Alignment of incentives — What’s in it for you?
“What’s in it for me?” — A question that pops-up frequently in our heads. Many times, we think only from our own perspective. However, how often do we think about “What’s in it for you?”, where we attempt to empathise the needs and understand the objectives of our clients, our partners, or even our own teammates.
As I was watching a scene in Episode 8 of Netflix’s K-drama series, Start-Up, I came to realise the importance of alignment in any form of relationship, be it work or personal. Individuals have to be properly incentivised to achieve the desired objective. Otherwise, we are probably destined for disaster.
In the scene, Samsan Tech, a start-up, successfully launched a new application, named NoonGil, to serve the visually impaired. Everyone in the team was excited about the launch and were looking forward to the massive number of downloads that they are going to get, except for the CEO. Isn’t that weird? Being part of the team, shouldn’t the CEO be excited as well? Isn’t it great to have as much downloads as possible? Why?
The problem is that the CEO had a different concern compared to the rest of the team, who are responsible for product development and marketing. NoonGil had to tap into the API of a third-party service provider and Samsan Tech will have to pay the third-party service provider for every minute of API usage. This meant that the more popular the application is, the more expensive the operating cost will be. Also, NoonGil is a non-revenue generating application. From the CEO’s perspective, who is in-charge of the overall survival of the company, NoonGil’s popularity will only be detrimental to the survival of Samsan Tech. Although this scenario may be one-dimensional and may not accurately reflect reality, it does highlight the fact that without the right incentives for each individual, individuals may not be motivated to cooperate and to act as a single-unit.
I believe this is also true when trying to get buy-ins from potential clients or partners. In order for me close a deal, I’ll have to answer “What’s in it for them?”, I have to understand what are their business needs or objectives. How does my service/product help them get closer to their objectives? How does my service/product benefit them? Only by providing the right incentives to motivate them, will I be able to entice them to buy my product/service or partner with me and reach an all-win situation.
PS: Looking forward to the next episode of Startup!
