Maintaining motivation

One of the challenges in running a successful business is that of maintaining a high level of motivation. This applies to all functions in the business, especially the sales and marketing function.

What can we do when the level of motivation drops? How can we get the excitement and drive back?

Here’s an analogy that may help. Visualise setting a fire in an open fireplace. What do we do? We assemble the items we need; some large bits of wood such as firewood, some kindling, some newspaper and a box of matches. Then we probably crunch up the newspaper and put it in the fireplace, place kindling on top of that and put the firewood carefully on top of the kindling so as not to crush our carefully prepared pile. We then strike a match, light the newspaper and cross our fingers.

If all works out we soon have a fire crackling away. All we need to do now is to give the fire an occasional stir and keep topping up the firewood. That is until we let the fire go out; then we have to start again.

What has this got to do with maintaining motivation? In this analogy the firewood, the kindling and the newspaper represent our various goals. Some goals are short-term others are longer-term. Some goals relate to business (or work); others relate to our personal life. Some goals are simple and easy to achieve; others are more substantial and more difficult to achieve.

Our goals are meant to ‘fire us up’ and keep us motivated. At least that’s the theory. We know, however, that the newspaper is not going to light itself and thereby get the fire going – we need some matches!

The matches in the analogy represent inspiration. Inspiration is not motivation. It can be said that all effective motivation is self-motivation and comes from our drive to achieve our individual goals. (It can also be said that we can be responsible for the motivation level of only one person – ourselves.)

Most often inspiration is a gift that comes from outside us. It may come from a book or a newspaper or magazine article; it may come from a TV program or a movie. It may come from a chance conversation with a stranger or a discussion with a work colleague, close friend or family member. In other words it may come from any encounter with the world outside us.

Unfortunately, looking for inspiration can be like chasing the ‘butterfly of happiness’. The more we chase it the more it eludes us. If we stop chasing it the butterfly may come and sit on our shoulder – and so it is with inspiration. If we keep an open mind about what we watch, read and the people we interact with inspiration will often come to us. When we recognise that something has inspired us we are wise to ‘capture’ it for re-use in the future. By doing this we can build up a personal collection of inspirational material (our own special box of matches!).

How can this help you get better sales and marketing results in your business?

Here are some suggestions –

Firstly, understand that, because we are human, it’s possible for our fire to go out. The important thing is to recognise it when it happens and to do something about re-lighting it. This applies to any staff we may have as much as it applies to ourselves.

Secondly, recognise how important it is for people to have clear goals. This is because our goals will provide the fuel for the long haul in life; this also is as important for our staff as it is to us. Each individual should be encouraged to identify and set their own goals; their goals should cover both the personal and the business (or work) aspects of life. If a person’s fire goes out one of the first things to be done is for them to review their goals and ensure that they are still important and appropriate.

Thirdly, appreciate the importance of inspiration. Be open to inspirational experiences - seek out inspirational people. Also, let’s face it, some people are positively dis-inspirational and should be avoided at all costs! When something inspires us we should recognise it and accept the gift. We should then, if possible, put it in our special box of matches just in case we need it in the future.

Fairly simple really.


(The up-coming post for Friday 12/12 is Get your target right. It's a reminder about the importance of setting your marketing sights carefully.)