Purpose, not just profit

This comes my way via Anna Tarkov. First of all, the content is excellent; a look at what motivates each of us to do our best work, and surprisingly, why money is usually not the best motivator. But also, the whiteboard cartooning animation is just awesome. Mad props to the person that put this together.

3 thoughts on “Purpose, not just profit”

  1. “If you don’t pay people enough, they won’t be motivated. What’s curious about it – there’s another paradox here – the best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take money off the table. Pay people enough so that they’re not thinking about money; they’re thinking about the work.” The lesson here is NOT that money is not a motivator. The lesson is that money is not the ONLY motivator, and that more money does not necessarily equal more motivation. Presumably, the converse is true: if people aren’t able to make enough money to take money off the table, they will have to think about money and not about the work.

    You’re right that the content is fantastic and that the animation is extremely impressive, and I’m glad you shared the video. But don’t misconstrue: this information argues for autonomy and creativity in the workplace, not devaluing creative work so that it doesn’t get financially supported, which is a critical distinction.

  2. “If you don’t pay people enough, they won’t be motivated. What’s curious about it – there’s another paradox here – the best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take money off the table. Pay people enough so that they’re not thinking about money; they’re thinking about the work.” The lesson here is NOT that money is not a motivator. The lesson is that money is not the ONLY motivator, and that more money does not necessarily equal more motivation. Presumably, the converse is true: if people aren’t able to make enough money to take money off the table, they will have to think about money and not about the work.
    +1

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