Ribbons and Motivation

"A man wouldn't sell his life to you, but he will give it to you for a piece of colored ribbon" William Manchester wrote of his days as a marine in the South Pacific. This is the one of the reasons why men and women go beyond expectations, even risk their lives to achieve glory in the military. I volunteered to go to Siachen Glacier in 1996 just for the medal, along with the 'High Altitude' (you get the 'Siachen Glacier' for serving one month in the area, and the 'High Altitude' medal for serving six months above 9,000 feet altitude) - because as a 23 year old 2nd Lieutenant in a peace time army in 1996, there were not many opportunities for glory, and wearing an active combat ribbon on your chest was certain to get you respect. I did not bargain for the Battle Casualty medal(which I was awarded for getting wounded in action) as a bonus. Because medals cannot be worn all the time, ribbons indicate which medals you have been awarded, and these are routinely worn on the uniform.

Unlike what people on social media would have you believe, most people do not join the army or serve for lofty ideas of serving the country - most do it for the adventure, that smart uniform and colorful ribbons that you could potentially wear on your chest for the rest of your lives!
Research shows that non monetary incentives work better than money - and its reinforced by the fact that people join the army and volunteer for a difficult mission for below average pay by corporate standards. While many officer candidates are graded 'just below average' or 'average' by psychiatrists during their selection interview, most end up doing things that are 'above and beyond' and that their friends outside the military would not imagine doing. This is about positive reinforcement of your team, which may consist of ordinary people, but who have the capability to outperform the best of talent from the most sought after B schools and tech schools.

Non monetary rewards focus on emotional and psychological benefits. As a commanding officer, I used to reward soldiers in my unit every month for all kinds of behaviors (not just results) in mobile talk time coupons during the monthly town hall. Their money value was minimal, but it connected a soldier coming from a small village in India and serving in an operational area to his family back home, and set behavioral standards among his peer group. Now, as head of department in the corporate world, I highlight my team members' skill development efforts by appreciating them via a mail marked to the entire team and the senior leadership - it is not enough to just tell the guy that you appreciate him, you have to tell everyone that you appreciate him!

Medals and ribbons are non monetary rewards that are always visible to everyone, because the person receiving it wears it on his chest. This is very different from business and other organizations where such rewards need to be announced - not just to the person receiving it, but also everyone else - because the true value of this reward is when everyone knows about it. In contrast, monetary rewards are usually confidential and only the recipient knows what she's got. As a business leader, we have lots of medals and ribbons to give away. Its these medals that will motivate our teams to 'go above and beyond' - not only that bonus or increment.