Inspiration Conversation

I’m an unapologetic fan of using Abraham Maslow’s well known “Hierarchy of Needs” as a tool to explain and position why Recognition and Reward Systems are valuable.  Are there other theories and models that can apply as well?  Absolutely … but here’s why I’ll stick with Maslow:

In broad strokes, Maslow says that individuals deal with life by meeting needs in this order 

1. Physical (“Am I safe and do I have something to eat and a place to sleep?”)
2. Social (“Do I have friends I can talk to and spend time with?”)
3. Esteem (“Do other people notice when I do something good?”) and
4. Self Actualization (“Do I matter?”)

He states that the higher level needs cannot be met unless the lower level needs are met first.  A mental walk through history will provide example after example of how this looks in real life (for an expanded explanation of how this translates to the work place, read more about Employee Engagement).  Can someone regress “down the pyramid”?  Sure – when people go through difficult financial times, they become more concerned about physical needs, they have less time for social occasions and fewer thoughts regarding self esteem – they’re focused on meeting basic needs.

All this matters to people responsible for organizational “people issues” because it’s a good template to use to understand and implement recognition and reward strategies.  If you think about what individuals are trying to get done with their life, and then use the tools at hand in your work environment to advance their cause, the people in your company will stay longer and they will contribute more.    

A RRS is designed to contribute to organizational success by driving the behaviors and performances valued by the organization.  An RRS accomplishes this by appealing to the individual needs that employees have for an understanding of where they fit and how they are valued. 

Read the previous two sentences a few more times…

Now, consider the size of the organization you work for.  Imagine that your job was to determine the individual needs of each of the employees that work for your organization and to create a method:

• To determine if those needs were being met
• What the employee thought about how the needs were met
• When an employee’s thinking/needs changes or they have a bad day (or bad month)

How you will track that and adjust for their changing needs?

Do you really want that job?

Is it really possible to perform that job, particularly in an organization with more than a few dozen people in it?  I don’t think it’s an achievable goal and that’s why a RRS is valuable.

I believe that the highest and best use of an RRS is the communication of organizational culture and behaviors to the employees of the organization.  Of the other ways to communicate – internal communications, intranet, newsletters, the water cooler, etc – a systematic approach to recognition and reward is the best method to determine the degree to which employees hear the message and, more importantly, what they think about the message. 

On June 14th, indispensible people across the country are meeting for a completely non-commercial chance to talk, connect and inspire one another.

You really ought to look in to this.

These Meetups were started by Seth Godin, a freakishly prolific thinker who has played a major part in shaping the way I look at my work. When it comes to my relationship with business and productivity, Seth is indispensible. He's a linchpin.

Which is the focus of his latest book.

A linchpin, as Seth describes it, is somebody in an organization who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced-her role is just far too unique and valuable. And then he goes on to say, well, seriously folks, you need to be one of these people, you really do. To not be one is economic and career suicide.

- Hugh MacLeod

These Meetups give like-minded people a chance to find one another, so wherever you are, consider joining a Meetup or lead your own if there isn't one nearby.

If you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we'll be at the Grapevine meeting at Fireside Pies at 8pm and we'd love to see you there.

Related and Interesting:

• Seth's Blog
• ReWork
• ZapposInsights
• Making Ideas Happen
• TED: Ideas worth spreading

Much of our society has determined that well-being is largely a function of economic prosperity. At its roots, this is true - food on the table, a roof over our head and clothes on our back are essentials for survival and health, but how many of us really struggle with these necessities? As we move up the economic ladder toward the over-stated examples in the first paragraph, our perceived ability to enjoy our lives becomes more closely tied to the creation of wealth beyond the effort to supply basic needs. We're collectively trapped in this paradigm and I think it hurts our society and it hurts us personally.

My opinion is we've all been spoiled by the last couple of decades where a great deal of wealth (or the appearance of wealth?) was created and that has skewed our perception of reality. I'm going to stop the economic ranting there as my point is not to analyze the group angst over our pocketbooks. My point is to ask the question, is there such a thing as normal?

I'd argue the "No" side - "normal" is something we all kind of want because it implies safety - but change has always been part of the human experience and we happen to be in the center of an amazing amount of change. So what to do when you're pretty certain that tomorrow will hold a different set of challenges for you than you face today? Here's my take:

• Run to it. You can't avoid it - so sprint to it and figure it out before someone else does.

• Know who you are and what resources you'll need to find to address the opportunities you'll encounter.

• Be a whole person. Have relationships that are meaningful to you. Have a hobby you day dream about. Be excellent at your work. Figure out what you need to live a passionate life and aggressively pursue that life.

• Hang around good people that do cool stuff. Contribute so they would say you're a good person and you're doing cool stuff. 

• Forget about the way you did it yesterday. Think about the best way to do it today.

It was a great experience to be in DC speaking to people responsible for understanding issues and crafting legislation designed to strengthen our country.  The people I spoke with were interested and thoughtful.  They asked good questions and seemed genuinely interested in understanding my perspective.  Participating in the effort felt patriotic to me and it caused a renewed respect for our country and our system of government. 

Tom

Are you in a place in your life (family, career, hobbies, etc...) that was planned years ago?  I'd make a guess that the answer for most people reading this is the same as mine, "Nope..."  The majority of us work our way through life by making the best decisions we can with the information we have at the time.  Sure, we plan for the future and we dream about where we want to go - but inevitably, a rogue wave pops up and we are faced with a decision on which way to point the boat. 

So if we know the future will hold uncertainty, how do we best prepare?  I think there are some fundamental principles that apply to individuals as well as organizations.

1) Know your foundational beliefs

These things don't change.  They are the principles that are imbedded in your DNA and are permanent.  You will walk away from a job or a relationship if these are compromised.  An organization will stand on these foundations at the expense of financial gain.  In good times and bad, these beliefs guide you.

2) Healthy cash reserves buy time

Having access to cash makes all the difference in difficult times.  Trouble is at hand when aggressive financial decisions during boom cycles have not played out when the cycle turns down (see any daily newspaper).  Having cash when others don't creates opportunity and it creates breathing room.

3) Relationships with the people in your sphere of influence are key

By nature, humans are a selfish lot - we think first about our issues and our world.  When everyone is thinking this way, it's difficult to get things done due to the individual agendas all are focused on.  What would happen if we first worked to understand what others were thinking?  What if we worked to help people accomplish their goals within the context of our ability to help?  I'd suggest relationships would be strengthened and everyone within the influence of that relationship would have more opportunity to accomplish individual goals.

4) Maintain personal health and perspective

None of us are indispensable, yet we are valuable.  For a moment, place yourself at the end of your life and look back.  Do you like what you see?  Did you get done what you believe you were put here to do?  Did you take care of all your talent?  Did you live life fully?  The deal is, at some point, we're all going to be facing the reality of the answers to those questions.  Decide now to choose how you want your answers to look.           

So...know what you stand for, make sure you can fund difficult times, maintain healthy relationships and be a good steward of your health and your talents.  Whether these are applied on an individual basis or on an organizational basis, they will prepare you for the Accidental Journey we all travel.

Tom

"Mackey (CEO, Whole Foods Market) and Tindell (CEO, Container Store) both started out striving mainly to satisfy customers. What other choice is there for a new business? As their companies grew, the emphasis shifted to employees. Whole Foods and the Container Store pay better than most retailers, offer good benefits and entrust workers at all levels with sensitive financial data. The idea is that happy, empowered employees beget happy customers."

Full Article >>