If you ask people "if you could be anyone who would you be?" you'll get some interesting answers. I'm guessing a lot of people would chose someone famous, attractive, rich, pious, etc. Most wouldn't say Michio Kaku. But I would. If not only for the coolness factor of being very, very, smart and being on TV on the Science Channel - but to have that great shock of gray hair ( BTW - I'd do it just for the hair.)
If I could go back in time, I'd study harder. I'd focus more. I wouldn't have been mean to the girl who sat next to me in 4th grade. I'd be a physicist.
Unfortunately, I'm not a physicist so I can't create a time machine to go back and right the wrongs of my past.
But I have stayed at a Holiday Inn and I can play one on the internet. And I'm as good as anyone at bending real theories and ideas into a shape that helps me make a point.
Unified Theory
In physics (and please - those that really understand this stuff don't call me out - just go with the overall flow of the logic) there is something called the Theory of Everything (TOE) and its close cousin the Grand Unification Theory (GUT.) These theories seek to combine, under one theory, the four fundamental forces that govern our universe: the gravitational force, which keeps us from flying into outer space, the electromagnetic force, which light up our cities and energizes our lasers and our computers, and the strong and weak nuclear forces, which lights up the stars and galaxies.
But these things don't really connect. They explain the big stuff - black holes, planets, gravity. They explain the little stuff - protons, neutrons, bosons, muons (really, I'm not making those names up.) But none of the theories by themselves explain everything and the math behind them doesn't connect to each other.
In other words we can explain what happens at a large scale and a small scale but it requires different sets of equations and assumptions.
Motivation Is EXACTLY The Same
When I peel back the onion on motivation theory and other theories that try to explain why people do things I see a similar quandary. We can, through research, explain what a "population" will do within a distribution - meaning we can get pretty close to knowing how/why MANY people will respond to specific influences and motivational tools. Not all - but many.
We can also find out what an individual will do given a specific set of criteria and scenarios.
However, these two things are disconnected and don't allow us to use one, or the other, by themselves to influence behavior.
The Big and The Small
I can, through conversations and discussions understand what will motivate an individual. But I cannot apply that thinking to the entire group and expect the result to be positive. There are too many variations and vagaries between individuals for these motivation keys to apply to the group.
Conversely, I can do a study and predict within a specific distribution what the majority of people will do in a given situation. But on an individual level these predictions fall apart.
In other words we have the same problem with motivation that we have with physics.
The new "research" on motivation can be used to predict a large portion of the population - but it can't be used to motivate individual behavior. Individual motivations can be used to motivate a specific person but it can't be used to motivate a group.
This Is Why It Is Hard
Because we have this disconnect between the rules for groups and rules for individuals it is a very difficult task to design effective incentive and motivation programs. However, many managers take on this role not understanding that their job is to manage both theories - not just pick one and run with it.
Let Me Make It Harder
And just for fun... remember what one person does in your organization influences what others do - and therefore you not only have to know the rules that govern the population, the rules the drive the individual but you have to take into account that these things are connected and don't operate independently.
To demonstrate this idea watch the video below (email subscribers will have to click through to the post) on pendulums. We can, through physics predict the action of a pendulum. But add a couple more pendulums to the mix and it falls into chaos. This is similar to your organization. Many individuals acting on their own, and in connection with, the others in your organization.
If you thought it was hard to manage the "big" and the "small" - now add the chaotic.
That' what I do every day.
Cheers. And if we don't talk before - and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have a great 2010.
A
Marketing and Incentive Design Consultancy