Carrots and Sticks Don't Work

In researching his book, Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, Paul L. Marciano planned to review 15 different theories on how to motivate people. What he discovered was that productivity was not increased by the traditional “rewards and recognitions” prevalent in organizations. It was not that these programs failed to stimulate employees, but rather that motivating workers was not what counted. Replacing employee motivation with employee engagement was more effective. Motivating and engaging are two different concepts. Looking back over his own previous jobs, Marciano discovered that he was most dedicated to his job when he respected the work, the organization, and the people and felt respected in return. When he did not feel respected or lost respect for those around him, he became disengaged. Instead of trying to come up with an effective model companies can use to motivate or inspire employees, Marciano produced the RESPECT Model, identifying seven drivers that form the acronym RESPECT, each contributing to employees’ feelings of respect and, as a result, their level of engagement.