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Is there something wrong with being defensive?  I mean – if you're constantly defending a position against an onslaught of negative and erroneous information is that a bad thing?

For the past few weeks/months it seems that I spend more time defending the position that rewards and recognition are not bad things – just things badly done.  Yet it seems that either I don't have the reach required or people just don't care (or – and this is highly unlikely – I'm not right.)

I've posted a response to Dan Pink's video saying rewards are bad, bad, bad.

I've posted a response to the poorly written and flat out incorrect article on the 10 myths of motivation.

I've posted numerous times on how you can't blame the program if it's poorly conceived and executed – blame the plan designer.  But alas and alack it seems for naught.

And once again, find myself in the position where I feel I need to post about an article with so-so information and in some cases just wrong.

So I'm asking you all – should I post again about this?

Hopefully you will respond – let me know – should I just keep my head down and tell my story or take the time to respond to the "academics" and ill-informed?

I leave it in your hands.  Please let me know in the comments.  

I may not sleep until I hear from you (video courtesy of Bare Naked Ladies – curious to see how that reference affects my rankings…)

Email subscribers may need to click through to see video below…


  • http://profile.typepad.com/6p01157000e148970c femelmed

    wait, you’re putting me in the uncomfortable position of not being the contrarian! keep fighting the good fight, paul. we’re reading.
    f

  • http://www.bretlsimmons.com Bret Simmons

    Hey, give us academics a break! I don’t disagree with your points about the power of rewards. I still teach them as effective and powerful but include much the same caveats you mention. Look at the work of Jeff Pfeffer and Bob Sutton and you will find two very good academics that also support rewards but caution about the unintended consequences of poorly designed systems.
    As a fellow blogger, I share your pain. I’ve written some stuff that I thought (to myself) was excellent and I don’t hear a peep from anyone. then some stuff I thought was plain vanilla gets a ton of comments. Go figure.
    It’s back to a point on motivation – you don’t know what pushes peoples buttons until you ask. But once you know, you’d be silly not to “reward” them with what they want.
    Keep up the good work! Bret

  • http://profile.typepad.com/2of6 Paul Hebert

    Thanks Fran – no rest for the wicked.

  • http://profile.typepad.com/2of6 Paul Hebert

    Sorry Bret – you were NOT who I had in mind when I posted on “academics” – got to watch the generalizations – that’s what I’m really fighting here isn’t it?
    Thanks for the comments!

  • http://hrringleader.wordpress.com Trish McFarlane

    Paul, Keep fighting the good fight. It’s ok to defend what you know to be facts. I think of it more as “comment education” than being on the defensive. Although, if you don’t like that, you can always just get a big stick and beat the authors over the head. :)
    LOVE your post…oh, and thank you for throwing some BNL-ED in there!!
    holla holla holla!

  • http://profile.typepad.com/2of6 Paul Hebert

    So, Trish – I should use the stick and not the carrot – some irony eh? You asked once which BNL song was my fave – this one ranks up there as well – can’t stop bopping around when I play it loud! Thanks!

  • Scott Crandall

    Paul — You knew I’d reply. Motivation is like leadership: done badly it’s probably worse than not done at all, but it’s GOING to be done, one way or the other — because that’s what people do.
    Just because it’s easy to do badly, and really hard (and LOTs of work) to START doing it right, it’s all the more important to keep pointing out “what’s right” (and how it’s done), keeping up withering attacks on “wrong”, and repeat, repeat, repeat.
    People learn by repetition, people learn by repetition, people learn by . . .

  • http://deltaorg.wordpress.com/ George A Guajardo

    Write in what ever style you feel most comfortable, friend. Blogging is about using our voice to communicate things we are passionate about. reading your words makes it clear that you are passionate about what you do and you aren’t afraid to root out shenanigans.
    Sadly, if you think your well reasoned arguments are going to sway people making bad decisions, you are in for a long fight. Best you can do is continue to build your readership and consultancy base.
    Ours is a war that is best wages one small battle at a time.

  • http://profile.typepad.com/2of6 Paul Hebert

    thanks Scott… ’tis better to try and fail than not to try at all!

  • http://profile.typepad.com/2of6 Paul Hebert

    George – I don’t know if that comment was supposed to get me to write more or make we want to jump off the bridge?
    Kidding – you’re right – but somethings you do because you need to – not because they will have the desired immediate effect. Appreciate you weighing in on this!

  • Drew Hawkins

    Keep on doing what you’re doing. I am all the time running across articles like the ones you respond to. Being a relative newcomer to this industry, a lot of what I’ve learned in regards to separating the truth from the BS (outside of what I already learn from my superiors at work) I’ve picked up from your posts.
    There’s a lot of BS and bad management styles out there online that people buy into. If nobody responds to it, how will anyone know the difference?

  • http://profile.typepad.com/2of6 Paul Hebert

    Thanks Drew – seems it’s pretty unanimous so Monday will be another – yeah, but post. Thanks.

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