Pile On Motivation

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Tag: Finite mindset

  • Finite mindset hates disruption

    Adopted from the following great insight shared by Simon Sinek

    “Where a FINITE minded player fears things that are NEW or DISRUPTIVE , the INFINITE MINDED player REVELS in them.”

  • The Doom Loop that leads to the demise of finite minded organizations

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great the following image shows the Doom Loop that because of its short sighted nature leads to the demise of all such finite minded organizations..

  • Finite mindset works against our natural abilities

    Motivation 2.0 is a term coined by Daniel Pink in his book Drive to explain the Carrot and Stick method of motivation so prevalent and successful in the age of Industrial Revolution.

    The rationale was very simple : “Reward desired behavior and results to get more of that , Punish undesired behavior and results to instill fear in the minds of people to avoid the same in due course of time.”

    During the age of the factory model i.e. Industry model this Motivation 2.0 worked wonders since work mostly used to be dreary , routine bound , adhering to set of instructions.

    For any left brain oriented work where creativity is the last thing expected , where compliance is most sought after , this method works wonders.

    But at the same time , human brain is oriented to oppose and sort of fear or punishment and hence such kind of compliance , though good in the short term , is inherently stressful.

    Right from the caveman times , human brains have been oriented to love autonomy and works best in an environment where creativity is nurtured by providing a sense of purpose.

    This is the reason Daniel Pink mentions in his book Drive , the major reason why Motivation 2.0 fails to make use of our natural abilities and makes an individual short term oriented with narrow focus.

  • Motivation 2.0 encourages a finite mindset

    Motivation 2.0 or Carrot and Stick method of motivating people , is a new term coined by Daniel Pink in his book Drive.

    This kind of motivational method works for dreary , mundane , routine bound work which is bereft of any creativity.

    The IF-THEN lure of rewards promised as part of this technique often encourage people to indulge in unethical practices and short term mindset in order to meet the targets.Narrowed focus and a temporary shot of dopamine leads to an even more finite minded mentality that kills creativity and long term vision.

    Hence in modern day knowledge worker age where creativity and innovation form the foundation of innovation based organizations , this kind of a technique hardly works.

    Needed are Motivation 3.0 based intrinsic motivation techniques that bring out the creative genius in people.

    Adopted from Daniel Pink’s book Drive

  • Seven Deadly Flaws of ‘Carrot & Stick” Method

    The seven deadly flaws of the “Carrot and Stick” method are:

    1. They can extinguish INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
    2. They can DIMINISH PERFORMANCE
    3. They can CRUSH CREATIVITY
    4. They can crowd out GOOD BEHAVIOR
    5. They can encourage cheating , shortcuts and unethical behavior
    6. They can become addictive
    7. They can foster short term thinking

    Adopted from the book “Drive” by Daniel Pink

  • What happens when we solve a ethical fading problem with a finite mindset?

    Ethical fading happens in workplaces led by an finite mindset where people are pitted against each other.When profits are put before people , people resort to unethical means to strive in such environments.

    The irony is that in such workplaces plagued by ethical fading , adopting a finite mindset to solve the problem has a cascading effect and multiplies the disease even more resulting in an epidemic.

    Thus in workplaces plagued by this problem , the last resort is an infinite mindset.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book The Infinite Game.

  • Understanding the traits of finite minded leader Al Dunlap

    Al Dunlap hired as the CEO of Scott Paper loved to loudly beat his own chest boasting about personal accomplishment putting numbers over people

    He personally accrued $100 million for 603 days of work by slashing the workforce , cutting R&D budget to half and putting company on growth steroids in preparation for sale

    Presence of such a person with gargantuan personal ego contributes to personal demise or continued mediocrity of a company

    Adopted from the book Good to Great

  • Harsh truth about finite minded organizations

    “In a culture dominated by intense pressure to meet quarterly or annual targets , too many of our leaders value high performers with little consideration of whether others on the team can trust them”

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book , The Infinite Game

  • Understanding a finite mindset , the GE way

    Jack Welch always cared for short term gains and was known to put shareholder gains before people in GE

    His rating criteria for people was based on two criteria:

    1) Performance & 2) Potential which is future performance

    Such a short term profit centred mindset is a perfect example of a finite mindset where profits are put ahead of people.

    Needlessly to day this eroded the work culture and employee trust and had it not been for a $300 billion bailout by the US government , GE would have been history by now

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book “The Infinite Game”

  • Watch out for leaders and their messages

    When a leader issues a communication to a broader audience on behalf of the company their intent or mindset of leading the organization becomes very clear.

    If the communication prioritizes growth , shareholder value , customer satisfaction , employees in that order it clearly puts “numbers” over “people” which is an indication of a finite minded leader focused on short term goals.

    If the order of communication is reversed , the organization is playing an infinite game led by a leader with an infinite mindset.

    Simon Sinek mentions about such nuances in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.