Ep 57, From Dreaming to Doing: How We Set and Achieve Goals

TL;DR

To effectively set and achieve your goals, recognize that motivation evolves throughout the process. Understanding your needs and emotional responses is crucial, as is providing appropriate feedback based on your progress. Viewing success as a journey and reflecting on past achievements can also enhance ongoing motivation.

Transcript

So much of our communication is about motivation, motivating others and motivating ourselves. I'm Matt Abrahams and I teach Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Welcome to Think Fast ,Talk Smart, The Podcast. I am really excited to speak with Szu-chi Huang, an Associate Professor of Marketing at Stanford GSB. Szu-chi's r... Read More

Key Insights

• 👶 Szu-chi Huang's research on motivation focuses on a wide range of topics, including competition, healthy eating, and the impact of new technologies.
• 👯 Understanding and addressing people's needs is crucial for shaping their behavior and motivating them.
• 🖐️ Emotionality plays a significant role in decision making and can be a stronger predictor of behavior than the content of reviews.
• 🥺 Information avoidance can lead to decreased motivation, and providing attainability signals and benchmarks can help individuals stay motivated.
• ⚾ Tailoring feedback, benchmarks, and competition structures based on individuals' needs and progression can optimize motivation and performance.
• 🫵 Success should be viewed as a journey rather than just a destination, and reflecting on past achievements and relationships can contribute to ongoing motivation.

Questions & Answers

Q: What motivated Szu-chi Huang to start studying motivation?

Szu-chi Huang became interested in motivation while working in advertising and realizing the lack of understanding on how to motivate customers to make repeat purchases.

Q: How does emotionality affect decision making?

Emotionality plays a significant role in decision making, as positive emotions can motivate us when our needs are satisfied, while negative emotions can drive us to make different choices.

Q: Why do people tend to avoid social information halfway through their goal pursuit?

In the middle of pursuing a goal, people often feel insecure and lose motivation. Social information about others' progress can be threatening, leading them to avoid it. However, avoiding this information can actually decrease motivation.

Q: How can winning or losing in a competition affect motivation at different stages?

In the beginning, winning signals and feeling ahead can motivate individuals, while being slightly behind can be more motivating in the later stages of a competition. Tailoring feedback and benchmarks based on where individuals are in a competition is crucial for maintaining motivation.

Summary

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, host Matt Abrahams interviews Szu-chi Huang, an Associate Professor of Marketing at Stanford GSB, about motivation science and shared goal pursuit. They discuss topics such as the motivation behind Szu-chi's research, the importance of understanding needs and emotionality in decision making, the effects of information avoidance on motivation, designing motivating competitions, and the benefits of adopting a journey mindset.

Questions & Answers

Q: What motivated Szu-chi Huang to start researching motivation?

Szu-chi was initially motivated to study motivation while working at an advertising agency in Taiwan. She realized that there were not enough answers on how to motivate customers to make repeat purchases, which ultimately led her to join academia and delve into various aspects of motivation and goal pursuit.

Q: What are the key takeaways from Szu-chi Huang's class on decision making?

The first key takeaway is the importance of understanding people's needs when shaping their behavior. It's not just about addressing one need, but recognizing the various needs that a person may have and tailoring the motivation accordingly. The second takeaway is the significant role of emotionality in decision making. Emotionality can drive people's decisions more than the content of information, making it essential to consider emotions when motivating others.

Q: How does information avoidance affect motivation?

Szu-chi's research has found that people tend to avoid social information when they feel insecure about their progress towards a goal. This avoidance typically occurs during the midpoint of goal pursuit. While avoiding information may provide temporary relief, it can actually lead to decreased motivation because people miss out on benchmarking themselves against others, which can be motivating. Therefore, it is important to recognize when to seek out information, especially during periods of insecurity.

Q: What are some concerns and best practices for designing motivating competitions?

Szu-chi's research suggests that both winning and losing can motivate individuals, but their effects vary depending on the phase of the competition. In the beginning, people are searching for signals that they can win, so being ahead or receiving winning signals is encouraging. However, towards the later stages, being slightly behind can be more motivating because it provides a clear benchmark to strive for. To sustain motivation, it is crucial to adjust benchmarks and feedback based on participants' progress and provide attainability signals early on.

Q: How can having a journey mindset influence goal achievement?

Szu-chi and Jennifer Aaker's research highlights the importance of viewing goal success as a journey rather than just a destination. By reflecting on the journey and recognizing what worked and who played a significant role, individuals can continue their efforts even after reaching their goals. It helps prevent complacency and allows for ongoing learning and growth.

Q: What is the best communication advice Szu-chi has received?

Szu-chi's best communication advice can be summarized in three words: "know your audience." Understanding the audience's needs, emotions, and evolving characteristics is crucial in effective communication.

Q: Who is Szu-chi's admired communicator and why?

Szu-chi greatly admires Michelle Obama as a communicator. She appreciates Michelle Obama's clarity, confidence, elegance, and empathy. Michelle Obama's speeches embody these qualities and effectively connect with audiences.

Q: What are the first three ingredients for a successful communication recipe?

The first ingredient is to know your audience, specifically why they are there to listen to the message. The second is to tailor the content to connect with the audience. The third ingredient is to make it personal, ensuring that the audience learns from a unique perspective and not just generic information.

Takeaways

Motivation is a multifaceted concept that requires understanding the needs and emotions of individuals. Effective communication and goal achievement involve tailoring messages and feedback to different stages of the journey. Recognizing the importance of both positive and negative benchmarks in competitions can sustain motivation. Additionally, adopting a journey mindset encourages ongoing learning and growth. Ultimately, knowing the audience, connecting content to their needs, and making it personal are crucial for successful communication.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Szu-chi Huang's research interests in motivation were sparked by her work in advertising, where she realized the lack of answers on how to motivate customers to make repeat purchases.

• Her research focuses on topics such as how motivation changes during goal pursuit and how new technologies impact motivation.

• She shares insights on the importance of needs and emotionality in decision making, the effects of information avoidance on motivation, and strategies for designing motivating competitions.