YOML 131: The Carrot and/or Stick Method Will NEVER Work Long Term...Try the Human Approach!
0Reflection Title
The Carrot and/or Stick Method Will NEVER Work Long Term...Try the Human Approach!
Book
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (3/5)
Book Description
If there is one belief that has united the left and the right, psychologists and philosophers, ancient thinkers and modern ones, it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad. It's a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest. But what if it isn't true? International bestseller Rutger Bregman provides new perspective on the past 200,000 years of human history, setting out to prove that we are hardwired for kindness, geared toward cooperation rather than competition, and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another. In fact this instinct has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of Homo sapiens.
Reflection
My entire career I’ve worked in various sales, account management, and sales leadership roles. This entire profession is based on a culture of carrots and sticks for performance. You do well…you’ll be paid more, you’ll be showered with gifts, SPIFF’s, dinners, awards, trips, gift cards, etc. You do poorly…you’ll be fired.
Everything in my career has been always based off this carrot and/or stick approach. Everyone is stacked ranked like cattle and publicly paraded around and championed or shunned based on what some numbers show on a dashboard. That is just the way the world that I live in is and seem like it will always be. To date, it is probably the only proven method that produces the growth metrics needed to fund these business’s growth projections and keep investors happy.
But does it work? The answer is a resounding no in my opinion.
There has NEVER been a single SPIFF, gift, trip, bonus check, etc that has made me work harder or produce more in my entire career. NOT ONCE, and I’ve had plenty of rewards thrown my way in my career!
So, what does motivate me and make me want to push harder? It is when my values and purpose are aligned with the actions that I perform each day. This is what I like to call the Human Approach.
I will intrinsically push harder and do as much as I can because the work has meaning. I will wake up each day 2 hours before I need to so I can read and write to produce what I’m typing right now. I will meet with my co-founder every night after my day job no matter what. I will travel for tennis tournaments on my own dime. Meaningful work creates a never-ending source of motivation and drive to create because I WANT TO! This stuff WORKS!
You want even more explosive results, figure out how I can unite with other humans where my meaningful work helps their meaningful work overlap. Once that connection is made…LOOK OUT!
Despite what the sales, business, and sports worlds will have you think; humans are not designed to be driven by competition, rewards, or threats. We are driven by love, kindness, compassion, desire to help each other, and a deep need to produce meaningful creations to aid in the proliferation of these values.
As the author said, “Nothing is more powerful than a society of people doing things because they want to”! Building a world based on people producing meaningful work and meaningful relationships is the real long-term strategy for success and growth of any culture, not rewards and punishments.
Question
What motivates you more (carrots, sticks, or meaning)?