TED: Dan Pink

When I watched this clip on my lunch break, I couldn’t stop thinking about how it applied to my old employer.  Basically, the idea is that motivation for employees to produce good work needs to be given in a different way.

When I started work everyday, I didn’t care about the product…I just wanted my paycheck.  I cared about the product enough to not get fired.  I didn’t feel compelled to put in extra hours because I didn’t feel the product was great or that it gave me any sort of satisfaction.  I just believed we were screwing old people who didn’t know much about the internet.  You could go as far to say that not only did I not care about it, I hated it for what it was: a way to bilk money out of non-tech savvy people.

As a result, my output suffered.  I quit.

I don’t want to steal Dan Pink’s thunder…so enjoy.