We’ve recently come across a book called Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us, by Daniel Pink, and haven’t been able to stop talking about it.  Daniel has compiled research based on what truly motivates us- and it turns conventional wisdom on it’s head.  For example, we traditionally use monetary rewards in hopes of achieving increased performance; this works for mechanical tasks such as a supermarket clerk might carry out, where a very linear series of steps is necessary to achieve the result.  However, for tasks that require any measure of creativity, a monetary reward actually functions as a hindrance to the successful completion of the task, as it narrows our focus to the reward and diminishes our ability to see novel solutions.  This is pretty revolutionary stuff; it means the way we manage staff may need to change in order to get the best result.  The video below explains the concept beautifully, but if you get a chance, we highly recommend reading the book as well.  

When lifelong swimmer, Nadya Vessey, was removing her prosthetic legs before a swim in the ocean in Auckland, a little boy asked her why she had no feet.  Instead of telling him about a congenital deformity she was born with, or losing one leg at age 7 and the other at age 16, she replied “I’m a mermaid,” and slid into the sea.

Her response sparked an idea.  She called Weta Workshop (famous for it’s special effects work in many movies, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy) to see if they would build her a mermaid tail that would help her swim more gracefully. The response was an enthusiastic “Yes!” and 2 years (and over 800 pro bono hours) later, the vision became reality.  The very complex structure had to be calculated for bouyancy that would match Nadya’s proportions precicely, and presented an even bigger challenge as Weta wanted the tail to be feminine and beautiful.   

Nadya’s tail is 6 feet long and is made of neoprene and plastic, printed with sparkling scales.  After three years, Nadya says the tail has started to feel natural- like a part of her while she’s swimming.  Getting used to the tail required a mental shift, but she now swims faster and uses her back muscles more.  She says “The tail isn’t just for me; I believe it’s meant to bring others joy.”