Education Care

Super Motivation.

Super Motivation is self sustaining, organization-wide, high motivation. There are 2 major components of human performance: ability & motivation. They are related as follows:

      Performance = Ability x Motivation

Ability means nothing unless it is used. When multiplied by motivation, ability comes alive!

All people without any exception have virtually unlimited motivational potential. This innate self-potential has simply been temporarily suppressed because most employees are working in environments that inhibit its suppression. 

In a Super Motivating environment, even those with formerly low levels of motivation will be able to excel, while those with higher levels of motivation will be able to realize their full potential. Although high motivation is not difficult to attain, it tends to be much more difficult to sustain. Motivation can be sustained only if it is built into the organization itself. This way, motivation will no longer be subject to the whims of people or the initiation of new programs that come & go.

The Super Motivation approach involves two parallel processes. The first is reducing de motivators; the second is adding motivators. The combination of these two processes will create dramatic improvements in the motivational climate of any organization willing to accept the challenge. De motivators include all of those nagging daily occurrences that frustrate employees & drain so much of their motivational energy. Motivators on the other hand does not include people, they are environmental conditions. 

Self-Motivation is the most powerful motivational force there is. It releases the latent motivational energy residing in all of us, & has the potential to energize extraordinary human performance. 

Highly motivated people possess their own internal incentives to act. They don’t wait for external forces to motivation them. Highly motivated people are invariably driven by strong internal desires.

According to Shad Helmstetter, “To motivate someone, anyone, to do anything, you must influence his emotions.” 

When positive thoughts arose positive / energizing emotions, large quantities of motivational energy are typically released. This in turn, energizes productive &, most importantly, creative behavior. Creative behavior manifests itself when employees go beyond the “normal” requirements of the job & take initiative to solve a problem, improve a work procedure, or give a customer extraordinary service. This is the kind of behavior that characterizes the highly motivated employees.

The motivating cycle goes something like this. Positive thoughts result in positive / energizing emotions which results in high energy. Once you consistently possess high energy in your place of work irrespective of the external conditions it culminates into productive / creative behavior. While enhancing productive behavior, the de-motivators which drain the talent & energy of the individual must be attacked. Thus, slowly & steadily you are winning the war on de-motivators.

The motivators have the awesome power to positively transform the context of work. They motivate because they increase desire. Motivators make people want to work, want to get involved, want to learn, want to achieve, want to gain recognition & so on. It is an active state. People who are motivated want to participate in life, not just be idle observers. 

For super motivation to work or create wonders one needs to go ahead with a super motivating planning. As work becomes more complex & competition grows keener, organization must become increasingly skillful at planning. It is becoming more & more apparent that “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”

If planning is so essential, them why do so many smart people & organizations fail to plan? And why does the prospect of planning generate so little enthusiasm?

The reason is two fold: Most of use doesn’t know how to plan, & we are not motivated to do so. 

Formal planning requires time, discipline, procedures, paper work & commitment. It also requires people to adopt new behaviors that often lie outside their comfort zones. Given the widespread low motivation to plan, it should not be surprising that most of us find it much easier to take immediate action & worry about the consequences at a later date. Thus, to go ahead with super motivation you not only need to know how to overcome resistance to planning but also know how to achieve high involvement planning.

Once the planning process in place, the next is the revitalizing the production system which is a motivational challenge facing any organization. Production is what most employees are paid for, & what employees spend most of their time doing. Everybody, in every organization, is in involved in some form of production work. It is the value-adding process through which something of less value is converted into something with more value.

After the high productive systems are put in place the next step is to transform the communication system openly & powerfully. Approximately 80% of our waking hours are spent in some form of communication. Communication involves not only effective communication amongst members but also a superlative writing & listening skills. When the communication is good, relationships tend to be positive; when it is poor, relationships also tend to be poor. When people are communicating effectively, nothing is impossible.

Once the communication aspects are taken care of, the next aspect is investment in training their employees. Training systems in large organizations generally offer a wide range of developmental activities, including new employee orientation, job-skills training, continuing professional education, supervisory & management development, interpersonal skills training, conceptual skills training & even the basic skills training. Regardless, of the methods used, the training system in any organization is aimed at enhancing the collective competence of the workforce.

After the training, the next step is the evaluation. However, it is not evaluation itself that is the problem; the problem is how evaluation is used at work. In other contexts, such as in sports & games, evaluation is highly motivating. In fact, evaluation in sports is so motivating that enthusiasts spend endless hours studying evaluation statistics, even memorizing them. So why can’t evaluation be motivating at work? The answer is: It can.

