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Incentives in General Terms
We all have incentives. They dictate the choices we make intuitively all the way to our best laid plans. Sometimes we get it right, and others, stupendously wrong. People tend to maximize their advantages according to their actual and perceived incentives. No matter the outcome, our response comes from our natural ability, the information obtained (whether it is correct or not), wisdom accrued, and the options available to us. Add some luck if you believe in that as well.
Simply said, we try to make the best decisions possible based upon our goals and objectives. We use all the tools available to us as best we can to get the desired outcome. We avoid discomfort, especially immediate death, but always fail when our mortality stretched over time. Still, many of us will spend an immense amount of resources to parlay the inevitably, as I’m sure I will if I have the opportunity.
Incentives motivate groups or individuals to behave or act in a certain way. They can occur naturally, or be implemented by governments to shape and maximize the productivity societies. One of my hopes with the publication of this book is that it educates and inspires all of us to take action on climate change, pollution, and other environmental causes in a logical manner.
I have personal incentive that it does happen – I will be famous and can have the opportunity to write many more books on this topic, and others that I see fit. I will gain financially and in availability of people to work with, with security for my friends and family. Most importantly, I believe whole heartedly that getting the incentives of mankind discussed and set correctly is the only thing that will save this planet we call home.
I’ll even concede that I do not have all the answers. I have this thought that it is all so blatantly obvious, and everyone knows the answer to all our problems. We are just too afraid to admit. Too difficult to explain on social media.
People do what is in their best interest, or at least what they perceive as their best interest, or you may say best aligned with their interests. People have different incentives based on their situation, stage in life, social and economic class, whether a person is male, female, or simply their personality. What are your interests? What are your goals? Have you planned for your future?
No, I’m not grilling you like a stereotypical father does the date of his only daughter before letter her out to prom. Often, we go through large parts of our life without examining our goals or plans. We either are having a good time, or struggling to get by. Many people will put money at the top of their list of incentives, along with family, love/sex, respect, security, freedom, and acceptance are all pretty safe bets on a top ten list of modern human incentives.
Successful people tend to have goals; goals that align with their incentives, or incentives that align with their goals, depending at how you look at it. They work hard towards them every day, and may even try to sway you to their side on the fence on issues that benefit their cause. If you have a background in sales, this is familiar territory to you. A sales position’s commission structure is all the incentive you need to get the salesperson to work hard to generate the desired outcome, a sale.
Some salespeople will stop at nothing to get the sale, from lying to customers, cheating numbers, to “snaking” co-worker’s deals. Sales managers should take special care as to the incentive structure to get the true desired result. Then their bosses must monitor the activity of the whole sales force along with fulfillment as the mangers have the incentive to make bonus, and the workers have an incentive not to work but still get paid. We all have that one.
The incentive for ease and comfort is part of us all. It is at the root of our existence. Most people don’t want to make their lives harder, and if they do, it is to train to reach higher levels of accomplishment or to be more prepared. That is call “sacrifice” and some people value that while others only live in the present., even quite successfully These are complex issues, but I have found that you can gauge very well a person or group’s incentives quite well if you think about their needs, wants and actions. The more you think about and test these things for yourself, the more accurate you will be in your assertions.
If you are good at identifying the incentives in our everyday lives, you will have a leg up in business and life in general. You will have more opportunities to choose from, and be more successful in getting what you want from negotiations or other efforts. Again, people make decisions based on the incentives presented to them, and your consideration into their wants and needs go a long way.
Now that you are thinking about these matters deeply, we will begin to focus this discussion on incentives and how they affect the environment.
People pollute for the same reasons they do anything, believing it is in their best interest to do so, given the circumstances. It may not be their intention to harm the environment, but will tend to make the most economical choices for themselves or business operations. By examining these incentives, we can fully understand the problems humans have created with climate change and the multitude of other environmental issues that have been culminating in the 20th century and are drawing to a tipping point in the present day.
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