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208 INFLUENCER
remember that behavior is the one thing people have under
their control. Results often vary with changes in the market and
other external variables. Consequently, influence masters con-
tinually observe and reward behaviors that support valued
processes.
For example, the book Kaizen, by Masaaki Imai, high-
lights the Japanese appreciation for the importance of reward-
ing effort and not outcome. Imai tells the intriguing story of a
group of waitresses whose job it was to serve tea during lunch
at one of Matsushita’s plants. They noted that the employees sat
in predictable locations and drank a predictable amount of tea.
Rather than put a full container at each place, they calculated
the optimum amount of tea to be poured at each table, thus
reducing tea-leaf consumption by half.
How much did the suggestion save? Only a small sum. Yet
the group was given the company’s presidential gold medal.
Other suggestions saved more money (by an astronomical
amount), but the more modest proposal was given the highest
recognition because it captured what the judges thought was the
best implementation of Kaizen principles. They rewarded the
process, knowing that if you reward the actual steps people fol-
low, eventually results take care of themselves.
Watch for Divisive Incentives
People are so often out of touch with the message they’re send-
ing that they inadvertently reward exactly the wrong behavior.
Just watch coaches as they speak about the importance of team-
work and then celebrate individual accomplishment. Kids
quickly learn that it’s the score that counts, not the assist, and
it turns many of them into selfish prima donnas.
Or consider the family whose son has a serious drug addic-
tion. In their effort to express love and support, family mem-
bers unintentionally enable his addiction. With their words
they say, “You should really stop taking drugs.” But with their
actions they say, “As long as you’re taking them, we’ll give you
free rent, use of our cars, and bail whenever you need it.” They