048-The-puzzle-of-motivation-(Dan-Pink)-2009

049Thepuzzleofmotivation(DanPink)2009Ineedtomakeaconfessionattheoutsethere.Alittleover20yearsago,IdidsomethingthatIregret,somethingthatI'mnotparticularlyproudof.Somethingthat,inmanyways,Iwishnoonewouldeverknow,buthereIfeelkindofobligedtoreveal.(Laughter)Inthelate1980s,inamomentofyouthfulindiscretion,Iwenttolawschool.(Laughter)InAmerica,lawisaprofessionaldegree:afteryouruniversitydegree,yougoontolawschool.WhenIgottolawschool,Ididn'tdoverywell.Toputitmildly,Ididn'tdoverywell.I,infact,graduatedinthepartofmylawschoolclassthatmadethetop90%possible.(Laughter)Thankyou.Ineverpracticedlawadayinmylife;Iprettymuchwasn'tallowedto.(Laughter)Buttoday,againstmybetterjudgment,againsttheadviceofmyownwife,Iwanttotrytodustoffsomeofthoselegalskills--what'sleftofthoselegalskills.Idon'twanttotellyouastory.Iwanttomakeacase.Iwanttomakeahard-headed,evidence-based,dareIsaylawyerlycase,forrethinkinghowwerunourbusinesses.So,ladiesandgentlemenofthejury,takealookatthis.Thisiscalledthecandleproblem.Someofyoumightknowit.It'screatedin1945byapsychologistnamedKarlDuncker.Hecreatedthisexperimentthatisusedinmanyotherexperimentsinbehavioralscience.Andhere'showitworks.SupposeI'mtheexperimenter.Ibringyouintoaroom.Igiveyouacandle,somethumbtacksandsomematches.AndIsaytoyou,Yourjobistoattachthecandletothewallsothewaxdoesn'tdripontothetable.Nowwhatwouldyoudo?Manypeoplebegintryingtothumbtackthecandletothewall.Doesn'twork.Isawsomebodykindofmakethemotionoverhere--somepeoplehaveagreatideawheretheylightthematch,meltthesideofthecandle,trytoadhereittothewall.It'sanawesomeidea.Doesn'twork.Andeventually,afterfiveortenminutes,mostpeoplefigureoutthesolution,whichyoucanseehere.Thekeyistoovercomewhat'scalledfunctionalfixedness.Youlookatthatboxandyouseeitonlyasareceptacleforthetacks.Butitcanalsohavethisotherfunction,asaplatformforthecandle.Thecandleproblem.2:59Iwanttotellyouaboutanexperimentusingthecandleproblem,donebyascientistnamedSamGlucksberg,whoisnowatPrincetonUniversity,US,Thisshowsthepowerofincentives.Hegatheredhisparticipantsandsaid:I'mgoingtotimeyou,howquicklyyoucansolvethisproblem.Toonegrouphesaid,I'mgoingtotimeyoutoestablishnorms,averagesforhowlongittypicallytakessomeonetosolvethissortofproblem.Tothesecondgroupheofferedrewards.Hesaid,Ifyou'reinthetop25%ofthefastesttimes,yougetfivedollars.Ifyou'rethefastestofeveryonewe'retestingheretoday,youget20dollars.Nowthisisseveralyearsago,adjustedforinflation,it'sadecentsumofmoneyforafewminutesofwork.It'sanicemotivator.Question:Howmuchfasterdidthisgroupsolvetheproblem?Answer:Ittookthem,onaverage,threeandahalfminuteslonger.3.5minlonger.Thismakesnosense,right?Imean,I'manAmerican.Ibelieveinfreemarkets.That'snothowit'ssupposedtowork,right?(Laughter)Ifyouwantpeopletoperformbetter,yourewardthem.Right?Bonuses,commissions,theirownrealityshow.Incentivizethem.That'showbusinessworks.Butthat'snothappeninghere.You'vegotanincentivedesignedtosharpenthinkingandacceleratecreativity,anditdoesjusttheopposite.Itdullsthinkingandblockscreativity.4:33What'sinterestingaboutthisexperimentisthatit'snotanaberration.Thishasbeenreplicatedoverandoveragainfornearly40years.Thesecontingentmotivators--ifyoudothis,thenyougetthat--workinsomecircumstances.Butforalotoftasks,theyactuallyeitherdon'tworkor,often,theydoharm.Thisisoneofthemostrobustfindingsinsocialscience,andalsooneofthemostignored.Ispentthelastcoupleofyearslookingatthescienceofhumanmotivation,particularlythedynamicsofextrinsicmotivatorsandintrinsicmotivators.AndI'mtellingyou,it'snotevenclose.Ifyoulookatthescience,thereisamismatchbetweenwhatscienceknowsandwhatbusinessdoes.What'salarminghereisthatourbusinessoperatingsystem--thinkofthesetofassumptionsandprotocolsbeneathourbusinesses,howwemotivatepeople,howweapplyourhumanresources--it'sbuiltentirelyaroundtheseextrinsicmotivators,aroundcarrotsandsticks.That'sactuallyfineformanykindsof20thcenturytasks.Butfor21stcenturytasks,thatmechanistic,reward-and-punishmentapproachdoesn'twork,oftendoesn'twork,andoftendoesharm.Letmeshowyou.Glucksbergdidanothersimilarexperiment,hepresentedtheprobleminaslightlydifferentway,likethisuphere.Attachthecandletothewallsothewaxdoesn'tdripontothetable.Samedeal.You:we'retimingfornorms.You:we'reincentivizing.6:07Whathappenedthistime?Thistime,theincentivizedgroupkickedtheothergroup'sbutt.Why?Becausewhenthetacksareoutofthebox,it'sprettyeasyisn'tit?(Laughter)If-thenrewardsworkreallywellforthosesortsoftasks,wherethereisasimplesetofrulesandacleardestinationtogoto.Rewards,bytheirverynature,narrowourfocus,concentratethemind;that'swhytheyworkinsomanycases.So,fortaskslikethis,anarrowfocus,whereyoujustseethegoalrightthere,zoomstraightaheadtoit,theyworkreallywell.Butfortherealcandleproblem,youdon'twanttobelookinglikethis.Thesolutionisontheperiphery.Youwanttobelookingaround.Thatrewardactuallynarrowsourfocusandrestrictsourpossibility.Letmetellyouwhythisissoimportant.InwesternEurope,inmanypartsofAsia,inNorthAmerica,inAustralia,white-collarworkersaredoinglessofthiskindofwork,andmoreofthiskindofwork.Thatroutine,rule-based,left-brainwork--certain