Created At: [[2024-11-11]] ## 思考与感悟 ## 摘录与笔记 ### Abstract > ... a narrow focus that neglects non-goal areas, a rise in unethical behavior, distorted risk preferences, corrosion of organizational culture, and reduced intrinsic motivation ### Emblematic Examples of Goals Gone Wild #### Sears > consider Sears, Roebuck and Co.’s experience with goal setting in the early 1990s. Sears set sales goals for its auto repair staff of $147/hour. This specific, challenging goal prompted staff to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis (Dishneau, 1992). #### Enron > Ackman (2002) compares Enron’s incentive system to “paying a salesman a commission based on the volume of sales and letting him set the price of goods sold.” Even during Enron’s final days, Enron executives were rewarded with large bonuses for meeting specific revenue goals. In sum, “Enron executives were meeting their goals, but they were the wrong goals,” #### Ford > Investigations revealed that after Ford finally discovered the hazard, executives remained committed to their goal and instead of repairing the faulty design, calculated that the costs of lawsuits associated with Pinto fires (which involved 53 deaths and many injuries) would be less than the cost of fixing the design. In this case, the specific, challenging goals were met (speed to market, fuel efficiency, and cost) at the expense of other important features that were not specified (safety, ethical behavior, and company reputation). ### How Goals Go Wild #### When Goals Are Too Specific ##### Narrow Goals > As research has shown, goals focus attention. Unfortunately, goals can focus attention so narrowly that people overlook other important features of a task. - 这是一个我没有考虑过的问题，但是很有道理。我很好奇 [[Measure What Matters]] 里面是怎么处理这样的问题的（如果里面有些的话）。 #todo ##### Too Many Goals > A related problem occurs when employees pursue multiple goals at one time. Shah, Friedman, and Kruglanski (2002) demonstrate that individuals with multiple goals are prone to concentrate on only one goal. - 所以我一直说，一个人不能有太多 priorities。如果有太多 priorities，那就和没有 priority 没有区别。一个人只能 focus 在一件事上，而不是同时去 focus 在好几件事上。 ##### Inappropriate Time Horizon > Even if goals are set on the right attribute, the time horizon may be inappropriate. For example, goals that emphasize immediate performance (e.g., this quarter’s profits) prompt managers to engage in myopic, short-term behavior that harms the organization in the long run. > ...showed that firms that frequently issue quarterly earnings reports, compared to firms that report earnings less frequently, tended to meet or beat analyst expectations, but also tended to invest less in research and development. - 所以很多的人讨厌上市公司，因为会被短期的财报所束缚住。 #### When Goals Are Too Challenging ##### Risk Taking > people motivated by specific, challenging goals adopt riskier strategies and choose riskier gambles than do those with less challenging or vague goals. - 让我想到 OceanGate 的事情，目标很远大，实现方式非常地 risk taking，最终导致了泰坦号潜水器的内爆。 > Galinsky et al. (2002) found that stretch goals increased the number of impasses, and Larrick et al. (in press) found that goals prompted participants to make larger demands that in turn destroyed value. - 在离开 Hesyra 之后，我一直在思考一个问题：要在正确的道路上原地踏步，还是在错误的道路上遥遥领先。我与当时的 CEO 的争执点其实在于：我认为 Hesyra 应该竭尽全力去雇佣一些全职的有才能的人，而不是随机去招聘几个兼职大学生。对于后者来说，Hesyra 并不是他们的最终目的，只是他们达成目的的垫脚石——如果是这样，我们就做不了一家伟大的企业。但是，另外一个层面来看，**如果按照我的想法走下去，那么我们可能永远也招不到任何人**。这是一个很棘手的平衡问题。 ##### Unethical Behaviour > Goal setting can promote two different types of cheating behavior. First, when motivated by a goal, people may choose to use unethical methods to reach it ... Second, goal setting can motivate people to misrepresent their performance level—in other words, to report that they met a goal when in fact they fell short. ##### Dissatisfaction and the psychological consequences of goal failure > These decreases in satisfaction influence how people view themselves and have important consequences for future behavior. Mussweiler and Strack (2000) found that giving someone a challenging goal versus an easy goal on an attention task or an intelligence test improved performance, but left people questioning their concentration abilities and overall intelligence. #### Goals, Learning, and Cooperation ##### Goals inhibit learning ##### Goals create culture of competition #### When Goals Harm Motivation Itself > As goal setting increases extrinsic motivation, it can harm intrinsic motivation – engaging in a task for its own sake. - 如何激发员工的 Intrinsic Motivation 其实是很重要的一个点，而不单纯是通过 monetary 等一些外在的方式去激励。 > Although people recognize the importance of intrinsic rewards in motivating themselves, people exaggerate the importance of extrinsic rewards in motivating others.