Over the last decade or so, there has been a massive swing towards thinking money = motivation. In many businesses, the feeling is, if you pay people more, or give an incentive of a bonus, then you will  see an improvement in performance. And while in some situations incentive-based bonuses can work, they very rarely lead to long-term employee motivation and increased productivity. Instead, you get a burst of improvement, and then it all slips back down to where it was before.   Equally, whilst money might be a factor in helping people choose jobs, it rarely serves to motivate them to perform better in their current one. This leaves managers pulling their hair out, unsure about how to motivate their employees to perform better. But the secret, known only to the great leaders and managers, is all in understanding what motivates the human mind.  But what does that mean? read more