One thing that sets me off is the use of "behavior modification" when talking about incentives, motivation programs, promotions or anything related to improving performance. It makes me think of B.F. Skinner and salivating dogs. I don't know about you all but I'm not a dog.
I started to get irked when I read the headline from this post from Tom Peters on "behavior modification." The real issue however isn't behavior modification as much as it is environmental constraints. He highlights that in his Book In Search of Excellence their research showed that people interact to a much lesser degree the further they sat from each other.
The information cited was based on physical proximity and it begs the question... "do social networks take the place of proximity?" Can I be proximate without being physically close? If the answer is yes it would seem to indicate that creating ways for far-flung employees to be connected would make sense.
Some would argue that we have that already with collaborative software and email/IM. I'm wondering if we could see the connection to other employees visually on the screen, not in the ether - like email - but visually with a network graphic of some sort, would that enhance their work and their performance?
Would the visual image be enough to create a more real proximity? Or should I just ring a bell?
A
Marketing and Incentive Design Consultancy