Paul Hebert, a leading expert on incentives and motivation, talks with me about incentive programs 101, how motivation is different from incentives, and Dan Pink’s new book, Drive. (35:38)
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Links from this Podcast
- Motivation and the Theory of Everything
- Incentive Programs and Building an Amateur Airplane
- The Difference Between Incentives and Motivation
Podcast Highlights
Many people think, “I know what motivates me, therefore I’ll just package that up and offer it to people. Unfortunately, motivation isn’t that simple.
A lot of times money is nothing more than a yardstick. That’s their yardstick for success – how they prove to other people that they’re valuable.
If HR could train people better on how to do recognition, how to align company goals with what individuals need to get done, that’s the training that’s missing.
About Paul
Paul Hebert is a leading expert on incentives and motivation. He’s the Managing Director and lead consultant for I2I, and author of the incentive and motivation blog Incentive Intelligence.
Paul has been interviewed by the BBC on executive compensation, quoted in USATODAY, has published whitepapers and articles for HRM Magazine, is a contributing author on one of my favorite blogs, Fistful of Talent, and has been featured in several other leading publications as well.
You can follow him on Twitter at @IncentIntel.
Excellent interview.
I totally agree that HR should focus on management, thus creating an environment in which people are willing to do their best work without the need for micromanaging them.
I believe if we create an culture and environment of accountability, commitment and discipline, most people will step up to the plate and live up to these standards. Especially if people can see their managers as role models who life the company’s values.
Also, in my experience, people who are strongly motivated by money are poor team players, and I try to avoid them. They tend to be the prima donnas with, what I could call, Dr. House syndrome (although House is not money-motivated).
Yes, they may be geniuses, but destroy the morale of the whole team.
Thanks for the great discussion.
Tom, thanks for the comments, and glad you enjoyed the interview. I really enjoyed chatting with Paul – he’s got a lot of great insight!