Carrots and Sticks and Candles

Carrots and Sticks may motivate a horse to run, but Dan Pink argues that for humans, they just aren’t good motivators. In the video posted below, he shares some amazing research about motivation. I thought I’d share a bit of it here for all you guys who are leaders ’cause we’ve gotta learn everything we can about motivating people – especially church people who work with volunteers.

Incentives/rewards as motivators? Here’s a quote:

As long as the task involved only mechanical skill, bonuses worked as they would be expected: the higher the pay, the better the performance, but once the task called for ‘”even rudimentary cognitive skill,” a larger reward “led to poorer performance.”

Many studies have shown this to be true across cultural boundaries throughout the world. Here’s an example of one of them:

“The Candle Problem.” Here’s the scenario:

The behavioral scientist brings you into a room and gives you a candle, some matches, and some thumb tacks. He explains that your job is to attach the candle to the wall so the wax doesn’t drip onto the table.

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Many people begin by trying to thumbtack the candle to the wall or melting the side of the candle to stick it to the wall. Neither will work. After about 5 minutes, most people figure out the solution.

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A scientist named Sam Glucksberg (Princeton) did a series of experiments using the candle problem. He told one group of participants that he was just timing them to establish “norms.” To another he offered a carrot, a reward for the top 25 participants with the best times.

Results? The group that was offered the reward averaged 3 and a half minutes longer. Incentives/Rewards actually stifle creativity. This study has also been replicated over and over for nearly 40 years.

Next, Glucksberg did the same experiment, but presented it in a slightly different way.

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This time the group who had been offered rewards kicked the tails of the others. Why?? It’s “no brainer” work. ‘Cause, with the thumb tacks out of the box, there was no “creativity” (well, little) involved. Incentives work very well for non-cognitive tasks, but for tasks requiring creativity. . .well, it’s a bad motivator and actually hinders performance.

Here’s the bottom line:

There’s a mismatch between what science knows and what business (leadership) does.
Science knows:
1. Incentives/rewards only work in a narrow band of circumstances. (No brainer work)
2. “If then” rewards often destroy creativity.
3. The secret to high performance (motivation) isn’t carrots and sticks (rewards & punishments) but that unseen intrinsic drive – the drive to do things ’cause they matter.

OK – Here are my thoughts: As a church worker, this all makes sense. I can’t really offer our volunteers anything anyway. We may bake them cookies or something to show our appreciation, but we’re not exactly giving huge salaries or bonuses to them. Over the years, I’ve seen a few people volunteer out of wrong motivations – trying to watch their child, or get close to another volunteer, or maybe they just want to feel good about themselves. Whatever the case, those people don’t ever last very long. The people who are the greatest assets to our programs and ministries are those who are intrinsically motivated – those people who really believe in what we’re doing and want to make a difference in the lives of others. Those kinds of volunteers are consistent. They will work into wee hours of the morning trying to get things “just right.” They aren’t “high-maintenance” volunteers. They come to me with new ideas and like to tell me what they’re going to do rather than asking me about all the details of how to get it all done. These are the kinds of people I love to work with. They understand our goals and create new ways of reaching them.

Another thought: What does our carrot and stick system do to our children? We like use this system all the time with them ($$ for grades, ice cream when the team wins, etc) but if these kinds of motivators stifle creativity. . .hmm. . .what hasn’t being created that might exist right now otherwise?

The modern church needs leaders – people who can create a new vision and lead others into a preferred future. Ministry is a creative calling made by the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. If rewards and incentives break down creativity, we’ve gotta stop trying to motivate our people with them. We need all the creativity we can get. The Good News is that God’s creative Holy Spirit resides with us and within us. He’s just looking for a chance to come out of us.

If you’re interested you can check out the video that inspired these thoughts.

Annihilationism

FireThis is the idea that those who die without Christ, will not suffer an eternity in hell, but instead they will be “burned up” and “destroyed” sometime after death. It’s kind of a more humane concept than an eternal torment. Those who ascribe to this view, say things like,”How can a loving God torture someone forever/infinitely when their sin was only temporary/finite?”

Here’s my answer:
God is infinitely holy, and therefore any sin we have (big or small) is infinitely punishable. That’s why He sent Jesus – He is the only infinite payment. He is the only one who could endure an infinite punishment. This is also why His gift is so amazing.

The annihilationists also like to use the image which Jesus Himself used of fire (Matthew 3:10, 12) or Gehenna (Matthew 5:22). This was the dump of Jesus day and there was a constant fire burning up the waste of Jerusalem. They argue that the waste was consumed and destroyed by this fire, but is that really true?

I’d say, “No, it was changed into ash and smoke, but still not completely gone.” The matter still exists – it has only been changed. Also, how do they answer the rest of scripture? What about Mark 9:48 and the “fire that is not quenched” or Revelation 20:10 which says, “They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” What about all the “weeping and gnashing teeth” verses (Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51) where there clearly is a conscious torment? or Daniel 12:2 which speaks of “everlasting shame and contempt.”

It seems clear to me that the whole of Scripture affirms the orthodox/normal view that there is a conscious eternal hell rather than this annihilationist view. Therefore, I will live as a man who has a healthy fear of an eternal hell and I will seek to save the lost from it. In light of this argument, I also recognize that seeking the whole counsel of the Word of God is vital in gaining a proper understanding of God and His ways. I’m amazed at how different verses can be used to support the craziest of ideas.