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Bonus Culture? Proud to Win a Cabbage not the Cash?

Barry Mapp — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:39:01 +0000

Apparently on Radio 4 this week, Shane O’Riordain (Group Communications Director of the Lloyds banking group) said “It’s entirely right for companies both our company and others, to pay bonuses when performance targets have been met – its an appropriate part of compensation”One wonders, knowing the sort of unethical things that were being done in the name of ‘performance’ and bonus attainment, that the phrase “entirely right” shows that these top bankers still just don’t get it. After all it does appear that a lot of the time their ‘performance’ could be equated with highly driven ‘unethical behaviours’ (see Unintended Consequences – what do very large bonuses attract?)Later the same morning Radio 4 had Paul Moore, the HBOS “Whistle-Blower”, being interviewed by Michael Buerk in the programme “The Choice”. This contained extraordinary material on the targets culture. It included the “Cash or Cabbages Day” when, in full public gaze, those who had made their targets received some cash, while those who hadn’t were awarded a cabbage. Mr Moore spoke graphically about the culture of fear and much more, which will be familiar to many who found themselves caught up in such a ‘macho’ culture. The Programme can be viewed again on BBC iplayer hereSo I would just like to praise those at HBOS who won the cabbage. Be Proud. Because most likely the reason you did not earn the ‘performance’ cash was that you were behaving and selling ethically!Thanks to Brian Leeming and Henry Neave for bringing the Radio 4 interviews to my attention.

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Maths and Science leading us up the (wrong) garden path

Barry Mapp — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:11:54 +0000

In this piece I introduce some more differences between Math 1.0 and Math 2.0, and in the next piece (now that I have finally found how to put tables into wordpress) I will be drawing up a table that summarises examples of the differences between Math 1.0 and Math 2.0

Math 1.0 can be considered to be a special case of Math 2.0, where certain aspects of reality are ignored for the purpose of making things black and white and therefore easier to manipulate and compute.

Math 1.0 is helpful in specific circumstances like simple counting and manipulation of number, adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing of pure number, and for making approximations, and is also useful in statistical manipulations where it is valid to manipulate data away from its context. Math 1.0 thinking successfully delivered a rocket to the moon but has failed to deliver insight into most chronic problems affecting humanity today. Math 1.0 thinking is part of the problem!

Math 1.0 is not valid in the domain of measurement nor when ‘counting’ is actually for the purpose of measuring ‘things’. And yet we use Math 1.0 with measurement all the time!

Using Math 1.0 as the ‘logic vehicle’ for interpreting changes in measurement data is a major reason why we have witnessed so many decisions by leaders and politicians in the last few decades that have turned out to be wasteful and that have exacerbated rather than solved ‘problems’. This happens when the Math we learn at school (Math 1.0) is applied into the world of measurements. And a science based around this maths re-inforces it as a science of reduction and ‘ism’ (“ism” happens when a discipline comes to believe its working model of the ‘world’ as true rather than ‘useful in defined situations’). So the belief (as true) in the mechanistic universe and the use of Math 1.0 as a sturdy, reliable and incontrovertible companion has led the traditional Newtonian scientist up the proverbial garden path and is still being led there daily. Multi-billion pound projects based on the assumptions of a reductionist science leading absolutely nowhere, whereas situations that could be drastically improved based on a science thinking in terms of systems and Math 2.0 are not being allocated the same research money.

To fully appreciate the meaning and consequences of data measurements, a good understanding of Math 2.0 and its application is required. If we care to look, we will find that the scientific, political and business literature is littered with examples where statisticians (who we would think would know better) have fallen into the trap of applying the thinking of Math 1.0 to the situations described best by Math 2.0, thereby giving us misleading ‘expert’ information and advice

This venn diagram shows the relationship between Math 1.0 and Math 2.0:

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Welcome to iBlogPro3!

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:42:08 +0000

Your New Pro Theme

Thank you for purchasing this theme. We hope that you will enjoy it and use it to be successful at whatever you are working on.

We understand that it can be difficult to get a new website running so if you have a problem please don’t hesitate to contact us at PageLines.

Next Steps:

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Welcome to iBlogPro3!

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:18:23 +0000

Your New Pro Theme

Thank you for purchasing this theme. We hope that you will enjoy it and use it to be successful at whatever you are working on.

We understand that it can be difficult to get a new website running so if you have a problem please don’t hesitate to contact us at PageLines.

Next Steps:

Make sure you’ve uploaded and activated all the plugins that come with the theme.
To set up a feature page, create a new page and select the ‘Feature Page’ template. Then configure it in the feature setup panel in the admin.
Change all theme settings in the options panels within the admin > apprearance area. Here you can show things like authors on posts, only excerpts on the homepage, etc…
Be careful not to break the theme markup (html), markup problems can cause whacky things to happen (like the sidebar falling to the bottom of the page)
Have fun with the design. We hope you create something that is totally unique and will stand out in the crowd. Good luck!

