dave_v_samuel Profile picture
Jan 26 β€’ 13 tweets β€’ 3 min read
Everyone think that motivation and problem solving are driven by incentives... but it's not the case!

and here is why πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡ Image
1.

The very first prove was an experiment in behavioral science, "the candle problem", created by psychologist Karl Duncker:

.a candle
.a box of thumbtacks
.some matches

The goal: to attach the candle to the wall so the wax doesn't drip onto the table. Image
2.

To solve the problem, the key was to overcome what's called "Functional fixedness":

-the inability to realize that something known to have a particular use may also be used to perform other functions-

in other words:
thumbtacks box <--> platform for the candle. Image
3.

Through this experiment a scientist named Sam Glucksberg proved the "inverse" power of incentives:

.two groups with different incentives
.the group with rewards take much time to solve the problem🀯
4.

Rewards could work really well, but just in specific scenario:
.there is a simple set of rules
.there is a clear destination to go to.

Rewards narrow our focus and concentrate the mind, restricting our possibility when the solution is on the periphery.
5.

So, this is the case:
when the task involves cognitive skill, financial incentives can result in a negative impact on overall performance.

This is a fact proved many times: despite this, there is a big mismatch between what science knows and what business does.
6.

Actually there would be a more effective approach: it's built around intrinsic motivation.

Around the desire to do things:
.because they matter
.because we like it
.they are interesting
.they are part of something important.
7.

It seems that we need to implement a new operating model based on the following building blocks:

.autonomy: direct our own lives
.mastery: get better at something that matters
.purpose: do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
8.

Take Google as a successful example:
at Google engineers can spend 20% of their time working on anything they want, with full autonomy over their time, task, team.

This radical amounts of autonomy produce about half of the new products in a year, like Gmail or Google News.
9.

So, if we get past this lazy, dangerous, ideology of carrots and sticks, it's possible to strengthen our businesses and solve a lot of those candle problems.
credit to Dan Pink, for this beautiful speech πŸ‘‡
ted.com/talks/dan_pink…
in summary:

.incentives are often detrimental for motivation and problem solving skills

.science proves this fact many times with experiments like "the candle problem"

.a more effective approach than this "carrots and sticks" ideology it's built around intrinsic motivation
If you like this content, please share and make sure to follow @davevsamuel for new daily 🧡about business, mindset and behavioral economics.

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More from @davevsamuel

Jan 28
10 simple steps to boost your financial health!

You just need a focused day: let's call it the "financial health day".

πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡ Image
1.

Just as you plan your vacations, you should devote a day on your calendar to reorganizing your finances:

a financial day is just as important and lets you get your life in order when you have enough decision-making bandwidth.
2.

The first focus should be on your cash flow statement:

.fixed expenses: bills, housing payment, car and cell phone provider
.revenue streams: do you have just one full-time job or other positive cash flow?

Check consistency between your costs/revenues structure. Image
Read 16 tweets
Jan 27
How to save above 2.000 Jewish children from the Nazis:

a jar and a lot of courage in the recipe of Irena Sendler. πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡

#HolocaustMemorialDay2022 Image
1.

First of all, who was Irena:

"Nom de guerre" Jolanta (15 February 1910 – 12 May 2008), was a Polish humanitarian, social worker, and nurse who served in the Polish Underground Resistance during World War II in German-occupied Warsaw.
[source: Wikipedia]
2.

She was already furious as a young woman at the constant discrimination against her Jewish friends.

As a student in social welfare at the University of Warsaw, Sendler publicly denounced the segregation of classrooms, earning her a suspension and a bad reputation.
Read 13 tweets
Jan 27
The daily dose of "ideas worth spreading":

my growing library of TED 🧡 πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡
1.

Learning whatever your curiosity suggests, with the 20 hours rule πŸ‘‡

2.

The powerful concept of -Antifragility- πŸ‘‡

Read 8 tweets
Jan 27
"Remarriage is the triumph of hope over experience." (samuel johnson)

The beauty and the risks of one of the most common cognitive biases: the optimism bias.

🧡 πŸ‘‡ Image
1.

Let's start with the definition:

the tendency to overestimate our likelihood of experiencing good events and underestimate bad events likelihood.

It's a cognitive illusion that about 80% of us have: health issues, finance, career are all influenced by our optimistic bias.
2.

Actually our bias is more towards "private" optimism:

we're optimistic about ourselves, about our kids and our families, but we're not so optimistic about our fellow citizens or our country's future.
Read 15 tweets
Jan 24
Never heard of positive harms?πŸ€”

ok, stay with me: let's deconstruct one of the best concept that you can learn for business, finance, every days life:

-#antifragility-

πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡
1.n

Think about it: we have the word fragile, but we miss the exact opposite.

Robust is not enough: the resilient resists shocks but
stays the same.

We want to define something that gain from disorder/errors/shocks: Maestro @nntaleb gave us the term "antifragile".
2.n

The best representation of antifragility is Hydra:

Hydra, in Greek mythology, is a serpent-like creature that dwells in the lake of Lerna, near Argos, and has numerous heads.

Each time one is cut off, two grow back.

So harm is what it likes. Image
Read 17 tweets
Jan 23
Learning whatever your curiosity suggests: it's doable!

Malcolm Gladwell says something different in his "Outliers: The story of success"... but there was a bug in that book

πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡
1.n

The thesis of Gladwell was:

- you need as much as 10.000 hours - booom!

just "Practice a lot, practice well, and you will reach the top of your field"
2.n

The bug:

the 10.000 hour rule came out of studies of expert-level performance:

. professional athlete
. world class musicians
. chess grand masters
...

Professor K. Anders Ericsson, at Florida State University, is the rule originator.
Read 13 tweets

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