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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0230 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Deserve What You Want

Munger's principle: the surest way to get something is to deserve it.

Strategy·Mental Model·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Munger's principle: the surest way to get something is to deserve it.

Plain-English Definition

Munger's principle: the surest way to get something is to deserve it.

Feynman Explanation

Earn the result. The shortcut path is the long path.

Core Principle

Munger's principle: the surest way to get something is to deserve it.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Munger's principle: the surest way to get something is to deserve it.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Sustainable career and company strategy.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

Earn the result. The shortcut path is the long path.

Examples

Everyday
  • Building real capability beats positioning for the role you want.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Sustainable career and company strategy.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Ask: 'What would make us obviously deserving of this outcome?'

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Sustainable career and company strategy.
Amplifying Incentives
Sustainable career and company strategy.
Org Failure Modes
Sustainable career and company strategy.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Ask: 'What would make us obviously deserving of this outcome?'
Diagnostic Questions
  • Ask: 'What would make us obviously deserving of this outcome?'
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Ask: 'What would make us obviously deserving of this outcome?'
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-COG-0230 · COG
Deserve What You Want
DWWL3-Way Life Optimizat…ACAdaptive ChallengeADAdvantageous Diverge…APAgent ProvocateurAOArt of WarAWAsymmetric WarfareBaBackcastingCoCounterinsurgencyCoCounterpropagandaCFCynefin Framework

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.