GALT Consulting LLC

This is a reprint from an old blog article from a couple of years ago.  It is still one of my favorites!  Enjoy!

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Got another good comment from "Church" (the blog reader, not the place) yesterday. She wrote:

This is interesting...
http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2009/06/encouraging_pos.html

What does this say about motivation? What are the motivating factors in these types of statements? Social belonging? It's more than just doing the "right" thing or the statements at the beginning would hold more weight.

The link takes us to a study that was posted in the Wall Street Journal recently. The study showed the results to various approaches used by hotels to get guests to reuse their towels during longer stays. Here are the results of various signs posted in the bathrooms...

1. "Help the hotel save energy" results in 16% towel reuse.
2. "Partner with us to help the environment" results in 31% towel reuse.
3. "Almost 75% of guests reuse towels" results in 44% towel reuse.
4. "75% of the guests who stayed in this room reuse towels" results in 49% towel reuse.

As "Church" says, what does this mean about motivation?

Actually, this gives some great insight into how people are motivated. From past articles, motivation is generated from 3 conditions or needs that are met; competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

"Help the hotel save energy" is too vague and doesn't build on any of the 3 needs. What can I do to help the hotel save energy? Why do I care? This statement doesn't invoke a feeling that I have control. It is almost an instruction robbing me of making a choice to help out.

"Partner with us to help the environment" is considerably better and is almost twice as effective. It helps to explain why I would care about reusing a towel and it builds on my sense of autonomy with the use of the word "partner". I have a role in this one. However, this does nothing to build relatedness. I am only one person and I probably won't have that big of an impact on the environment.

"Almost 75% of guests reuse towels" is even more effective. It builds on my sense of relatedness. If other people are doing this, it must be important. Since it doesn't give an instruction (although it is implied), I still have my sense of autonomy. It still makes you ask yourself "why", but the truth is that most people probably understand why it is important.

"75% of the guests who stayed in this room reuse towels" was the most effective statement, beating out the last statement by a hair. This is similar to the last statement except that it further builds on my sense of relatedness because it refers to people in the same situation I am currently in (staying in this room using a towel).

So, this study makes sense when we apply competence, autonomy, and relatedness as key motivators. A couple of comments on this. First of all, the last 2 statements are lies and therefore should not have been used (sure its a small lie to save a lot of money, but how much is integrity worth?). Second, if you wanted to improve on the above statements (ignoring my first point), you might say, "75% of guests who stayed in this room partnered together to help the environment by reusing towels". (Again, I wouldn't use it unless it was true, but this type of statement really hits all 3 needs).

Motivation is a tricky thing. We often mistake "importance" as a key factor. The truth is that our sense of being a part of something bigger (relatedness) is a much larger component to motivation.

This past week, I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Russell Brunson, internet marketing expert and founder of DotComSecrets.  I also had the opportunity to have lunch with him after the event.  It was an amazing day!  Over 150 entrepreneurs and business leaders attended the event and few left without some great new ideas and perspectives.

One of the key success points Russell talked about is the concept of Opportunity Cost.  The question is simple...  what is your time worth?  I run into this a lot with business owners.  Is it worth $10/hour?  $20?  $50?  $100?  $1000?

What I often see with business owners is that they actually assume their time is free.  Yes... I said FREE.  They think and act like their time is worth nothing.  Sure, on an intellectual level, they know that their time is precious, but in practice, they don't value their time at all.  Let me explain.

Small businesses have a lot to do and are often limited on the resources they have to execute.  This means that when something needs to be done that falls outside of the normal job responsibilities of someone, the owner jumps in a does it themselves.  One business owner I've encountered spent 10-15 hours pricing tree removal for their building.  Another spent stopped their primary job of business development in order to replace an employee who had quit (and this was not a temporary thing).  I have made the mistake myself spending 50 hours developing various logo's for my business.  Russell talked about spending his time doing graphic design early in his career.  We all do it...

...and it is a HUGE mistake.

I am aware that resources are always tight, but don't fool yourself into believing that your time is free. You may be one of the most important people within your company.  You might be the one that develops new products or brings new clients into the door.  What is the value of that vs saving a few bucks on tree removal? 

So what do you do?  You collaborate, outsource, delegate, partner...  you let someone else do the tasks they were born to do.  My bookkeeper loves doing books.  My graphic designer loves designing brochures.  These are employees... they are outsource partners who work efficiently and effectively with me.  They SAVE me money because while they are working on a $100 design, I am writing blogs, speaking to a group of business owners, or spending time with a client...  all things that earn me more than $100. 

Don't get caught up in this common mistake.  What is your time really worth?  Answer the question... then act like it!

I need to thank my good friend and communications expert Matthew P. Block for bringing this story to my attention...

A school in St. Paul, MN, Avalon School, has no administrators.  It has no principals.  No directors.  No marketers.  No district supervisors.  Instead, the school is run by the teachers.

Instead you have a People-Centric School.  I often talk about the merits of People-Centric Management and here is a school practicing the concept.  CHAOS?!?  No.  Does it work?  You bet.

Avalon outperforms other schools in the area in both test scores and graduation rates.  In fact, Claremont Graduate University has studied the school and found that some surprising results.  Here are some highlights...

- Teachers at the school earn less than their counterparts at other schools and are not part of a teacher's union.  This means lower pay and less job security.  However, teachers are deeply committed to the school.  In fact, teachers have voted against pay raises for themselves in lieu of other programs designed to help the students.  (Did you hear that managers out there... employees choosing LESS pay to help the organization...  it can happen!)  As one teacher said, "I really feel like I don't have the right to be unhappy here.  If something is not going well, you have the power to change it.". 

- How do you handle a discipline issue if there is no "Principal's Office" to send a kid to?  Avalon once again utilizes a radical People-Centric method of bringing cases to the students themselves.  The school practices peer mediation and even allows the students to set the rules for the school.  (Did you hear that managers?  Employees setting their own rules?!?)

This school is not a utopia according to the study, but this shows once again the power of ownership.  People are internally motivated when they are put into a climate of competence, autonomy, and relatedness.  Increasing pay, benefits, and job security are all external motivators that simply don't work well.  People may want these things, but it doesn't get us fired up.

Huh...  it's looks like this whole People-Centric thing may have some teeth to it...

Read more about Avalon School.