Once the evaluation system in any organization gets successfully drawn the next step is the reward. Many organizations are increasingly discovering that not only are traditional rewards becoming extremely limited in their ability to motivate today’s workforce, but they are also extremely costly. Just as with other organizational systems, motivationally transforming the reward system requires looking at it with a fresh, new perspective. The most important question to ask in evaluating the reward system in your organization is, “Do the rewards elicit the kind of performance management desires?” 

Rewards of low cost, creative rewards to tell employees how much they are appreciated, such as following.

If one starts using a small proportion of these concepts & principles as enunciated above, one should be able to increase the effectiveness of the organization scientifically & significantly. So make the Super Motivation happen by following some of these guidelines & principles. 

Super Motivation definitely shall increase productivity & profit; it won’t add a penny to your costs. There is no doubt in our mind: World-class organizations need world-class motivation-& the most successful organizations in the future will be SUPER MOTIVATED.

Super Motivation Approach = Putting Super Motivation into Action which is comprising of

(The said article has been written by Iyer Subramanian. Presently attached to Bombay Chamber of Commerce, Ballard Pier, Mumbai). 

Let me tell you a quick story. When I started my business in 1993, I faced all the challenges experienced by most new business start-ups. I also had to deal with the all the negative situations; the people who said – “The Speaking and Training business is a hard market to break into, it’s very competitive, you’re very brave! There was also the rejection from potential customers and the people who’d let me down at the last minute.

I quickly realised that if I was going to be successful, there were two things that I really needed. Lots of BRAIN ENERGY and lots of BODY ENERGY.

Sure-fire tip number 1 is – Build your Brain Energy. Imagine that you’ve just been rejected for a bank loan, or you’ve just been turned down by a potential customer, or a publishing company has rejected the book that you’ve slaved over for the past couple of years.If you react with – “Oh no, not again, I’m really fed up with this. These people are a real pain. They’re making a big mistake. What am I going to do now?”This sort of reaction drains your brain of energy, adds to your stress levels and destroys your self motivation.

Reacting drains the brain – thinking less so.

Get the thinking part of your brain working and say to yourself – “I’ll make an appointment today with a better bank! I’ll phone the next potential customer on my list right now! The next publishing company will see the potential in my book!”There are also many minor situations that happen every day that’ll drain the energy from your brain. If I receive a parking ticket, I pay the fine right away; get rid of it; forget it and move on. Moaning and complaining about it drains the brain and the fine still has to be paid.

Do not, and I repeat, do not say – “Oh no, what am I going to do now?” Every time you say – “Oh no” your brain has a huge drain of energy.Build up your brain energy using lots positive self-talk.Your level of success in terms of your happiness, emotional wellbeing and anything else you desire is a direct result of how you talk to yourself. The most important relationship you’ll ever have is the one you have with yourself.Listen to the self-talk that goes on in your head and ask yourself – “Is what I’m saying allowing me to be confident, on top and going for it?” If so – great! “Or is it holding me back and stopping me achieve my goals?” If this is the case – STOP IT, change the program!Think about the things you say to yourself and make every statement in the present tense.

Don’t say, for example – “I’m going to make a success of this business” or “I’m going to get organised,” or “I’m going to be much more confident.” Say – “I am totally in control of my life. I am totally confident and positive. I’m achieving my goals. I have determination and drive.” What you’re actually doing here is re-programming your subconscious. If you talk to yourself in a positive way, that’s what your subconscious will focus on and you’ll have lots of brain energy

Sure-fire tip number 2 is – Build your Body Energy The body and the brain are linked together so when the brain drains of energy so does the body. However, the body also does a lot of running about, up and down off the seat and often takes a bit of a beating. For it to work well, it needs to be in good condition in the first place. We all know by now that if we eat too much or eat the wrong things, smoke too much or drink too much alcohol, then our body is in danger of breaking down.However, if you want more body energy, then you’re going to have to do some exercise. (Do I hear you saying – “I need the body energy before I can do the exercise!?”) You know as well as I, that if you take more exercise, you will have more energy.

Now I know you think you don’t have the time. You may also be the type that doesn’t want to go to the gym and lift heavy things or leap about in an aerobics class; however, you need to take some exercise that makes you sweat a little. I’m sorry, but a round of golf doesn’t count, it isn’t the kind of exercise you need. Golf is great and it’s good for the stress but it doesn’t make you sweat.

