Incentives >>> Money

When I started thinking about Geek Incentives I conflated incentives with money. How could you use money in less-disruptive ways than it was used currently? It took me a while to realize I had to back way up.

One inspiration for this wider view of incentives was economist Russ Roberts, host of EconTalk. One of the central themes of economics is “incentives matter”. Adam Smith in The Theory of Moral Sentiments says, “Man naturally desires, not only to be loved, but to be lovely.”

“Incentive” then is any influence causing us to change marginal behavior. Yes, it can be money, but it can also be entirely intrinsic, like the satisfaction of a job well done, or it can be social, like recognition and belonging.

More, much more, about this topic in the coming weeks and months. But we ain’t talking about money.