One of the most interesting conclusion of Douglas McGregor (inventor of the Theory X vs Theory Y management theories you've probably heard of) is that when it c

One of the most interesting conclusion of Douglas McGregor (inventor of the Theory X vs Theory Y management theories you've probably heard of) is that when it comes to the question "what motivates people?", whatever theory you set out to try to prove, you typically find evidence to support its validity. So if you start with Theory X, for example, "people are lazy and need to be motivated into work through the external means of money and threat of firing", you find plenty of evidence that that is indeed how people function. Anyone who believes otherwise must be mad. If you start with Theory Y's assumptions, though, "people want to work in jobs where they can be intrinsically self-motivated, and while external factors need to be 'good enough', internal motivation is far more important" - you will find plenty of evidence that this is true as well. The point is, be very careful of what assumptions you start with, because you might think you can check them with facts, but actually they will shape everything you do and remain largely unquestioned. Therefore, choose your assumptions based on the outcome you want, not based on the assumptions you started with.