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The Incentives Lab
HBT-MOT-0002 · Dimension MOT · Motivation

Goal Hierarchy Pyramid

Lifetime purpose → multi-year missions → annual goals → quarterly bets → weekly actions.

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

Scientific Definition

Lifetime purpose → multi-year missions → annual goals → quarterly bets → weekly actions.

Plain-English Definition

Lifetime purpose → multi-year missions → annual goals → quarterly bets → weekly actions.

Feynman Explanation

If your week doesn't ladder up to your decade, something's lying.

Core Principle

Lifetime purpose → multi-year missions → annual goals → quarterly bets → weekly actions.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Lifetime purpose → multi-year missions → annual goals → quarterly bets → weekly actions.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Strategy fails most often at the bottom layer: weekly action that's disconnected from the top.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

If your week doesn't ladder up to your decade, something's lying.

Examples

Everyday
  • Stephen Covey's roles-and-goals planning; Ray Dalio's stacked principles.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Strategy fails most often at the bottom layer: weekly action that's disconnected from the top.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Once a quarter, draw the ladder from purpose to next Monday. Cut anything that doesn't connect.

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
Strategy fails most often at the bottom layer: weekly action that's disconnected from the top.
Amplifying Incentives
Strategy fails most often at the bottom layer: weekly action that's disconnected from the top.
Org Failure Modes
Strategy fails most often at the bottom layer: weekly action that's disconnected from the top.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Once a quarter, draw the ladder from purpose to next Monday. Cut anything that doesn't connect.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Once a quarter, draw the ladder from purpose to next Monday. Cut anything that doesn't connect.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Once a quarter, draw the ladder from purpose to next Monday. Cut anything that doesn't connect.
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-MOT-0002 · MOT
Goal Hierarchy Pyramid
GHGGGoal Gradient EffectIMIdentity-Based Motiv…WL3-Way Life Optimizat…ACAdaptive ChallengeADAdvantageous Diverge…APAgent ProvocateurAOArt of WarAWAsymmetric WarfareBaBackcastingBSBarbell Strategy

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

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

Same domain
HBT-MOT-0001Goal Gradient Effect

Effort accelerates as the goal gets closer.

Same domain
HBT-MOT-0003Identity-Based Motivation

We act in ways that confirm 'people like me do things like this.'

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-00023-Way Life Optimization

Basics first (health/finances), then depth (mastery/impact), then altruism (widening circle).

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0013Adaptive Challenge

A problem whose solution requires people to change their values, beliefs, or habits — not just apply expertise.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0015Advantageous Divergence

Holding a different — and correct — set of tools than everyone else.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0022Agent Provocateur

Someone who incites others to take illegal or rash action, often to expose or discredit them.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0064Art of War

Sun Tzu's ancient treatise on strategy, deception, and positioning.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0068Asymmetric Warfare

Conflict between belligerents with very different resources and tactics.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0079Backcasting

Start from the desired future and work backward to the steps that make it inevitable.

Shared keywords
HBT-SOC-0003Barbell Strategy

Combine extreme safety with extreme risk; avoid the middle.

Shared keywords
HBT-SOC-0004Behavioral Game Theory

Game theory adjusted for how humans actually play — including fairness, reciprocity, and limited reasoning.

Shared keywords
HBT-SOC-0006Blotto Games

Allocating finite resources across many fronts when the opponent does the same — no dominant strategy exists.

Version History

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