Why Some Folks Just Won’t Buy It… Aliens, Influence, Motivation and Incentives

 (Just 'cuz I'm in a mood...)

For 4 years I’ve been writing about motivation, incentives, rewards, recognition – and all modes and methods of influencing behavior. I’ve got a pretty good following of subscribers for my niche. Some of the major players in the industry follow this site and I’ve received kudos and recommendations based on the information in this site. 

But I still feel I’m tilting at windmills. 

Not Much Has Changed 

• A ton of people still think money is the primary motivator. 
• A raft of people still think competition is the best way to structure an incentive. 
• Too many people still think there are “3 Easy No-cost Ways to Motivate A Team.” 
• All the people of middle-earth and North America still think there is one ring to rule them all when it comes to engagement, motivation and influence. 
• And there are still too many HR Managers, Sales Manager and Marketing Managers running poorly designed and badly managed incentive and reward programs. 

Why? 

End of the World and Aliens are the Root Cause 

I know it’s not me. Okay – it could be me a little bit. But consider this. 

Ever hear of cults who predict the end of the world? Some make headlines – most don’t. 

Ever wonder why after so many cults predict the end of the earth and it doesn’t happen that those types of cults would just fade away? Here’s your answer from the all-seeing, all-knowing Oracle Wikipedia…

Dissonance is aroused when people are confronted with information that is inconsistent with their beliefs. If the dissonance is not reduced by changing one's belief, the dissonance can result in misperception or rejection or refutation of the information, seeking support from others who share the beliefs, and attempting to persuade others to restore consonance. 

An early version of cognitive dissonance theory appeared in Leon Festinger's 1956 book, When Prophecy Fails. This book gave an inside account of the increasing belief which sometimes follows the failure of a cult's prophesy. The believers met at a pre-determined place and time, believing they alone would survive the earth's destruction. The appointed time came and passed without incident. They faced acute cognitive dissonance: had they been the victim of a hoax? Had they donated their worldly possessions in vain? Most members chose to believe something less dissonant: the aliens had given earth a second chance, and the group was now empowered to spread the word: earth-spoiling must stop. The group dramatically increased their proselytism despite the failed prophecy.

Dissonance Baby, Dissonance

Dissonance is uncomfortable. It makes us feel bad. We don’t like to feel bad so we find a way to eliminate it. 

So we … rationalize it. 

We ignore the information that causes us to be uncomfortable and look for reassuring information. Unfortunately, there are always stories and single-data points that can support a belief system. Motivation and incentives are no different than religions that believe in alien overlords. 

I can find case histories that show an increase in compensation impacted sales. 

I can find studies that show incentives are bad for business. 

Heck, I can probably find people who can tell stories about how “shake weights” increased wellness in their organization. 

In other words – if I want to support a position – I can find data to support it. I can eliminate my dissonance and go back to feeling good. 

Don’t Feel Good – Feel Bad to Do Good Well… 

I like uncomfortable. I like to be a bit dissonant. And so should you. 

The only way to truly grow is to challenge your belief system and seek out new information. To boldly go where your competition, your colleagues, your friends won’t go. See out that which makes you go… “Hmmmm….” 

Trust me. Believe me. Finding contradictory information will give you a much broader pallet on which to base your thinking. 

It’s the old story – if everyone at your executive table believes the same thing you believe – you don’t really need those other people. 

I’ll leave you with this… 

I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Maslow, and you curse your compensation structure. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Maslow, while elegant, probably isn’t working. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, helps drive performance. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me at that table, you need me at that table. We use words like engagement, motivation, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very enlightenment that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you subscribe to this blog, and read things that make you uncomfortable.

Comments

[Ann Bares]

One word: Fabulous. :)

[Derek Irvine, Globoforce]

Great post, Paul, although I'm shocked Shake Weights don't work. Your manifesto at the end is particularly well done. As you know, we at Globoforce enjoy making people a bit uncomfortable with "the way we've always done it" and giving them good reason to "think different."

[Paul Hebert]

Thanks Derek - appreciate your continued reading and comments. It is a Sisyphean effort in many cases but there is a different way to engage an audience outside the traditional (and in many cases - bad) do x get y.

Onward and upward.

[Nate]

Paul, how would you address confronting colleagues or management that are busy rationalizing their decisions instead of keeping an open mind? Being objective would seem to be the easy task - helping others to realize what is happening seems much more difficult.

[William Cunningham]

Excellent! This article on cognitive dissonance could be applied to any number of things, particularly in business. People tend to deny that an investment was a bad one and continue to pour money into it because they refuse to accept that what they thought would work actually failed. This goes for systems, products, and programs, as you very well demonstrated. Thank you for the great article.

[Paul Hebert]

The "sunk cost fallacy" you mentioned is one of the major examples of cognitive dissonance. I have found myself in that trap a few times (as my 401K can attest to.)

Thanks for reading and commenting William - appreciate it.

[Paul Hebert]

Great question Nate.

Two things I would do...

"Reframe" the discussion outside the area you're focused on. In my example instead of discussing the best way to influence the employees in the target's company - talk instead of how someone else might do a similar thing. Talk about "if you were running company "b" with these issues what would you do." Then bring it back and use the responses for "b" with your own audience. Sometimes just getting out of the frame a bit can jar someone loose from their thinking patterns.

Second... I'd use some of the other influence techniques to get them to change their initial point of view. Highlight how other executives "like them" have affected change or addressed a problem. Show them that others who they identify with, hold different points of view that are effective.

Key to working through this dissonance is to remove the anxiety - either by changing the initial belief (which is hard) or changing the context so that the initial belief isn't considered part of the conversation - until you bring it back to initial conversation.

Be careful... this may take a few tries. We're talking emotion at this point - not logic. Our initial reaction is to attack with logic and that can have the effect of having the person cling tighter to their original position. Get them to see the situation differently - then apply the new solution.

[Jeffrey Thomas]

Great post. There are so many examples of companies continuing the same business practices each day without stepping back and questioning their methods. Asking themselves if there is a better way they could be operating. I know I have thought this many times in my short career.

[Kurt Nelson]

Paul,

As you point out, the problem is that for most people, we don't like dissonance. And while you have done a fantastic job over the past four years of trying to point out some of the basic tenants of what really motivates people - I think that mostly you end up preaching to the choir...(ok, we'll give you a few converts).

The problem is that in this day and age anyone can do a Google search and find research that supports any line of thought. Poof - Googled some reassurance and my dissonance is gone!

So how do we change this?

The key is in your response to Nate. We believers need to make believers of others using the methods you indicate. We have to be the ones who one by one convert the misinformed...

Great post!

[Paul Hebert]

Thanks Kurt for stopping by and commenting. Unfortunately, we have an installed base in the industry that is supported by keeping the "old" way going. While I'm preaching to the "choir" - it's a choir that belongs to a different religion. What I mean by that is that many of the followers aren't really interested in changing or challenging the status quo - but they do like to follow to see where they may have problems. You and your team are doing a great job with your 4-drive theory (which I do like - at least better than Maslow.)

Until there is a financial benefit to changing it truly is a Sisyphean effort. We need more companies who focus on doing the right things rather than the things they THINK are right.

Amen right...