Learning, Technology & Change

At this time of year, it's natural that our sense of charity is heightened. The weather is turning colder, we spend time thinking about how fortunate we are. Many often respond to this by volunteering. It's a great way to give back, pay our good fortunes forward and generally feel good about contributing to society. The problem is that with volunteering, your options can be limited. While volunteering at a soup kitchen or sorting food at the food bank is valuable and rewarding work it can be problematic. The hours required may not fit with your work or family schedule, leaving you with only five hours to volunteer a month versus 15-20hrs on a "non-traditional schedule". Physical labour or administrative work can get tedious, while the end result is good, the monotony can get to you. Well of Change aims to bridge this gap.  By looking at your own unique skills you can surely find something that you can share with others to raise money for a good cause. Even if you ...

I recently finished reading Drive by Dan Pink. This book challenges  the current management carrot & stick ethos. His basic contention is that some incentives can suck the enjoyment and results for creative, and intrinsically rewarding tasks. He cites some very interesting research and anecdotes that back up his hypothesis. One in particular speaks of a study at the efficiency of donating blood. Turns out that when people were paid to give blood, donations decreased. When people were compensated it eliminated the good feeling from doing an altruistic act. The pillars of intrinsic motivation call for autonomy, mastery and purpose. Volunteerism has intrinsic motivation, looking at Pink's criteria it clearly provides purpose. We all feel good about performing a self-less act for others. However when we look at many typical volunteer opportunities, they lack autonomy or mastery. Stuffing envelopes, serving food, donating blood etc. Enter Well of Change Well of...