After one of my “Counting Chickens” talks, I received a card with a cartoon on the front showing a chicken standing contemplating crossing a road. On the opposite side of the road was a sign, “Why do you need a Reason?”…
So why DID the chicken cross the road?
The answer: it doesn’t matter why. But it does matter that the chicken has a reason. After all, without the reason, even though his goal might be written in the clearest terms “To get to the other side of the road” he may teeter on the edge of the curb and decide not to bother today, returning home thinking, “Well I can always cross it tomorrow anyway. So what’s the rush?”
Many people set goals and targets at the start of a year, only to find that by the end of the first six months they are woefully behind or have even forgotten the goals they set!
But having goals is not about beating yourself up for not achieving them, and it is always interesting to note at that stage all of the things you have achieved. And in particular, in terms of understanding your own professional/ business performance, to look at the motivation you had to achieve those things, and in learning lessons for yourself, ask “why was that missing with the unattained targets?”
You will see that all of those things you have achieved were driven by a strong Reason (a motive)… A Motive–to-Action… Motivation. Whether that motive was to avoid something unpleasant (the bosses’ wrath, or a flash of the bank manager’s wit and repartie!) or to gain something pleasant (profit, promotion and pay rise, or better still something more profound!) it still provided a Reason to achieve the goal. The message: when setting any target, apply a reason. Ask yourself why. And make the reason tangible, specific.
So if you are not on track, always look to the reason for setting the goal in the first place. Strengthening the reason means your focus will be beyond the goal and on the motive for the goal. When the going gets tough, this motive will be what helps you go the extra mile to achieving your target.
OK, so the Chicken needs a reason to cross the road. And it must be the Chicken’s Reason. It always amazes me the number of times I see companies claiming to motivate their staff, and providing incentives for achieving their targets but failing to remember that the motive or reason must be the individual’s reason. It must be important to that person. If it’s a “carrot and stick” approach you are using, make sure it’s a donkey you are dealing with! If your people don’t particularly care for carrots, or don’t particularly fear sticks, such things will not provide motivation at all.
For smaller, short term targets, identifying and applying a reason is normally fairly easy to do. But for the longer term goals and business visions the reason must equally be kept in view, otherwise because of the distance to go to the target it may lose impact.
Motivation is not just about feeling better, or about fear and desire. It’s about feeling completely energised, loving every moment, and being able to give your all to whatever you do… whether at work, with friends, with your family, and for yourself.