Or to rephrase: The surprising truth about what doesn’t motivate us, and the not so surprising truth about what does.

Where any kind of rudimentary cognitive skill is required, higher reward actually decreases performance. What actually drives us (when people are paid just enough to take money off the table as an issue) is:

Autonomy / the desire to be self directed (drives engagement)
Mastery / the urge to get better at stuff (challenge and mastery, and wanting to make a contribution)
Purpose / companies that are flourishing are animated by purpose. People are purpose maximizers.

The big take away: If we start treating people like people, and get past the ideology of carrots and sticks and actually look at the science – we can build organizations and work lives that make us better off while making the world a little bit better too.

What motivates you?