Page 58 - Hard Goals

Heartfelt 49

Another of their experiments replaced playing Shoot the
Moon with a serious task (fi nancial duties) that was explained
in a serious manner, not as a game, but rather as preparation
for signifi cant lifetime experiences. As in the earlier experiment,
participants were informed in two different ways about a poten-
tial performance reward (once again, a pen): one framed in a
serious approach and the other framed as enjoyable or fun.
Guess what? To a signifi cant degree, the participants who
had been told about the reward in a serious manner voluntarily
chose to repeat the serious fi nancial task when given a choice
of what to do during their free time. Just as with the fun game

and the fun reward, the serious reward was a better fit for the
serious activity.

Here’s the bottom line: rewards have to fit the activity. I’ve
seen companies survive diffi cult times by asking their employees
to sacrifi ce, work harder, and so forth. Tough, serious business.
But then I’ve seen some of those same companies pass through
their tough times and throw a company picnic to celebrate their
survival. Sadly, sometimes those celebrations fail miserably.
Why? Because the fun reward just doesn’t fi t the serious activ-
ity. The same goes for nonwork situations.

INTRINSIC OR EXTRINSIC
MOTIVATION: WHICH IS BEST?

Before I attempt to answer the question of which type of moti-
vation is best, here’s an example that shows the distinction
between intrinsic and extrinsic behaviors. My wife truly enjoys
running; she likes the relaxation, the runner’s high, all of it.