If you’re going to walk then walk fast for a distance, enough to push up the heart rate and increase the breathing. Again, get your internal program right and start to think how you can make your exercise enjoyable. I see some people at the health club making the whole business a real chore. They get on a bike or a rowing machine and try to kill themselves for twenty minutes. If that’s your thing then fine but please don’t make it a chore, plug into the sound system and catch up with what’s on TV.

If you’re really not into exercise then please make sure you have other activities outside of your workplace and make them fun. Too many people are going home and slumping in front of the TV – successful people don’t do that.

Make no mistake about it; if you look after the body and the brain; you’ll have lots of VROOM! (And that’s another word for self-motivation)

I have a confession to make; I, on occasion, have felt a little de-motivated. Yes, me, the ‘Motivation Doctor,’ feels a bit lacking in motivation from time to time, just like everybody else.

I’ve talked in the past about how to develop your Brain and Body Energy to build self-motivation; so here’s another suggestion – Spend time with positive people.

Last Saturday I had lunch (well beer and chips) with five of my really good friends. They’re always interested in what I’m doing, really supportive and they really make me laugh! When I leave them, I feel much better and more motivated than I did before we met.I like to think that I do the same for them, and that’s the secret to receiving support and motivation from others; you need to hand out some ‘Warm Glows’

So let me ask you; do you remember how you felt after your last interaction with another person either on the phone or face to face? That person – it could have been one of your customers, a colleague, a salesperson, a friend or even a member of your family. Did they make you feel good, uplifted and more positive? Did they leave you feeling neutral or, even worse, did they make you feel down and more negative?

Unfortunately, most of us have grown up in a negative culture where it’s much easier to tell people what they did wrong rather than praise them when they succeed. Research in the United States found that 65% of employees received no recognition for good work in the past year.  Similar research in other countries of the world shows comparable results. Other research has shown that the number one reason people leave their job, and customers take their business elsewhere, is that they don’t feel appreciated. (And if you think about it – many people leave their partners for the very same reason) If customer’s leave an interaction with you or one of your team feeling better than they did before, then they’re much more likely to come back, recommend you to other people and spend more money with you.If one of your team feels better after an interaction with you then they’re much more likely to pass that feeling onto a customer.

“The way you treat your staff is the way they’ll treat your customers” – Karl Albrecht

If a friend feels better and more motivated after spending time in your company, then they’re much more likely to return these feelings to you.

So, go ahead; give some positive and motivational comments to the other people in your life and you’ll have – a workplace that’s more productive and more fun – more happy customers – more friends – better relationships and a healthier, happier and longer life.

Remember – “Hand out warm glows, not dampeners.”

