People Have a Built-in Desire to Get Better and
Better at Something They Like to Do
To economists who study human behavior, this makes no sense. Why learn how to play a musical instrument? It isn’t gonna make you rich or get you ahead at your job, so why do it? Yet since economists believe people are driven by money, they simply miss the point; economics are about people’s behavior, not about money. At some levels, yes, people who are struggling to put food on the table or are raising kids are driven by money.
But we all know this; it is just common sense. Once again, Daniel Pink states it best—if you don’t pay people enough, they won’t be motivated. Simply put, if you aren’t willing to pay your people well for what they do, they will not be engaged in the company’s mission.
The simple and wonderful thing about us all is this: Once we are making enough money, we are free to engage in all sorts of challenging things.
And what escapes most behavioral scientists is that people are driven to get better at something because it gives us a sense of accomplishment.
It seems that facing a challenge and mastering that challenge over time enriches us beyond the printed page, beyond even our sense of logic. Why did I enroll in Shaolin Kempo at forty-five years of age? I wanted a bigger challenge. It also gave me a sense of contribution to my nephew’s world—a sense of “This is bigger than me”—and that led me to the next finding."
Part 3 to be continued next week....
Click here for The Secret to Innovation: Part 1
And this makes me wonder...
Do governments and economists forget that economies
are not made up of pie charts and marketplaces,
but are made up of people?
Something to ponder.
Thank you for reading...
Brad Szollose
Award-winning author, business consultant and keynote speaker
If you haven't seen Daniel Pink's Ted Talk, I suggest you check it out...insightful:
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Ask me how I can help your company evolve into the 21st Century of Management.
But this is not based on management theory: With a 30 career as an entrepreneur he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a company from a simple idea in a coffee shop to an internationally recognized brand.
Brad is a former C-Level Internet Executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs—co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His company experienced 425% hyper-growth for 5 straight years, expanded from 2 business partners to 4 with 60+ employees and offices worldwide. At its height, K2 was valuated at over $26 million. His results only management model (ROWE) was applied to the first wave of young Generation Y workers producing great results—winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.
Brad Szollose is the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554
Known for his humorous and thought-provoking presentations, Szollose received the highest testimonial of his career from a C-Level audience member: "I just had my mind blown." Brad’s keynotes and workshops are highly interactive, heart-warming, humorous, and filled with high-content information that challenge assumptions and help leaders and managers create a better work environment for innovation to thrive.
Liquid Leadership has been called "THE guidebook for the 21st Century" and has won the 2011 Axiom Business Book Award silver medal for leadership, The Indie Business Book runner up silver medal as well as becoming a #1 Best-Selling Business Book on Amazon for Organizational Learning. Published in the United States by Greenleaf Book Group, in India by Prolibris and in South Korea by UI Books/Iljinsa Publishing.
Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.
Today, Brad helps businesses close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a Cultural Divide – created by the new tech-savvy worker...and customer.
* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership
* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author