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How Rewards Sabotage Creativity

Barry Mapp — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:24:29 +0000

The best creativity arises from intrinsically motivated individuals – those who are doing something for the satisfaction within the task itself or for the satisfaction from the completion of a task. Intrinsic motivation is driven by curiosity and the desire to make a difference. Extrinsic motivation is driven by the temptation of a carrot or the fear from a stick.Intrinsic motivation is sabotaged by rewards. It’s almost that simple.With rewards, the focus is on the reward not on the desire to complete a task or to make a difference. People start to do the tasks for the reward rather than the satisfaction of doing something of value.Old Psychology demonstrated that animals do things for reward or to get away from pain (the carrot or stick approach). Old Psychology holds when the animal has survival needs unsatisfied (the hungry cat can be tempted but the satisfied cat can’t) and the theory of manipulation by carrot or stick holds true (Skinner’s original work with animals actually only worked when they were frightened and half-starved).New Psychology is different. Creation Companies are those that are becoming more and more tuned in to New Psychology and New Thinking Principles. A Creation Company will recognise that when a human being has most of their basic needs met, carrot and stick is not as effective as Old Psychology predicts (thought those that would say they are ‘hungry’ for success can be tempted by the really big rewards).But as Alfie Kohn and now Daniel Pink have affirmed there is very little evidence that rewards improve human performance in the long-term. And the main reason is that extrinsic motivators sabotage intrinsic motivation. Linking pay to performance therefore sabotages long-term performance. The Banking Crisis is an example that partially arose when companies, and individuals, focussed on the carrots and not on the service. Lose sight of the task and you lose sight of the potential disastrous consequences of doing things for the wrong reasons. Thus it is not therefore a question of moderating the bonus culture, with legislation if necessary, (as Politicians and Business Leaders would suggest) rather the question is how can we abolish the bonus culture.We need to find mechanisms whereby people benefit from the long-term success of an organisation rather than rewarded for the profit they make on behalf of the company as individuals. We need this for companies to become Creation Companies that produce goods and services for the general good and well-being of people, life and the planet. That do things for the seventh-generation long term and not next year’s wage packet.If you are a leader and you are not convinced by the idea that rewards sabotage intrinsic motivation (and thus also sabotage creativity and creative thought) then read Alfie Kohn’s “Punishment by Reward” or view Dan Pink’s video on the surprising science of motivation here Now is the time for leaders to wake up to the fact that much of what we do in the guise of ‘management’ is detrimental to improvement (see here the Seven Deadly Diseases of Management)

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Identifying and Nurturing Personal Creativity

Barry Mapp — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:36:50 +0000

Personal Creativity: what type of person produces creative ideas?We need to understand that we can all be creative and we can all learn to become more creative.So what can we learn by looking at the background/opportunities of people who have produced some really big creative ideas? What can companies learn in order to ensure that creativity happens in the workplace? I have already discussed some of the factors in a company that allow creativity to happen here.However are there any personal characteristics that a Creation Company should look for when they employ new personnel? Well it’s not necessarily what we have been led to believe. And this also means that personality type profiles with an ‘either-or’ questioning approach can mislead.In a landmark study on this subject, Csikszentmihalyi looked at the personality characteristics of ninety-one exceptional people (each of whom had made a difference to a major domain of culture). What he found (here) was that the creative people in his study had complex personalities. ((4) (Csikszentmihalyi Creativity. Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention ISBN 0-06-092820-4) So if the question was “are they introvert or extravert” the answer was both (so this has implications for “old science” personality questionnaires that assumes an either/or approach to personality). What he found was that creative people could be both energetic and restful; smart and naïve; playful and disciplined; fantasy oriented and reality grounded; extrovert and introvert; humble and proud; masculine side and feminine side; conservative and rebellious; passionate and objective and could “suffer” yet enjoy what they did.Thus for creativity to blossom in the workplace, we need to value complex personality, not expect people to fit into neat boxes. Indeed we need to allow people to “be themselves” and to honour the uniqueness in everyone.So maybe, upon reflection you have a complex personality. Your ‘personality’ is not the box that some survey or ‘expert’ put you in. Maybe also you are fortunate to work in a ‘creation company’ (ie one that is or is becoming). Then what other factors appear to be important for each individuals creativity to emerge?Coming Next: The Circumstances for Creativity

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Site Overview Here

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:03:55 +0000

Welcome to Barry Mapp’s Superblog!The main pages are:

Home Page (you are here)
YOU – The “About YOU” page – Who you are and why you are probably here
ME - this page tells you something about Barry Mapp
KNOW-WHAT/WHY Blogging on what we all need to know and why
KNOW-HOW Blogging about how to do the stuff that helps
NPP - The Non-Political Party – taking the politics out of political party
Where and When – interesting stuff is happening (related to this Blog)

Barry’s other websites well worth investigating:www.BarryMapp.Biz – Barry’s Speakers Websitewww.BarryMapp.co.uk – Barry’s General Website

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