1. Why Choosing a Professional Motivational Speaker is so NecessaryFind a professional, motivational speaker with a proven ability to motivate and you can be assured your meeting will have the success all of your hard work will rightly deserve. A professional motivational speaker can turn ‘average’ event evaluation scores into superlatives such as, ‘brilliant, fantastic and superb’.Correctly motivate your delegates and you will receive credit for helping to instil in them an internal energy that determines all aspects of their future behaviour. This is why hiring a professional, motivational speaker is so important.2. Watch out for the ‘Pretend’ Motivational SpeakerIt is essential you understand that any Tom, Dick or Harry can legally call himself or herself a motivational speaker. So simply finding someone listed as such on a website, or in a business directory, is no guarantee as to his or her ability to motivate an audience. Would-be motivational speakers are inventing themselves on a daily basis. They see the perceived success, and other associated privileges that a top international, professional, motivational speaker appears to have, and think along the lines ‘I could do that – easy money, travel to exotic places, fast cars, top hotels etc’. Ask a top motivational speaker if that is fair reflection of their lifestyle and he or she is likely to reply ‘If only’. So what do you need to look out for in your search for a motivational speaker?3. Sourcing a Top Motivational SpeakerType motivational speaker into a search engine and you can expect many million hits. This, of course, only partially helps you in your quest for the perfect motivational speaker for your event! How many days have you set aside for this task? If you are thinking in hours, rather than weeks, then you are advised to read on: Choosing a short list of potential motivational speaker candidates from the first two or three pages of a search engine listing seems, and is to some extent, a logical way to proceed. However, there are further issues that are worthy of your consideration:4. Do I Directly Contact a Motivational Speaker or go via an Agent or Bureau?Motivational speaker agents and bureaus represent the majority of the best, professional motivational speakers.Agents are only interested in someone who is already established as a top motivational speaker. They proactively promote the motivational speaker, putting a speaker’s name forward to conference organisers and the like. They charge a fee to the motivational speaker for this service, usually based on a percentage of the motivational speaker’s fee for the occasion. For effective ‘numbers’ management reasons, the choice of motivational speaker found through an agent, can be limiting. Bureaus tend to be dedicated to providing conference organisers, corporations, associations, and educational institutions with a large selection of professional motivational speakers from which to choose. Too much choice can be their biggest disadvantage.A so-called Motivational Speaker, good or bad, experienced or amateur, will also often represent their own interests, and so it may be useful if I now provide a few tips on how to identify an established, professional motivational speaker of quality from a large pool of the Johnny-come-lately brigade.5. With a Quality Motivational Speaker Talent Will Shine ThroughTop position for a motivational speaker on search engines usually fluctuates from one day to the next, so compose a short-list from the first two or three pages, and you are ready to begin. It is worth of bearing in mind that sponsored links for a motivational speaker are there because someone is prepared to pay, sometimes-large amounts, to jump to the front of the queue of motivational speakers. Whereas this is an admirable indication that they are prepared to invest in advertising, it does not necessarily follow that you will receive the best value for your money. Here is an easy way to narrow down your short list:6. Establish the Experience of the Motivational SpeakerRetype that which you originally searched for, into the search engine, and add one of the names you have recorded in your short list e.g. Motivational Speaker + His or Her Name. Now you can better determine whether that particular motivational speaker has the expertise you require. You will also have an indication as whether or not an agent or bureau represents them as a motivational speaker.7. Carefully Research the Motivational Speaker TestimonialsAny motivational speaker, worthy of consideration, will have a selection of testimonials from previous clients available for you to view on his or her website. Ensure companies and individuals are named. Descriptions such as ‘A senior manager at a large well-known company said….’, are of little to no value, and should start alarm bells ringing. Look for named sources from quality companies. Such individuals are usually very selective about which motivational speaker they are prepared to recommend as their own reputation could be on the line.8. Can the Motivational Speaker Motivate?It may sound obvious, but the most important trait required by a motivational speaker is an ability to motivate. Tragically, some meetings organisers have previously discovered, to their considerable cost, that it does not necessarily follow that a professional motivational speaker can motivate. Nor can it be assumed that someone described as a ‘celebrity motivational speaker’ can be expected to somehow inspire your audience by simply turning up on the day. Talks provided by a top motivational speaker are carefully structured and based upon a science that is studied by few and practised by even fewer. Ensure your choice of motivational speaker has proven credentials, and don’t assume that members of a related, professional body, are somehow qualified and suitable. Minimal experience as a motivational speaker and the price of a membership fee are all that is required, in qualification, to becoming a member of some such organisations. Being published on motivational techniques, through a reputable source, is a good indication of the expertise needed to work as a top motivational speaker. Use the method described in Tip 6 above to obtain a quick and easy result.Ideally, watch videos of the motivational speaker performing, and listen to the audience reaction to determine whether he or she has a rapport with the audience. Rapport and humour are essential ingredients in the motivational speaker cake. If, when watching video clips provided by the ‘motivational’ speaker, you are not laughing, then your audience are not likely to laugh either! Laughter is an essential part of motivation.9. Cost Issues Regarding a Motivational SpeakerIdeally you should have some idea of a ‘speaker fee’ budget before commencing your search for a motivational speaker. The costs in hiring a motivational speaker can vary dramatically and are dependent on the location of venue, numbers of delegates attending, the duration of the required motivational speech and the quality and popularity of the motivational speaker. My advice is this – if your meeting is worth holding it is worth investing in an experienced and proven, motivational speaker. Paying the little bit more often produces an immensely worthwhile investment.Whether you deal with the motivational speaker direct, or through an agent or bureau, should purely be a matter of choice. In theory the fees of the motivational speaker, quoted from an agent, bureau or motivational speaker, should be the same. If you are interested in a celebrity motivational speaker you are unlikely to find direct contact details for that person, and your only line of enquiry will need to be through an agent or bureau specialising in celebrity motivational speakers.Agents that actively promote a motivational speaker have a good idea of the fee normally required to secure a motivational speaker’s services and will share that figure with you when you make your initial enquiry. It is wise to obtain an all-in-fee from an agent.A bureau’s commission is normally obtained from the motivational speaker. This commission can vary but normally falls between 15% and 30% of the fee for the appearance of the motivational speaker. If they do not have a particular motivational speaker on their books they are usually happy to trace them and make any arrangements on your behalf.Few professional motivational speakers work with only one agent or bureau. If there is no mention of exclusivity on promotional material you can assume there is not. This, in effect means, that if you come across a motivational speaker of your choice, and he or she supplies contact details, this is an implied permission for you to contact him or her direct and independently negotiate a motivational speaker fee. Your aim should be to obtain value for money.10. Information Normally Required by a Motivational Speaker.If you are contacting a motivational speaker direct, and you have researched him or her as advised, you will be confident in knowing you are speaking with the right person for the job.Should you decide on taking the agent or bureau route, the first thing you need to make perfectly clear, for the reasons described in Tip 8 above, is that you are seeking a motivational speaker. Next supply the date of the event. A top motivational speaker is usually very popular and you can save yourself a lot of time, and disappointment, by establishing their availability early in the proceedings. It is perfectly acceptable to ask if you can provisionally hold a particular motivational speaker for a few days until a final decision is made.Good meetings organisers will usually provide a description of the objectives and purpose of a conference, venue, size and type of audience and the duration of the talk required by the motivational speaker. You also need to clearly state what you expect from the motivational speaker. By way of example you might say ‘at the end of your motivational talk I want the delegates to be laughing and enjoying the meeting. They need to have been entertained, educated, motivated and inspired to eventually return to their place of work and put into action some of the great tips we will be providing at other times during the conference’.The best motivational speakers provide tried and tested presentations that are skilfully adapted to fit in with the theme of your meeting and will usually meet your requirements fully. For your own peace-of-mind obtain a written agreement of the terms agreed and, where possible, a guarantee of total satisfaction from the motivational speaker. To Summarise – What’s Needed to Source a Top Motivational Speakera) Use a search engine to source a motivational speaker.b) Produce a short-list of potential motivational speakers.c) Establish the credibility of the motivational speaker by including their name and area of expertise in a further search of the web.d) Where possible watch videos of the motivational speaker in action to determine whether they establish a rapport with the audience and their overall style of delivery is as required. Laughing is an essential part of successful motivation.e) Check the motivational speaker for quality by researching named testimonials provided by his or her previous clients.f) Contact the motivational speaker, agent or bureau and establish availability, cost etc.g) Supply the necessary information needed by the motivational speaker.h) Obtain some form of contract with the motivational speaker that includes a guarantee of satisfaction were possible.So there you have it: my tips on sourcing a motivational speaker. I wish you every success in your search for a motivational speaker and the meeting you plan to hold.

