Leading Matters #22 (the first episode of season 2) features New York Times bestselling author Daniel Pink.  Pulling from research in his popular books DRIVE and TO SELL IS HUMAN, Dan discusses the essential motivators for today’s workforce, and how those motivators apply to selling in the ‘seller beware’ age.

I’m betting you’ve read a thing or two from Daniel Pink, or at the very least have come across his TED talk ‘The Puzzle of Motivation‘, but even if you have not you will love this 20 plus minutes with Mr. Pink.  He dives into what drives us today, and why those drivers are not generational but timeless.   Mastery, autonomy, and purpose have always driven us.  The difference, he explains, is that the nature of today’s’ economy requires that we motivate through mastery, autonomy, and purpose more than ever before.

HIGHLIGHTS

Skepticism of Generational Explanations 

Daniel Pink believes that generational differences are too often used to explain too many factors that impact how we work, sell, and motivate.  A better explanation for the differences in what motivates today might have more to do with the tasks that we are faced with, and the skills necessary to complete them.

Paying Well Matters

Dan’s Ted talk on the Puzzle of Motivation has been around for over 5 years, but one element of that talk that can get lost is the importance of compensation.  Because today’s tasks require the individual to think ‘out of the box’ (a nod to Dan’s use of the candle problem), we have to be very mindful of what our pay scales look like.  We have to be prepared to pay more than what we thought the job was once worth.

The Leadership Toggle

Purpose can trick us into looking only at the long view.  Dan shares that leadership is frequently about toggling between the short and long views.  Tending to both is difficult, but we must be masters of both to effectively execute against our strategy.

Seller Beware

Once upon a time the buyer had to beware.  The sales representative knew more than the buyer almost always.  Those roles have flipped, and now the seller must beware because it is possible the buyer will know as much if not more than the seller.  This changes the way sales must approach their art, and demands they become skilled at identifying the problems that buyer might not realize they have.