New White Paper: If Incentives Worked We’d All Be Amazing By Now

My latest white paper is out today. It’s called…

If Incentives Worked We’d All Be Amazing By Now
(Why modern financial planning firms don’t need incentives)

👉 Read here.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog — Do Incentives Actually Work? — the belief that incentives drive performance is woven into our profession’s DNA. It’s seen as “just how things are done,” especially in sales roles.

But what if it’s not true?

This new paper challenges one of the most deeply held assumptions in financial planning — that incentives motivate people and improve results.

The evidence says otherwise.

• Incentives often lead to outcomes you don’t want — and fail to deliver the ones you do want.
• They can quietly erode trust, collaboration, and long-term value creation.
• As Dan Pink (author of Drive) notes, the research showing that incentives don’t work “is one of the most robust findings in social science.”

Still sceptical?

So was I until I took a deep dive down this rabbit hole.

This paper isn’t theory. It’s about what really drives motivation, performance, and growth inside modern financial planning businesses.

If you’ve ever felt that uneasy niggle — that incentives somehow don’t fit the culture or direction of your firm — this paper will help you understand why, and what to do instead.

And if you vehemently disagree with me… perfect. Download it anyway, hear me out, and let’s start the conversation.

This one might ruffle a few feathers. I didn’t write it to provoke — but I did write it to make us think differently.

👉 Read the white paper here.

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