How many times have you phoned someone to be told, “They’re in a meeting!?”At least 60 per cent of a manager’s time is spent in meetings. Research in one large organisation discovered that the figure could be as high as 90 per cent. And another survey found that many managers consider meetings they attend, to be a waste of time. In fact, some managers say that – “meetings take ‘minutes’ and last for hours.”If you are a manager or team leader, then you will have to hold meetings; here are 4 steps to make them exceptionally Motivational:

1. Don’t hold a meeting unless you really have to. Be really, really sure that the meeting is needed and that it has a clear objective. By the end of the meeting, however long it takes, the shorter the better; you have to be sure that you’ve achieved that objective.

2. Start the meeting on time. Don’t wait for anyone and don’t go over what’s been discussed for latecomers. Of course, you really shouldn’t have latecomers and if you do, speak to them individually after the meeting and sort it out.

3. Have a structured agenda showing start time, breaks and finish time. Don’t schedule meetings to start on the hour; say 1.20 rather than 1 0’clock. And if it’s a half day meeting, start in the afternoon rather than the morning; people will keep moving if they think they will be late leaving work. Ruthlessly stick to that agenda; don’t allow people to ramble or talk about things not on the agenda. If you want to have chit-chat time – put it on the agenda! Keep people moving and even get them out the door before the finish time on the agenda.

4. Make meetings fun. Supply snacks, drinks, fruit and chocolate. Start the meeting with a fun energiser game or quiz. Let one of the team chair the meeting occasionally (as long as they control the agenda). Allow people to have a laugh; create energy and enthusiasm.

So there you have it; Motivational Managers run structured meetings with clear objectives where people have fun and resultantly contribute and get things done.