The bestselling authors of Made to Stick, Dan and Chip Heath, write a monthly column in Fast Company.  This month’s column caught my attention because it is so counter-intuitive.  The premise of the article is that people will pay you to restrain them.

The classic example is the purchase of a piggy bank for a child.  Let’s suppose that a piggy bank can hold $25 in spare change.  The purpose of the piggy bank is to prevent the child from spending the loose change until the $25 goal has been reached.  The piggy bank is really a restraint system that restricts the child from giving in to short-term impulses.

Of course, it is not just kids who lack self-control.  Some alcoholics are willing to consume a drug called Antabuse that makes them sick if they drink.  Some people who struggle with obesity undergo gastric-bypass surgery, restricting the size of their stomach.  In both cases, individuals are investing resources for the purpose of being restrained from their own behavior.

Researchers have gotten in on this as well.  The article sites this example:

“In one study, students were told they had to turn in three papers by the end of the semester and were given the option to assign earlier binding due dates for the work.  Almost three-quarters of them jumped at the chance, thus saving themselves from a frantic Red Bull-and-Wikipedia bender in the last week.”

How can this principle be applied to both your personal performance and the performance of those you’re required to coach and manage?  Tune in tomorrow for more on this topic….