Neuroscience shows threats bad and freedom good

Managing with the Brain in Mind David Rock AUTUMN 2009, ISSUE 56 …Although a job is often regarded as a purely economic transaction, in which people exchange their labor for financial compensation, the brain experiences the workplace first and foremost as a...

On the focus on money

Mitch Albom “People are only mean when they’re threatened and that’s what our culture does… And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself. You start making money a god. It is all part of this culture.” – Morrie Schwartz, in Tuesdays with...

McKinsey Quarterly on non-material motivators

Motivating people: Getting beyond money M. Dewhurst, M. Guthridge, & E. Mohr NOVEMBER  2009 Companies around the world are cutting back their financial-incentive programs, but few have used other ways of inspiring talent. We think they should. Numerous studies1...
No Vacation Policy—and they still work!

No Vacation Policy—and they still work!

Should We Eliminate Our Vacation Policy? by Henry Blodget 24 DECEMBER  2009 At The Business Insider, we currently have a standard vacation policy–a certain number of weeks a year. That said, for the past 15 years, I’ve never had any idea how much vacation...

Boosting workers’ self-esteem

Sam Walton “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”