What you want today is not necessarily going to be the same thing that you want tomorrow. What you would ‘die for’ as a teenager, is going to be quite different to what you would literally die for when you have children.  The opportunities you would move heaven and earth to seize right now might be ones you would walk away from in another phase of your life.  So how do you know which ones to seize? 

If something keeps you awake at night, and bugs you every time you think about it, then consider all the possibilities that it might offer you if you were to fully explore it.    The way you think about something and the positive attitude you bring to an opportunity will be quite transforming.  Glass half full is always better than glass half empty, and sometimes it takes practice to really look clearly at what golden opportunities are inside an offer.   So start practicing that.    You’ll be surprised at the way you view things when you start regularly thinking in terms of: why not?, how can I?, what if? 

When you've  got to the point of being able to say  I am ready to do something about this opportunity, then create a plan and see if this is aligned to what you believe is your purpose.  If it is, and you feel strongly about it, then move forward.  

Why Innovation Bonuses Won’t Work!  

Studies have shown that the three things leading us to find significantly better job satisfaction and improved personal performance are Autonomy, Mastery and having Purpose.    Let’s face it, managers are missing the point if they think that just offering a bonus is going to get more creativity and better results out of their employees – when psychologists, economists and sociologists have already worked out that money is only a motivator when the tasks are basic and require relatively less creative input.    In fact – if you pay someone for doing more, there’s a point where you can either pay them too much or not enough, and it will affect the outcomes. 

If you took money off the table as an incentive (beyond taking the stress factor out of not having enough in the first place) but offered more scope for employees to be self directing, able to step up on their own terms to being able to operate at a satisfactory level of excellence, and ensured they had a great reason for doing something then people will focus on the outcomes in an entirely different way. 

Atlassian, an Australian software development company gives their staff one day every quarter to work on anything at all they wish to – no restrictions, but they have to share their results and findings.   On this one day, they solve more problems, get more creative and innovative ideas flowing and staff are more highly motivated than at any other time each year.  

So – if you were going to create a company with the best ideas, happiest workers, and a reputation for both these things, would you do it based on how much you pay them and the size of the Christmas bonuses, or on giving people the space and place to play and develop in interesting fresh ways that is ‘out of the box’ thinking at its best.

Profit and Purpose – The Link!

Essentially we like to get good as stuff we do – just because most of us are wired that way.  If we have a talent or skill, and we get enjoyment (not necessarily money) from doing it well, we will work on getting good or even great for personal satisfaction that is not always commensurate with our actual return or rewards for doing so.  

We also like to contribute – well most of us do.  The exception confirms the rule in this case I’m sure.  I like to believe and many others do too, that if we are able to we’ll give and give for the satisfaction it gives us to do so, not because there is necessarily the guarantee of reward, recognition or even maybe awareness of our having done so.   Because it just feels good to help others when and if we can. 

Many companies are starting to realize that profit and recognition are not the be-all and end-all in terms of profitability and creating good companies.  Instead there is a movement in the world towards ensuring that purpose is placed higher on the list of importance than profit.  Perhaps the world is finally coming of age in the realization that a disconnection between profit and purpose leads to such things as less than ideal customer service, low quality products, and decreased job satisfaction. Maybe we as a society are getting better at understanding the value of having a powerful purpose in our organizations and seeing our customers voting with their wallets and supporting those who stand of for something good, vs turning away from companies who do bad things. Take a look at BP’s share price following the Gulf oil spill? 

If you get up to work every day and go to work feeling like just a number, you’ll struggle to maintain your enthusiasm for long.  This will affect every part of your working day and then spill over to your personal life if you don’t have something driving you and moving you forward.  Managers need to ensure that staff are engaged, motivated and really feeling a sense of purpose in their work.  Simply managing by ticking the boxes is not enough anymore.

Here is a great animated explanation by Dan Pink about the powerful reasons we need purpose in our work and our lives.