Carrot and Stick: that doesn’t work on Programmers

So true. Three examples perfectly reflects my situation.

I think the biggest challenge to your statement is "listen to what they want." Much of our modern psychology suggests people don't always know what they want, or don't want what they think they want. This is not meant as an insult, as it applies to all humans, whether they're a developer or not.

That means that listening is a huge part, but it's not enough to simply implement exactly what you hear they want.

All that said, I still totally agree with your examples.

I do work around motivation and communication and would like to share some of my experience.

In my work I use the Nonviolent Communication/Maslow model: every action we take is a strategy to meet a basic human need. There are no "good" or "bad" actions. Some actions meet more needs for more people than others.

Extrinsic motivation (rewards/punishment, or, as I like to simplify it, punishment -- because withholding the carrot is just that), is not sustainable.

See Alfie Kohn's Punished by Rewards for an exhaustive list of papers and experiments.

The list you provided can be related to basic human needs:

> –Feeling like no one is scrutinizing your work to notice whether you're doing a good job or not

Unmet needs for appreciation, acknowledgment, contribution

> –Feeling like even if you do a good job, you won't be rewarded

Unmet need for appreciation. This is tricky, because corporations as entities want to pay as little as possible while extracting as much as possible. So showing appreciation through money is undesirable. Still, people who can easily find better paying jobs elsewhere, do continue working at SpaceX and Tesla despite being underpaid. Mostly because they have a strong sense of purpose and non-monetary appreciation.

> –Having to spend a lot of time on uninteresting bureaucracy rather than the work you enjoy

Unmet needs for efficiency, purpose

> –Being told what to do in extreme detail, without opportunities to think much for yourself

Unmet need for competency (being seen as competent), acknowledgment (of intelligence), autonomy (this is the one people start wars for)

> –The opposite problem of having too little detail, so you don't really know what problem you're trying to solve

Unmet need for clarity

–The office being too cold, noisy, etc.

Unmet needs around physical and mental well-being

> –Constantly working by yourself, when you want to work w/others more

Unmet needs around connection, belonging

> –Constantly working with others, when you want to work by yourself more

Unmet needs around solitude, efficiency, autonomy

Many of these can be addressed in simple, constructive ways, as soon as we can start seeing the needs behind the grievances and actions. It's like acquiring an x-ray vision, which is precisely what I teach.

Lastly, I'll leave you with a quote which I really like: Managers try to change people. Leaders change the environment.

As my Dad told me "The mortgage doesn't care about my job satisfaction."

Pay is always in the mix (unless you are independently wealthy), but most people (not just programmers) take it as one factor. A plumber will turn down higher paying work if s/he knows it will be a pain in the butt.

The best programmers aren't motivated simply by money, because you can't get to that skill level without being highly motivated to learn things that won't necessarily ever pay off. To get there you have to read very widely, and experiment, and not stick to learning only salable skills. You have to have a lot of knowledge and capabilities that aren't ever going to show up in a job description, many of which won't ever be useful. The best programmers are algorithm inventors, and cross-pollination from one field to another is what makes that possible. Nobody's going to pay you to go out and get that broad swathe of knowledge, nobody. You either have that very strong internal motivation to learn logic and mathematics related anything-at-all, or you don't.

I don't need money to motivate me to write code, I need money to motivate me to write code for you.

I'd like to reword it as "Programmers don't code for money. But if they code for other people it better be good money."

I will gladly work on a side project all night and weekends with no expectation of a return. But if it's your idea that I'm working on, I insist on being paid well for it.

> Good programmers just don’t work for money

Say that to programmers in Wall Street see how it goes ;)

I just wanted to say : they don't work for 'only' money. Company culture, career scope and other people in the team are more more important for programmers than money I think. Though some people may disagree. BTW, I have corrected the sentence, thanks.

Yeah. 100%. I love programming, but carrot and stick works big time on me. I'm staying at my current company despite being underpaid because:

- I work remotely - I get 1 workday per week to work on my hobby projects - I get 8 weeks paternity - I get 5 weeks paid vacation - I have great insurance through them - I have amazing coworkers, including every owner/boss/manager - It's a lifestyle company from top to bottom

I have friends making 1.5x my current salary, but I'm not switching to work for their companies because the carrots at my current gig outweigh a hefty outlay of $$$.

>you can find pearls hidden deep in the mud. For some time at least.

They won't necessarily stay for long though.

+5 Insightful! I've read that piece a number of times, and never come away with your conclusion. I always took away from it that the failing was managers trying to make things predictable, not that they have conflicting core values.

Great post but still nurtures the idea that programmers are somehow a special form of human. That idea is part of the problem.

> The environment that nurtures creative programmers kills management and marketing types - and vice versa....

Misleading quote at best. That's only the first line of the article, written for thought provocation.

There isn't anything in the article that prevent management or marketing from working with programmers.

To summarize: the point is not that carrot and stick doesn't work for programmers.

The point is that no single approach can work for all people.

> Define good?

I would say "good" programmers are ones that are motivated to make themselves better. People who take pride in their work, and identify with their skill and abilities. This is true for anything really.

> I've been at startup hiring 1 new decent programmer every week. Stopped calling that hard since.

People who care about improving themselves will not typically want to work at the IT department at a conservative insurance company. "Good" programmers will be attracted to places that provide upward-moving career opportunities, which startups tend to have more of. Perhaps you work at one of those?

wow, please can I come and work for you