Should you psych yourself up with confident declarations — or ask yourself questions about whether you’re up to the job? In my latest Sunday Telegraph column, I turn to a team of University of Illinois researchers — and the legendary management theorist Bob the Builder — for the answer.
From the playing fields of 21st century America to the killing fields of 20th century Europe, here are two interesting perspectives on motivation. The first comes from Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who’s interviewed in the new BusinessWeek and explains why he left a job managing the New York Yankees: “I was offered a very [...]
That’s the question I examine in my new monthly business column for the Sunday Telegraph of London, which debuts today. In the piece, which takes about four minutes to read, I describe the experiences of two companies — Red Gate Software in Cambridge, UK and System Source in Baltimore — that have eliminated commissions for [...]
(Via Alexander Commercials. HT: Craig Safir)
My pal Scott Underwood directed me to a fascinating study that stands at the intersection of two of my obsessions: motivation and signs. Say you need to go from the ground floor of a building to the fourth floor. Climbing stairs is obviously better for your health than standing in an elevator. But how can [...]
Over at the Inside Influence Report, Noah Goldstein writes about a recent study that examined whether infusing a task with purpose can motivate high performance. The study, conducted by Wharton’s Adam Grant, involved the call center at a university fundraising organization. Grant obtained permission to talk to the folks working at the call center — [...]
In the early 1990s, I had the good fortune to work for Robert B. Reich, then the U.S. Secretary of Labor. He taught me a simple (and free) tool for diagnosing the health of an organization. When he visited companies and talked with employees, Reich listened carefully for the pronouns people used. Did employees refer [...]
Call someone a “liar,” and it’s clearly an insult. Call someone a “genius,” and it’s almost always praise. But how about calling someone a “perfectionist”? Is that a diss or a kiss? The answer, it turns out, depends on what kind of perfectionist the person is. And that depends, in turn, on the person’s motivation. [...]
Richard Ryan, one of the behavioral scientists whose research figures prominently in Drive, thinks you might be, according to a recently released paper. But the reason for this “weekend effect” isn’t leisure, he says. It’s autonomy most of all — as well as the satisfaction that comes from emotional relationships. On Saturdays and Sundays, he [...]
