Principle: Workers respond to incentives. They show up at the office every morning because they're paid. Oddly enough, recognition and trust trump monetary rewards. "You can give someone a raise to incentivize them to do a better job, but after time the money wears off," says Szuchman. But people who are recognized for their work and who feel trusted to get the job done are more motivated than those who are paid a bit more.
Payoff: Szuchman and her husband are members of a food co-op in Brooklyn, N.Y., where they're each required to complete several hours of volunteer work each month. Szuchman's husband often forgot or skipped his volunteer shifts, which meant they were both suspended from the co-op. "When I stopped nagging him about his shifts, not only did he start doing it, but when he doesn't do it, I'm not as bothered by it," says Szuchman, noting that the difference was that she trusted him to get the job done. Trust establishes an atmosphere of goodwill.
