Below is a fantastic TED Talk from Dan Ariely on why people work hard, when they’re willing to make extreme efforts, and how easy it is to crush their motivation.

Among the insights and provocations:

“Ignoring the performance of people is almost as bad as shredding their effort in front of their eyes.”
“Is efficiency still more important than meaning? I think the answer is no.”
“By getting people to work harder, they actually got them to love what they’re doing to a higher degree.”

Watch and ponder.