Motivation on the Run

This weeks poll results from looking at successful and unsuccessful people and trying to determine the difference between them. Is it effort, luck (which could be defined as part of fate), what you know, who you know, or fate that decides whether you succeed or fail? Of course, this brings up the question of how you define success and whether we speak of personal or business success. I will leave that up to you for the moment, but if you will enter comments with your thoughts, it will be helpful as we exam the nature of success.

I’m working on an article about this question and it is important for many reasons, not the least of which is self-esteem and its affects on the growth of individuals. I realize this brings in the discussion of environment and nature, also, but there is no reason the discussion can’t be lively. Don’t answer with the first impulse, but examine your thoughts and beliefs and then let me know where you stand on the issue.

[tags]poll, success, fate, failure[/tags]

This PersonnelToday (from UK) article on bonuses given to employees seems clear on a couple of points. The motivation is not tied to performance and it is not measurable. I’m not sure how this situation come to be, but it violates all the rules, never mind good sense.

Bonus schemes fail to deliver improved productivity

Company bonus schemes do not motivate employees or improve performance, despite being a sought-after incentive, according to a recent survey of HR professionals.

More than 60% of the 183 HR professionals questioned by Reward specialist Innecto People said their bonus scheme failed to help improve workplace performance, despite bonuses coming top of the list of motivational incentives.

Seven out of 10 said their organisation had awarded staff bonuses in the past that were not justified, either because of pressure from the board or employees, or to appear successful to the outside world.

But most HR directors (82%) admitted they had no system in place to measure or evaluate how effective bonuses were.

Less than 20% of those questioned said they had carried out studies to gauge the effectiveness of their bonus scheme.

Deborah Rees, director of Innecto, said: “It amazes me that UK plc is throwing away billions of pounds each year on bonus schemes without certain knowledge that they are a wise investment.

“Bonuses can be an excellent way of motivating staff, but only when clearly linked to performance and communicated properly. Such poor investments would not be accepted in other business areas and so they shouldn’t be accepted in the area of employee reward.”
Author: Georgina Fuller

The ethics of motivation is an interesting subject that has many facets. Is it ethical to lie to someone to motivate them? Does motivation cause some to do unethical acts to accomplish short range goals? Is motivation justified to “cheat” someone?

At first glance, we all say “no,” but is that the reality of our world? Let me cite a few examples to jog your memory.

You have a sales rep that is not cut out for sales, but you continue to encourage and tell him he can make it in sales, rather than fire him.

A sales rep misrepresents what a piece of equipment can do, because it is “close out” week and he is short one sale.

The customer left without noticing the upgraded part was not installed, and it means an extra $50 sales commission since it was paid for, but not installed.

I read the above examples and cringe, thinking about how misguided motivation can be applied to a given situation, just as negative peer pressure can cause someone to “bend” the rules.

Justification is easy in the above instances and besides … no one was really hurt, right? After all, you might get this kid turned around and enable him to be successful, right? The rep can always plead ignorance because “I thought it would do that” and in hitting quota, he keeps his job. It’s been a short sales week and that extra $50 will buy milk for the baby. Yes, it’s easy to justify the actions, especially telling ourselves it’s just this once. Of course, we all know where that slippery slope leads.

If you are the sales manager in the above situations, what do you do?

[tags]motivation, ethics, sales manager[/tags]

This article at Inc Magazine has over thirty links to stories that illustrate the point made in the opening paragraphs. This is for a quiet Saturday morning when you have time to browse and read, because there is a lot of information here for your consumption.

Motivating Employees

When you think about it, the success of any facet of your business can almost always be traced back to motivated employees. From productivity and profitability to recruiting and retention, hardworking and happy employees lead to triumph.

Unfortunately, motivating people is far from an exact science. There’s no secret formula, no set calculation, no work sheet to fill out. In fact, motivation can be as individual as the employees who work for you. One employee may be motivated only by money. Another may appreciate personal recognition for a job well done. Still another may work harder if she has equity in the business.

But you can boil down employee motivation to one basic ideal — finding out what your employees want and finding a way to give it to them or to enable them to earn it. Here we’ve gathered some of the best and most interesting motivational techniques used by successful entrepreneurs. We hope they’ll motivate you, too.

In researching and reading about motivation and leadership, I began to think about what makes us tick. Why do we respond the way we do to given situations? In the Change or Die article, it is clear we can be self-destructive to the max, but with other examples, we give beyond ourselves to others because of their needs. So I started wondering why we take certain actions or not.

