How the discoverers and entrepreneurs succeed in freedom–not through planning Much is written and taught about the ways to become a successful entrepreneur, to discover the next great idea, and more prosaically, to innovate in … Continue reading Waiting for the Black Swan: Freedom vs. Incentives
Category: FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Why people are happiest on weekends—not at work
There’s a reason you’re happiest on weekends By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY JANUARY 12, 2010 It may be no surprise that people are happier on weekends. But research out today looks at the psychology behind … Continue reading Why people are happiest on weekends—not at work
On the Nightmarish Service in UK
Credit on Hold: ‘Your call is important to us’ and other lies about doing business in today’s world. By Samantha Carney London MARCH 30, 2010 I have been on hold forever when they disconnect me. … Continue reading On the Nightmarish Service in UK
Wilhelm Röpke on Why Do We Work
A Humane Economist on the Meaning of Work A possibly apocryphal story highlights the key idea of this 20th century German-Swiss economist. Röpke was walking along a road with a famous colleague Ludwig von Mises. Walking … Continue reading Wilhelm Röpke on Why Do We Work
On Lateness: True Causes and Right Solutions
By Isaac I’m often late. Fortunately, I have no boss and my students—from whom I often rob 5 minutes of lecture time (although I try to make up for it with class-relevant jokes) —can’t punish … Continue reading On Lateness: True Causes and Right Solutions
How managing stifles initiative and prevents joy
Psychologists on the impossibility of management—even for NINA puzzles The University of Rochester psychologists Edward Deci, Richard Ryan, and their associates carried, perhaps, the most ambitious contemporary theoretical and empirical research on motivation. They argue … Continue reading How managing stifles initiative and prevents joy
Incentive plans: Addictive for people and ruinous for companies
Taleb and Whitney of why incentives are just another sick game A big bank announced its annual profits—not very big this year—with a whole third of those going as bonuses for traders. Traders ususally make … Continue reading Incentive plans: Addictive for people and ruinous for companies
McGregor and Whitney on “making the numbers”
The exciting game of “making the numbers.” In Freedom, Inc. we wrote: “Because you get what you measure, your measurement becomes the performance. And before long, rather than boosting your firm to ever-faster growth and … Continue reading McGregor and Whitney on “making the numbers”
Deming on invisible costs and other figures
Running a company on visible figures alone We have written in Freedom, Inc. on the invisible costs of traditional companies and illustrated it through the costs of the workplace stress. Of course, there are others … Continue reading Deming on invisible costs and other figures
On Animals and Pets in the Workplace
Why animals and pets are welcome in the workplace (and we didn’t even know it) We have just “discovered” this amazing book written in 1993. Its author, John O. Whitney, spent most of his career … Continue reading On Animals and Pets in the Workplace