After many years of thinking about it, I finally sat down last year to start writing this book.
Why a book? Writing forces me to take the fragmented nonsense floating around in my head and organize it. It forces me to read the research papers I’ve collected, understand them, and critically assess their value in shaping my ideas. I discovered and read books that allowed me to learn, and shape my own style. And it forces me to challenge myself since I don’t want to live in a world where I’m just reinforcing my own views.
This book is rooted in my own experience. I started my career in accounting — a world of hierarchy, billable hours, and limited scope for creativity. At first, I was frustrated with the company, but eventually I realized I was more frustrated with myself. I knew I could do better, but I found myself bending to the whims of my employer: thinking in terms of billable hours, keeping my head down, using my brain to work out the systems rather than add value to clients.
Since then, I’ve had a mix of experiences. Sometimes I’ve felt completely free — coming up with ideas, taking on projects that I enjoyed. Other times I’ve been boxed in by systems of control that valued my weekly output but not the long-term relationships I enjoy building. Now, as an independent advisor, I’m free of those systems and more engaged than ever. I take on projects like this one just for the fun of it.
Over time I dug into the research around human motivation — not just to explain my own behavior, but to understand what I’ve seen in colleagues and at scale in the companies I work with. People changing their persona to meet the goals of a business. People checking boxes to earn a promotion. Triumphs of ambition over capability — because so often, it works.
I believe we need to stop trying to engineer motivation in the workplace. We need to rebuild trust — not manage exclusively through the greed of pay, or the fear of layoffs that’s become so painfully normalized. We need to create environments where people can do their best work, and find more effective ways to encourage, reward, and celebrate breakthroughs.
There are still plenty of people who believe in “pay for performance.” To them I say: prove it. Yes, research shows that people alter their behavior to hit a goal if money is attached — of course they do. For some roles (like sales) this is helpful. But does that kind of control create long-term organizational success in a world where innovation is critical to survival and success? I don’t believe it does.
Turning people into cogs may get you more of what you pay for — but we may not realize what we’re giving up until it’s too late.
That’s why I wrote What Pay Costs. It’s available now on Amazon.
Leave a Reply