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show me the money


This could definitely be one of those topics where you may be hearing voices. One voice, used when speaking with others, is telling folks that your career and the ability to make a difference is much more important than what you are being paid. While on the other hand your other voice, and I have noticed this voice gets louder and softer depending upon your age and circumstances, may be screaming get as much as you can for the work you're currently performing.  Isn't it really all about purpose?  How else can you explain schoolteachers, police and firemen, and the United States Military; all driven by the visceral desire to help and change people's lives. We certainly know, with the exception of a few in the aforementioned careers, they are not in it for the money (indeed, something seems very backwards here).  Evidence exists (@mercer) that shows if you are paying a worker within the normal range of income for their position then it is likely that being motivated by money is pretty far down the list of individual priorities.



So, if even for a moment you believe that purpose trumps all, then shouldn't this really be the area we focus to drive sincere worker motivation?  For many organizations this is where the perspective becomes quite murky.  Woven into many of my designs over the years has been the underlying belief that "everybody wants to do the right thing". If we can step back for a moment and address every daily interaction with this simple belief I'd imagine our interactions with one another might be different. Our efforts instead would be spent on communicating and sharing why our organizations can make a difference, why these individuals can make a difference, share essentially the essence of our being: our purpose. While this all sounds very soft the key to unlock these aspirations is founded in the simple process of objective measurement. Imagine having the ability, throughout an individual's work day, to provide immediate positive and negative feedback on how their actions align with the organizations goals. Implementing game theory (or gamification) within an organization can be powerful as long as some tangible output can be deployed as well.  The complexion of workforces is changing radically with no signs of slowing down or normalizing, are you prepared to help your workers align with purpose?



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Next post:  GPS in my trucks?

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