Are You Motivated by a Carrot?

The light bulb has been used as the symbol for an idea or for innovation for a good number of years.  Roger Van Oech - inventor of the "Ball of Whacks," author of "A Whack on the Side of the Head" (and other creativity-starters) and the blog Creative Think, has reposted a blog entry from about a year ago entitled: Death Notice of a Creativity Metaphor."

The question his post asks is this... is a 125 year old invention still a good icon for new ideas and innovation?

After reading Roger's post a light bulb (oops) went off in my mind and I have to ask the question...

Think about the genesis of this idea - the carrot and the stick - it has to do with getting a donkey to move...the carrot being the reward for movement and the stick punishment for not moving.

I don't know about you but I'm a bit insulted with this metaphor and what it represents. 

Are You A Donkey?

Are your employees, channel partners or consumers donkeys?  Are they stubborn, stupid, long-eared, hairy and easily swayed by the promise of a base award like food?  I get that it is a somewhat apt representation of the concept of reward and punishment, but I don't think that most people would appreciate it.

At one point it might have been the way things were - employees were just beasts of burden doing things that machines hadn't been invented to do yet.  Today however I think we're way past that point of view.  Our work environment is less about individual tasks and piece-meal work but more about collaboration, teamwork, innovation, and other knowledge-based activities.  The carrot and stick just doesn't apply.

People who support your company as employees, or who work with other companies to distribute and sell your products and services and those that are labeled as consumers - are much more than simple analogs for machines and typically much more intelligent than your average donkey (well... I do have some stories... but that is another post.)

Time for Change

The incentive and performance improvement industry has adopted and continues to perpetuate this metaphor and icon.  Heck I even have a book called the "Carrot Principle" on my shelf - written by professionals in the recognition world.  The site associated with this book is labeled "The Carrot Culture."  The side bar lists books such as:

• A Carrot A Day - A daily dose of recognition for your employees.
• The 24-Carrot Manager -A remarkable story of how a leader can unleash human potential.
• Managing With Carrots - Using recognition to attract and retain the best people.

I purposely don't link to these books or the site because I don't want to continue to promote carrots as a motivational metaphor.  I don't know about you, but the titles listed above reduce a complex set of principles and activities down to a much too simple instinctual metaphor - and insult the audience.

I'm sure that some of the sidelong glances the motivation industry gets from its own clients are driven by the continued use of this metaphor.  The concept of carrot and stick creates and aura of duplicity and manipulation - when in reality we're talking about alignment of values and goals.  I don't believe incentive and recognition programs manipulate as much as "guide."  I'm sure someone will make the point that those words may have distinction but no difference.  Let them - I respect my audience and in my mind there are big differences.

No More Carrots

I'm done with it.   I'm done with the carrot and the stick - it has run it's course.

So I ask the same question about motivation that Roger asked about innovation - what is the new image/icon/metaphor for motivation and influence?  I have some thoughts but I'm more interested in your opinion.

What should the new image of motivation be?  How should we represent the science and art of connecting and aligning individual and team behavior with a company's goals - and as important - how we align company behavior with individual's goals. 

Your call - what's the new image of motivation?  You never know - it could be the cover of a book some day. 

Comments

[Julien Dionne]

The problem with a new image to represent motivation is that I don't think it can be as universal as the carrot. I would be tempted to say that a dollar sign, a big house, or life by the beach would better represent what people want, however this is exactly what the carrot has become an icon for. The carrot becomes anything I want.

I also rather like the symbolism behind such methaphors. This is what I most enjoyed when learning Mandarin. For example the word "hao" which means "good" is written with two symbols representing a woman and a child. Most characters have similar symbolism which may or may not represent reality anymore... not necessarily a reason to replace them with something more modern.

[Paul Hebert]

I see your point about the carrot being anything - but I also think the basis of the carrot is insulting.

Is there no symbol (or symbols as you point out) that can convey a desire other than one rooted in the idea of moving a pack animal?

I've heard lighthouse as a possible or two hands holding a medal/trophy/etc.

I keep thinking something that shows two people or groups working toward a goal.

Other thoughts?