"Why we work determines how well we work" -Vega Factor
A few years back I stumbled across Neel Doshi and Lindsay MacGregor’s “Primed to Perform”.
An NYT best-seller , it's an easy read and an even easier listen for the steadily growing number among us inclined to get-our-book-on while still in motion, Primed offers relevant and immediately applicable insights, industry anecdotes and real opportunities backed by science and hard data ( for all those ‘C’ personality types out there) to companies and leaders looking for a common sense approach to building truly world class cultures.
As unlikely as it would seem, it all starts by answering a simple request famously posed back in 1999 by arguably ( if there are two people somewhere who believe its worth arguing about) the greatest boy band of all-time, the Backstreet Boys, to prepubescent girls around the world ... ‘Tell me why’. ( you know you just sang it )
So, what is ‘why’? (you just did it again)
‘Why’ (pronounced 'wiiieeee' in homage to the BSB) is our motivation for doing what we do.
And why is ‘why’ important?
“'Why' determines how well we work.” – Vega Factor
I agree- this is by no means a newly identified , groundbreaking correlation.
Still, you have to admit, insight into human motivation and performance in the workplace coming from Nick, Howie, AJ and the other two ( three? .... doesn't matter.) BSBs is completely unexpected and worth consideration all by itself.
Beyond that, what caught and held my attention was the groundedness, simplicity and actionable logic of the Doshi/MacGregor 6 factor cause, and effect motivational model and predictive measurement tool called ‘Tomo’ (Total Motivation). Developed through years of research and work with more than 50 organizations (including Apple, Starbucks and Southwest) and +20,000 employees, Tomo is a tool developed to measure the strength of organizational culture and motivation based on 3 Direct Motivators (DM) and 3 Indirect Motivators (IM).
DM are the more powerful and positive motivators of the 6 factors. They are largely intrinsic , directly connected to the work , personal values and, to the degree they are/are not present in an organization’s culture, foster healthy, sustainable motivation and higher level performance.
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Play: You enjoy the work or activity. Humans can do really difficult things well when we enjoy them. Of the 6 Tomo factors, play generates the highest engagement and highest performance.
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Purpose: You feel your work has meaning and intrinsic value. We all want to believe that our time, effort, and contribution makes a difference.
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Potential: Ok, maybe your job isn’t fun or even important …BUT it is a means to a developmental end for you. Necessary to generate and/or prepare you for next level opportunities. Simply put, the work makes you better.
Next are 3 IM. Doshi and MacGregor categorize these as negative motivators. Influential and motivating, yes- but for all the wrong reasons . IM are primarily the result of outside forces and have little to nothing to do with the work itself.
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Emotional Pressure: You work to avoid disappointing yourself or others. We can all agree that feelings of peer pressure, guilt, shame, or disappointment are strong motivators, but they do far more to exacerbate stress, anxiety, and depression rates and drive Cymbalta sales worldwide than they do to improve performance, motivation, or job satisfaction.
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Economic Pressure: You work to gain reward or avoid punishment. These “carrot and stick” tactics (ex. hit X KPI to achieve Y monetary bonus or promotion)are among the most common to “incentivize” performance and often become the root cause of organizational dysfunction. Companies and leaders should be very careful what they wish for. They might just get it. (see Cobra Farm Effect)
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Inertia: You do today what you did yesterday and what you will do tomorrow because you did it two days ago. You’re on autopilot. Muscle memory alone gets you through the day. You can do the job with your eyes closed, one arm tied behind your back, drunk, high or sleep deprived (and you probably have) with no impact at all on performance. You don’t know why you do what you do anymore and even that doesn’t bother you. If you get to this point of abject apathy, even a year of acting lessons from 21 time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep couldn’t help you return a convincing performance in your role. Call it “quiet quitting” or point to the record high rates of employee disengagement (64%) in the US, inertia has reached epidemic proportions with a staggering cost of an estimated $450-$500B (that’s a’B’) annually.
If you do a little research on Doshi and MacGregor and their consulting firm Vega Factor you may be a touch underwhelmed. Although their book, Primed, made the NYT Best Sellers list, when it comes to mainstream popularity social media and industry buzz, they’re no Simon Sinek (another power of 'why' believer and author of "Start With Why"), Tasha Eurich, John Kotter, or Patrick Lencioni.
Don’t let that stop you from appreciating and leveraging the science and the sense of Tomo in your organization, department, project or workgroup.
First, we encourage you take the free 6 question Tomo survey yourself and start to get in touch with your own “why”.
If you’re leading a team and you’ve developed the level of trust and candor these types of revealing and very personal conversations require, ask each of them to take the survey then have the Tomo discussion with your team.
Ask about their “why”.
Tell them about your ‘why’.
If you’re not a leader yourself but find any of this interesting or potentially useful – take the survey and then set up some time with your manager to talk about your “why”.
If they’re not interested-you’ve got a problem (and more likely than not, low Tomo ). They’re not really a leader and were likely gifted their role due to high individual contribution in the department (remember the "carrot and the stick"?), tenure ( they hung around long enough to get their turn at bat), or organizational inertia ( the company simply didn't care enough to take the time and effort recruit the very best candidate for the role and instead took the path of least resistance, least investment and , seemingly, least risk).
Start thinking about ‘why’.
Start talking about ‘why’.
Start humming the Backstreet Boys multi-million selling single- "I Want it That Way." every chance you get.
Introduce as many people as you can to the power of ‘why’ and get them to think about and talk about ‘why’.
Make ‘why’ matter one ‘why’ at a time.
If organizations want employees to be engaged at work, they have a responsibility to make work engaging. Doing that starts with understanding the implications and largely untapped potential of Tomo and ‘wieee’.
If any of this makes the least bit of sense, be sure to check back in the upcoming weeks when I'll post my thoughts on how the lyrics to one-hit-wonder Sir Mix-A-Lot's 1992 OG of ass-shaking, pop/rap amalgamation , "Baby Got Back" ( ....contrary to popular belief the name of the song isn't "I Like Big Butts...") can unlock the potential of Deci and Ryan's Self-determination Theory in the workplace thereby improving collaboration 15-25% and increasing productivity by double digits in just 90 days.
