

Theory Disproven: Money as Motivation - jmtame
http://jtame05.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/theory-disproven-money-as-motivation/

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markessien
Some people want to start businesses because they are poor right now, and
don't want to be poor. Such people will make money but they will never become
rich, because all they really want is to have some toys. Once they have maybe
$20.000 a month, they can get all the toys they want, all the girls they want,
and their journey is done. These are people who want to "make it" and retire
to an island they bought. Unfortunately, they will never be able to buy the
island, but they will be able to rent a cottage there for a few weeks each
year, and that will be enough for them.

Some other people just want to win. Money is the path they have chosen, and
they will continue to try to win, time after time. They are playing a game,
and they want to be first. These are the people that look for new
opportunities, keep trying them, expanding and so on. They will be able to
afford the island at some point, but they will never want to go retire there,
because the game by which they define themselves does not exist there.

Another group of people care about their ideas. They have an idea, they
nurture it and build it out and they want people to use it and admire it. When
people buy it or use it, or ooh and ahh at some way he expanded it, that is
when they feel the sense of accomplishment. The money is not that important,
but if the idea is a good one that people want, it will make money. When his
idea gets bought out, he will find a new idea and work again to make it
appreciated.

In the end, all groups just want to get some positive feedback for something
they did. They want to push a button and get a dopamine rush to the head. They
just choose different ways to do it.

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nazgulnarsil
money motivates people in two very distinct ways.

1\. as a means of material comfort. (the most common assumption)

2\. as a measure of success against others. This comes into play once you have
enough money to satisfy any reasonable material desire. At this point money
ceases to be about absolute buying power and becomes a comparative measure.

some people are all about 2 even before they have any wealth. Cuban is one of
them.

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siong1987
“Business is a sport. Except there’s no seasons, it’s 24×7x365, and there’s
always someone out there trying to kick your ass.” - Mark Cuban

I like this.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
_"Business is a sport. Except there’s no seasons, it's 24x7x365, and there's
always someone out there trying to kick your ass. - Mark Cuban_

I'm trying to work out the math here. 24x7 is 168, and is presumably the
number of hours per week. Why is that multiplied by 365?

Maybe he means 24x365 (and gets a day off every 4 years), maybe he means
24x7x52 (which gives one day off a year, 2 in leap years).

Who knows. Perhaps he gives 700%. Maybe being really, really rich means you
don't need to make sense. As Pedro Guerrero said about sportswriters

"Sometimes they write what I say and not what I mean."

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
In response to being down-modded ...

Clearly someone thinks that my comment was a waste of time and space, and is
non-constructive, but I offer you this observation: One of my customers is my
customer because one of my competitors said they would give 120%. My customers
expect accuracy, not exaggeration. They appreciate clear communication.

OK, it's one of my personal hobby-horses, but I invite you to consider how
your customers, or clients, or colleagues, perceive you through the language
you use and choose.

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wheels
Some people like winning. For some pursuits, money is an indicator of points.

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dazzawazza
There are two aspects to money. Money as a goal and money as a reward.

Rewarding people with money with bonus' just doesn't work. People become
dependant on the bonus, growing to expect it for no extra effort. fail.

Using money as a goal works as part of a package of goals (for most people).
If you sell it as 'solve this problem, save the world and we'll be rich' it
works. The money is a result of their efforts.

There are a few people who are purely motivated by making money for themselves
and that's fine. They will either be very rich or very unhappy (that's a
logical or so they can be both rich and unhappy).

