Mines the counter-intuitive facts about what motivates people under different circumstances, particularly financial rewards and punishment.

Notes that businesses work on a completely outdated model of punishment and reward, finding that both are ineffective in motivating workers. In some studies, people who were offered more money performed more poorly on specific tasks. Reward and punishment create little positive motivation, and in many cases increasing the payment or punishment decreased the productivity.

When monetary pay is adequate (the carrot) and punishment is minimized (the stick), other factors are far more important to productivity. Pink defines the three most important motivators are intrinsic drives in human nature:

• Autonomy:  the independent desire and freedom to choose time, place, and subject of work. Studies find that companies like Google and Wikipedia succeed because because they follow this model. Wikipedia, for example, with its no-pay, volunteer system crushed Encarta Encyclopedia, who was attempting  the similar task of creating a definitive online encyclopedia. People are more motivated when they have individual freedoms than when they have larger financial rewards.
• Mastery: humans work more intensely when they are presented with challenging tasks that require hard work to master and perfect. Humans like to be challenged, as long as autonomy is secure.
• Purpose: when employees see the significant purpose behind what they are doing and value it, they perform more efficiently across the board. Humans like to know that there is value and need behind the work they do.

Businesses can radically change the economy by abandoning the old system of reward and punishment, replacing it with a focus on autonomy, mastery, and purpose. This change would revolutionize productivity and the way work is accomplished. Innovation would similarly increase over time.

Interested? Click the title or image to read on.
Source is TedTalks.com

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Before you leave, let us know what motivates you or your employees.

Mines the value of students across the world, who need mentors that care about their lives and futures.

Notes that she is a third generation teacher of 40 years, who is concerned about education reform.

Children need connections and relationships as much as they need information. And, students will learn more effectively if teachers care about them and their future.

Interested? Click "Read More" if the video is not below.
Source is TEDTalks.com

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•  Watch here: The education explosion and the chaos to come
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• Teachers reject robots as graders of student writing
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Before you leave, let us know what your thoughts are on education reform and the importance of teachers. We value your insights.

"Steven Pinker: Human nature and the blank slate"
"Steven Pinker's book The Blank Slate argues that all humans are born with some innate traits. Here, Pinker talks about his thesis, and why some people found it incredibly upsetting."

Mines the innate elements of the human mind that have passed down through millions of years of evolution.
Notes that the human's transmits evolutionary traits of the mind, such as the ability to acquire language, rather the human brain starting as a blank or empty container to fill.
Interested? Click "Read More" if the video is not below.
Source is Ted Talks.

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• Intersections: Society, Media, and Science [word collage] 
  
• The human animal: Evolution and the circle of life  
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"Daphne Bavelier: Your brain on video games"

"How do fast-paced video games affect the brain? Step into the lab with cognitive researcher Daphne Bavelier to hear surprising news about how video games, even action-packed shooter games, can help us learn, focus and, fascinatingly, multitask."

Mines the positive effects of video games on cognitive abilities, especially the skills of visual tracking and multitasking.
Notes that fast, action packed video games hold the potential to train individuals in visual acuity and multitasking, suggesting that as time passes the average age of video game users will increase. This statistic is already above age 30.
Interested? Click on "Read More" if video is not below.
Source is Ted Talks.

You might also enjoy:

• How the study of language sparked the cognitive revolution
• The human animal: Evolution and the circle of life  
• Mind reading: Neuroscientists pinpoint thoughts in the brain
• Social media and the individual - Humans design the universe
• 5 Reasons why social media are increasing intelligence
• Scientists prove people perform better when complimented 

"David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization"
"... turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections."

Mines the complex problems created by the massive, powerful data collection now available through technology, suggesting that the data is only made useful by design.
Notes that big data is chaotic, but through order and design, it is made useful in an artistic way that enables users to take action upon the information rather than being frozen by disorder.
Interested? Click "Read More" if the video does not appear below.
Source is  Ted Talks.
• You might also enjoy: Art and design empower leadership and technology [video & review];   Using art to visualize chaotic data and humanity;  Amazing power of computers and humans working together [video & review];  Science, trippy like a drug - Illusions and the mind; Is that music?

"Pankaj Ghemawat: Actually, the world isn't flat"
"It may seem that we're living in a borderless world where ideas, goods and people flow freely from nation to nation. We're not even close, says Pankaj Ghemawat."

Mines the current state of economic globalization, finding that we are nowhere near as united as we think.
Notes that analyzing telecommunications and other data reveals major barriers separating us from other countries, not just physical boundaries. Further, technology alters this, but not nearly to the extent of our preconceptions.
Interested? Click the text or image to read on.
Source is Ted Talks.
You might also enjoy:  How to create the ultimate writer's app toolkit;  Art and design empower leadership and technology [video & review];   Amazing power of computers and humans working together [video & review];   Disagreeing is productive;   Your Mind on Ink and time [video and review]