Pink’s best-selling titles include Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others. Pink’s remarks came at SHRM’s Annual Conference and Exposition held recently in Chicago.
[Go here for takeaways 1 and 2.]
3. Don’t forget the importance of context.
To illustrate the importance of context, Pink told the story of a food drive at a university. First the researchers identified, by peer evaluation, those students least likely to donate and those most likely to donate. Then the students were divided into two groups.
Group 1 got a general letter announcing the drive. Group 2 got a personally addressed letter, with specific suggestions of what to donate, a map, and a follow-up phone call. Here’s how the study worked out:
| Least Likely to Donate | Most Likely to Donate | |
| General Notice | 0% | 8% |
| Personalized Notice | 25% | 44% |
Looking at the results, Pink says that we underestimate the importance of context. As can be seen, there is a dramatic difference in results.
Pink’s other context recommendation is to be sure that you provide an “off-ramp.” That is, make it easy for people to act.
An HR example of an easy off-ramp, says Pink, is related to saving for retirement. Companies tried for years to get employees to save with no luck, until they provided the off-ramp—automatic enrollment.
4. Learn how to motivate yourself.
Self-talk to pump yourself before you go in to sell is important and is helpful. “Declarative” pumping—“I can do this”—is better than neutral behavior, but what is most helpful is “interrogative” self talk—”Can I do this?”
Interrogative self talk helps because it elicits active responses, like “Gotta remember to mention this.” You’re preparing and rehearsing.
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5. Make it personal.
Pink tells the story of a study of radiologists in Israel. Their jobs were to read scans on computers. The radiologists were divided into two groups. The first group read scans as usual. The second group also read scans as usual, but they were given a photo of the patient for each scan.
The latter group—those furnished with pictures—wrote longer, more meticulous reports. That was interesting, says Pink, but further into the study, it got really interesting. After a period of time, the researchers went back to the group who had been given the pictures of the patients and without them being aware, had them read the same scans as before but without the pictures.
The stunning finding was that about 80 percent of the previous findings were not reported! Make it personal, he says.
Pink also told of visiting a pizza restaurant in D.C. with his family. There was a sign: “I need your help. If anything is less than perfect, call my cell.” It was signed by the store manager, and he gave the cell number. That’s making it personal both ways, says Pink. Put yourself on the line.
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Personally, I find declarative pumping more effective than interrogative self-talk, which gives me the chance to answer questions like “Can I do this?” with negativity like “Probably not.”