Motivation in simple terms is the feel-good factor that encourages one to continue the effort and sustain it.
Is it really necessary that money is the motivator? Is it that money drives the machine called man? Let’s explore…
A lot of activities, games, workbooks, and outbound activities are planned to motivate a person. Perceptions and judgments are altered, the mind is basically opened up to accept thoughts and thereby motivate a person to love what he/she is expected to do.
The presumption is that a sales executive will be motivated to exceed targets, the operations in charge will boost production capacity and quality standards, the human resource manager shall adapt best employer practices, and the finance manager will boost profitability & maintain cost-benefit standards. With all the functions in place, the strategist, consultant, and top management would be motivated to reward them handsomely. The job seekers will be motivated to join this robust organization and customers, suppliers shall be motivated to associate with this organization as well!
What a perfect picture!!
Well,
- A pioneer welcomes monetary losses of gestation and chooses not to give up
- A student puts numerous hours into achieving merits and certificates which doesn’t guarantee a hefty salary package
- An artist doesn’t care about anything but the perfection of his visual on the canvas
- A doctor cares to save and nurture a life during a critical surgery
- A woman strongly supports the breadwinner during any financial crisis in the family leaving aside her dreams.
Countless examples exist where the person is so motivated that money becomes secondary. The PASSION-PAIN-PERSEVERANCE is enough to motivate the individual with no heed to the PENNY factor involved.
So where does MONEY get an entry point in this architecture??
In the above cases, the PASSION-PAIN-PERSEVERANCE is enough to bind the INTERPERSONAL and INTRAPERSONAL forces. These forces are a result of the ‘WHY’ and ‘HOW’ clarity & consciousness that overshadows the WIIFM (What’s in it for me) obstacles. However, these are temporary phases that can’t lead to permanent motivation.
Benjamin Franklin quotes “Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.”
If we don’t wish to reach this extreme situation full of stress, the analogy of a SANDWICH would help. Two pieces of bread are incomplete without a tangy filling, and vice-versa! Let us understand the INTERDEPENDENCE of three variables viz. Interpersonal drives, Money, and Intrapersonal drives. Continuing the above cases,
- The pioneer masters the art of GETTING THINGS DONE (GTD) is successful when the people working for you are paid well, feel good and show a sense of pride while working for your brand.
- A student puts in efforts to get through an institution that has excellent placement and package records to learn, earn and build a societal status.
- If an artist earns well, it opens the doors to exploring & mastering the art, investing in better props, and gaining a value proposition amongst art lovers.
- A doctor can equip better ways and means for treatment, earn better, and invest bigger to facilitate community service.
- The woman is of much bigger financial help during a crisis, even taking the family out of the adversity and regaining the standard of living.
Without two pieces of bread of interpersonal and intrapersonal PURPOSE, the filling of money gains no importance. Similarly, the two pieces of bread can add no TASTE if the ‘MONEY MASALA’ is absent.
Many businesses try to apply cheese & butter to these breads but the SPICE ROUTE is still absent to SUSTAIN the motivation. Adjust the cheese-chilly chutneys to add fragrance to the bread, Don’t forget the Masala!!
Happy cooking !! 😉