Only afterwards did the community aspects of the projects take off thanks to the original authors' willingness to accept improvements. Third, the motivator behind "free time" projects would seem to be notoriety or kudos -- not necessary altruism. Geeks (among whom I consider myself a member) typically have lonely childhoods -- not much in the way of good friends, so as adults they prize the opportunity to become the popular kid by showing-off. Similarly, I believe Steve Jobs's motivation to "put a dent in the Universe" was to prove his worth (as many other people who were given up for adoption tend to feel the need to do). I like the tendency for many to take a set of disparate actions and try to make a common thesis to explain them, but I think this one is a miss.
Superman - 07 Feb 2011 12:57am
I'm a 5th year PhD student (set to graduate this summer), and this concept rings true to me. In grad school, the fastest way to fail is to concentrate on the tangible things you get out of your education: publications and a degree. The students who do the best are the ones who essentially do whatever the heck they feel like on any given day. Of course, the caveat is that they have to actually care about their project for this to work, and a lot of the time it's the advisor who picks a project. I bet a lot of PIs would benefit from a little instruction in strategies to help their students find purpose in their work.
erin heineman - 06 Feb 2011 11:59pm
Thank you for making this available. Very energizing.
anonymous - 06 Feb 2011 11:55pm
didn't quite explain that right. this phenomena drives a lot of small scale social misunderstandings.
anonymous - 06 Feb 2011 11:50pm
i don't see how one wouldn't understand this. when you reward someone for something entirely their own, they say fuck you, this is mine and no other's. nobody will exercise their mind for anyone but themselves because you can't own someone. if you even IMPLY that the person would be "better" by some external criteria if they did something original or creative, they will get at LEAST indignant. there's much more to this, though, it can't be explained in a few sentences.
C P - 06 Feb 2011 9:54pm
It's stupid to say that a larger reward leads to poorer performance. Giving even the best programmer a large raise/bonus will probably make him more loyal and make him feel like his contributions are being recognized. But in the worst case scenario, it will only be ineffective. Maybe a programmer works hard, and that raise or bonus doesn't particularly make him work any harder, but it won't make him work worse?
BootStrap - 21 Jan 2011 1:36pm
LARGER REWARD leads to POORER PERFORMANCE he explains that folks tend to focus more on the incentive, and get so narrow minded on the incentive that they struggle to see the solution, or answer. Watch his full 50 minute video on Youtube, or he documents all finding in his book: Drive.
nhavar - 28 Dec 2010 8:17pm
"Why does LARGER REWARD lead to POORER PERFORMANCE?" My belief is that reward at the low end of the scale creates positive behavior by establishing consistent measurable outcomes. The problem with this as you move up the chain of command is that management expects people at a certain level to "think outside the box" and they have no means of measuring what that means. Additionally the people who are charged with being creative and thinking outside the box often find a formula that works (i.e. "I do A+B and get a bonus") and keep doing the same thing and getting rewarded for the same thing regardless of the outcome. This can be because compensation is tied to activity not outcome.
Stefan - 07 Dec 2010 10:18am
Money cannot be the only thing that motivates us, that's clear. But: Why does LARGER REWARD lead to POORER PERFORMANCE? That remains unexplained...
Sattie Clark - 30 Nov 2010 11:12pm
This video is so well done and the information is so fascinating and useful...and potentially game-changing. Thanks RSA!
Michael Royal - 20 Nov 2010 10:25am
will distribute this no doubt!