First, I think we must have purpose. This can be anything from being needed to changing the world, but is an important part of not only who we are, but why we do what we do. We strain our daily lives through the filter of purpose and then determine our actions. This is one of the things that makes us tick.

Second is, we must have hope. If we feel it is hopeless, we lose our purpose, if we think it is hopeless, we forget our purpose. Hope keeps us positive and enthusiastic with an eye to the future, surrounding us and giving us the strength to go on, even in the face of certain defeat. Never give up, never die is the attitude of hope, and is critical to what makes us tick.

Third, we must have faith. Our faith can range from ourselves to a higher power, like mine in God. Faith is how we define what we believe about ourselves and the world around us. It is integral to who we are and what makes us tick.

Fourth, we must receive/give love. I don’t think this one requires much explanation because of the innate need we have to give and get love. Not trivial, superficial love, that gets lost in sex, but true love. Love that is unconditional and completely forgiving. Love that sees a need in someone else and steps in to fulfill that need, without a thought to returned action. This is the love that makes us tick.

Purpose, hope, faith and love seem to be the factors that drive us to act and react as we do in different situations.

Did I miss any? What do you think?

[tags]motivate, leadership[/tags]

Motivation34 [ 21:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re number two, we’re number two … on Google that is, and I have added a poll to Motivation on the Run for your pleasure. Stop by and vote, I need to make sure it is working properly, but by this weekend, I will put a real poll up.

I also give a report on my revealed new years goal and let you know how I’m doing.

Motivation and the sexes is covered in more detail and I really want to know what you know, what you think, and how your company handles some of these issues.

[tags]motivational podcast[/tags]

A new feature is now on Motivation on the Run today, and if you are willing to participate, it will be fun and interesting.

I added a poll both here and on Business Unusual for gathering certain information to be used in podcasts. I read about all these polls, so I thought, why not conduct my own about the topics I am interested in.

The current poll on each site is the same for testing purposes. If you would be so kind to click and vote, I can make sure it is all working correctly and in a few days … serious polls … well, not all.

[tags]polls, vote[/tags]

… Do I have your attention? What has sex got to do with motivation? A lot, if you think about it, but I want to make a different point. The question I want to raise is, are women motivated differently than men? I’m serious…

I realize this topic can get me in trouble fast, but I think it’s a serious question that needs exploring. I haven’t had a woman sales rep working for me for a long time, so maybe I am out of the loop, but here is the premise I am pondering.

1) Are women motivated by the same things as men?
2) Do women respond to the same prizes or awards as men?
3) Is public recognition as important to women as men?
4) Is it different when they have children at home or is that an issue with most companies?

Now I don’t mean to say women need to be treated different, or that they can’t do the same job, because I don’t believe that for a minute, but when you are a sales manager, do you handle a female sales rep differently? I’ve had female reps as part of my team before and this is a discussion that everyone was afraid to have. I think the fear of harassment was ever present and so caution was practiced to the utmost.

But really, what do you do when they need time off for things the company does not recognize as legitimate? How does your company handle these issues. How involved does HR get in these discussions.

I could see that some things would be as desirable to women as men, like trips or dinners to nice restaurants, but what about fishing trips or golf outings where all the reps are assembled. I think that some companies have dealt with this issue in depth, but I have never read anything about this, anywhere.

How does your company handle this question?

John Maxwell is a greatly respected speaker and author on leadership and this new book is clear that leaders are those that choose to lead. Many times on the podcast, I’ve talked about who the real leaders are, but it is important to keep repeating it. It’s a good article, so take the time to read the entire article.

Lowell Sun Online – Business

Can you be a leader at work if you don’t have the “boss” title somewhere near your name?

John Maxwell says it’s possible. “Leadership is more — if not much more — influence, rather than position,” he says.

Maxwell, a leadership guru and author of a number of books on the subject, says employees need to understand that even if they don’t hold the top title at work they can still have a great impact on an organization.

“The reality is that 99 percent of all leadership occurs not from the top but from the middle of an organization,” Maxwell says. “You can learn to develop your influence from wherever you are in the organization.”

[tags]John Maxwell, leadership, podcast[/tags]

Dave commented that it was odd for Google to show an RSS feed in their search results, because they are supposed to be “invisible” except for their express purpose. He is correct, so I went back to Google and did the same search again and the RSS feed still shows up number two, but the next listing is the main URL to the blog site now. That was not there before…

[tags]Google search, motivational podcast, Larry Hendrick[/tags]