Organizations usually underestimate the potential value of
the most important new information, technology, and ways of
operating. This error occurs because the new information or
resource unexpectedly makes untrue what has been undeniably
true in the past.

Achieving 2,000 percent solutions is a good example of this
tendency.  While hundreds of organizations routinely
develop and implement such solutions every day, the
majority of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and
governments continue to focus on how to make 4, 5, or 6
percent improvements.  With the same time, effort, and
resources, these people could be accomplishing hundreds of
times more!

What is a 2,000 percent solution?  It’s any way of
accomplishing 20 times more with the same time, effort, and
resources.  Why would you shoot for less?

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Praise is often given to groups of people in recognition of
a group achievement. This is a good thing. When we’ve all
pulled together to meet an objective, that recognition
helps extend the “feel good” moment that comes with
achievement.

Unfortunately, individuals within the group can be left
feeling anonymous, not sure that their individual
contribution has been noticed.

A number of years ago, the Vice President of Marketing
asked me to help him write a speech. Our company, a major
energy corporation, had been sold, which resulted in some
substantial internal changes. Consequently, our department
was being disbanded, and the people dispersed to different
departments and functions. The speech was to be made at the
end of a special dinner in honour of us all.

In talking of some of our major accomplishments, he was
hesitant to mention the individuals who had clearly made
huge contributions, for fear of disappointing those who
were omitted. I pointed out that there were just over
thirty people in the whole department;  instead of
mentioning no names at all, why not mention everyone by
name? So here’s what we did.

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Jane and Bob want their employees and team members to be
motivated at all times.  However, we often believe the time
to motivate is when there is a lack of motivation in an
employee or team members.  Not so!  Jane and Bob need to
focus their attention on motivating their team members when
they need it most, usually when change is happening.

It’s much easier and takes less effort to sustain the
desired behavior and performance than to try to create it
from the ground up.  Intermittent reinforcement is the key
for maintaining desired behaviors.  Knowing what motivates
someone can help Jane and Bob reinforce those behaviors
effectively.

Conversely, it takes less time to sustain the desired
behavior than to deal with a problem.  So, when we say that
we “don’t have the time” because we’re so busy that we’re
barely treading water, we need to understand that we’ll be
spending a heck of a lot more time dealing with the problem
instead of motivating people to continue to do what you
want them to do.

WHAT DOES MOTIVATE YOU, SALLY?

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Copyright (c) 2007 Weiss Communications

The above quote, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
is from Woody Allen. It was particularly appropriate this
past weekend.

I went to take a dance class. My favorite teacher was back
in town for a short time. I was thrilled and ready to
dance! This teacher is incredibly talented, an excellent
dancer, good choreographer and her class is high energy and
fun! I had often wondered why she was not more successful
as a teacher or why she never got into a decent dance
company.

I rearranged my entire schedule to be there. So did a
number of her students. One cut short her holiday weekend
with her parents to get on a plane and fly back in time for
the class. Another rearranged her work schedule, going in
to work at 4:00 a.m. in order to be done in time for the
afternoon class.

The class never happened. My favorite teacher called in
“sick” at the last minute.

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Last time we saw how Jane and Bob work on communication,
especially around problems, and that they are very clear
when asking for what they need.  Sometimes, they find that
asking isn’t enough; they have to motivate their staff and
team members.

LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS, JIM….

Jane and Bob motivate their direct reports by focusing on
their strengths, rather than weaknesses.  People succeed
when their tasks and goals build on their strengths, and
they want to be and feel successful.

Jane and Bob work around their direct reports’ weaknesses
by providing peer coaching and pairing with other people
who are strong in their weak areas.

MATCHING, NOT MIXING

Match the right job to the right person first, and then
help him grow into his role.  A manager’s primary job is
not to help every individual grow; it’s to improve
performance.  To do this, you have to identify whether each
person is in the right role.  Once everyone is where he or
she is supposed to be, then you can help him or her grow.

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My mother used to affectionately refer to me as a turtle
because at swim lessons, while the other kids eagerly
jumped right into the pool ready to start, I stood near the
edge, waiting.  I wasn’t afraid of the water.  Rather, I
was taking time to prepare for the event.  Then, when I was
good and ready, I jumped right in and swam.

Thus began my relationship with the fable “The Tortoise and
the Hare” found in the much beloved bedside collection The
Fables of Aesop.  “The Tortoise and the Hare” is perfect
for illustrating sound start up practices.

Aesop’s The Tortoise and the Hare

Once upon a time, there was a hare who, boasting that he
could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing
tortoise about his slowness.  Then one day, the irate
tortoise accepted the challenge when the hare boasted that
“there was no one in the world who could beat him in a
race.”

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Talk! Talk! Talk! We are in a business where talk reigns
supreme, and the boldest talkers are always at center
stage.  Claims run rampant about everything from ad
responses - to phenomenal product results - to bodacious
income projections.

Sometimes this talk sways the uninitiated, and if they fail
to seek any type of verification before taking action, they
might find that they have based their decisions and plans
on pipe dreams and smoke screens.

However, before I leave the impression that talk is always
cheap (and therefore frivolous), I need to emphasize the
legitimate role of responsible talk in MLM. Responsible
talk in our industry accomplishes a number of things:

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We can create what we want, and this is evidenced by the
unprecidented number of people who are starting their own
businesses. How do these people do it? How are so many
people finding success today? They pracrtice the three R’s.

Any endeavor you would begin starts with a question: “What
do I want to come of this? What is my intent?” The first R
for success is RESULTS. What results do you want? When you
are starting a business or a project, clarify what you
want. If you are already leading a department or an
organization, clarify what you want.

Most people in the world do not know what they want. They
know what they don’t want, and so they spend most of their
time thinking about what they don’t want. People complain,
worry, and criticize. None of these actions create what you
want.

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A simple definition of success could be something about
achieving one’s goal or goals.

We often read or hear, “he achieved success” in such and
such a year or upon completion of a project.  Success seems
to be viewed by many people as an end in itself.  Once
reached, some sort of cup or wreath is given to the victor,
and they remain “successful” for all time.  The term is,
somewhat confusingly, applied in several types of
situations.  In baseball, a batter may be successful at a
single time at bat, yet not be successful for the entire
game or season.  A politician runs a successful campaign
when he or she is elected to the office which was sought.
That same politician may run an unsuccessful campaign and
yet be successful in bringing some important issue or
issues to the attention of the electorate.

So, it is easy to look at success as being, as mentioned,
the achievement of a specific goal, whether your own or
someone else’s.  After all, the ballplayer may be wanting a
hit to reach a new record, and his manager may want the hit
to make it to one more playoff so he can hold on to his
job, and the owner may want the hit in order to win the
game and create an atmosphere where he can sell more
tickets to future games.

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Yes!  And people are doing it everyday!

You are spending anywhere from 40-60 hours a week at work, and many people aren’t happy with their jobs.  That seems completely insane!  A lot of people bring that same emotion back home, and that doesn’t make anyone feel good.

So whay can you do to find more happiness and job satisfaction?  The majority of it, is your perception on life and work.  There are many great quotes on how “perception is reality”.  If you take a positve outlook on work, you are more likely to find good things.

If you want to read more about finding happiness at work, check out the website PositiveSharing.com

The author, Alexander Kjerulf, has daily motivation, tips, and insights on finding more happiness at work.