We live from default based on our incentive
The last two days, we’ve defined incentive and had an exercise to list them.
Today, we are focusing on the primary incentive.
Human beings are creatures of habit and live on our defaults.
We live by default because our brains are structured to maintain energy. Using intent is energy expensive.
How do you figure out your major incentive?
Your major incentive could well be on your exercise’s list. Try to think back to a pressure filled situation and think about which one of those things you tended to.
Why is this all important?
As a result of this, our primary incentive creates the foundation for how we approach our work.
A quick example: If someone says wealth is the primary incentive – then when push comes to shove, they will focus most on the wealth. When the pressure is on, that person is going to decide based on his wealth, for better (focusing on bringing in clients) or for worse(fudging numbers to make it better).
If you are self-aware, then you can lead yourself (and by extent, the team around you) to better decisions by creating systems that protect against the “worse.”
Tomorrow, we are going to end this mini-series with a mistake people make about incentives.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 