Employee Motivation - A Veritable Gold Mine of Increased Profits
When an important man was asked by a reporter how many people worked in his company, the important man replied with a smile, “About half!”
“About half!” With that in mind you will surely agree that the optimum starting place for increasing sales and profits in your company are your employees. Why? Because they are already here. Easy to connect to and with. And because you are the manager – They will listen when you talk, and read what you write.
And that is exactly the prime objective of employee motivation. What, pray tell me, would be the result in your department (division or company) if you could find a way to excite and to motivate all of your employees? To get them all working, stretching together to achieve a common goal.
Wouldn’t the results boggle the mind?
Is that idea a sort of Charlie Sheen fantasy?
Are these concepts grown men and woman should be pondering?
Yes.
No.
Yes.
Don’t be afraid, M/M Manager. Reach for the stars that way if you fall short you’ll be at least on a mountain top.
There are six point eight billion humans living in this 21st century. One feature all six point eight billion have in common is a sense of self-interest. Psychological Egoism (do not confuse with Egotism1) is a philosophy that holds that individuals are always motivated by self-interest. That our sense of self-interest motivates everything we do every day of our lives.
To a psychological egoist the word “selfless” is a one word oxymoron. A selfless act, i.e., an act done “without concern for oneself.” is simply beyond comprehension. The classic example: What motivation made the GI fall on a live grenade to save his buddies, is easily explained by the egoist. The GI’s sense of self-interest told him he would be better off dying for his buddies than living with the memory that he could have saved them but didn’t . . . that’s the way it had to be.
“What’s in it for me?” is an expected question; generated by Man’s sense of self-interest. We have all asked this question in one form or another, when appraising a new opportunity. Since it is so natural a part of our human nature, we should include the answer in our planning at all times.
“You’ll get to keep your job,” is an unrealistic answer unless you really will fire them for ordinary performance.
“That’s why I pay you,” is unacceptable, as bad as saying, “Because I said so.”
“I give you excellent benefits," is pretty weak. You’ve been giving them excellent benefits for ordinary performance.
However, if you answer, “If you do what you have to do to achieve the goal I have set for you, then in addition to the usual fine benefits and working conditions ... I will pay for a vacation for you and Beth to Maui2 three months from today.”
That was perfect. Boredom has left your subject’s workaday world faster than a jet, his pale shark-bait skin is feasting on the anticipation of Maui’s golden sun, his self esteem is glowing with the expected admiration & love he’ll feel from Beth when he announces the same to her3, in addition he is made a bet with know-it-all-Marsha that he’d get to Maui before she does which made him happy because he knows he will.
When you want performance that exceeds the normal and you answer, “What’s in it for me?" satisfactorily; you are on the road to productive workers in a win-win situation because you don’t pay out any monies until Ted (Beth’s husband), know-it-all-Marsha, and the rest of the work force achieves their goal and your extra profit is in the bank. Welcome to the world of successful employee motivation.
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1 Egoism is a philosophy. Egotism is a word that signifies an inflated sense of one's own importance.
2 For simplification I use Maui. Fill in whatever location you would love to vacation at.
3 No vilification for PC please, it works just as well with know-it-all-Marsha as it does with our hero Ted.