“Peak performers are not goal driven. Peak performers are values based and inspired by a noble purpose.”
– Susan Fowler, in her new book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work, And What Does
Purpose, as defined in the book, is “a deep and meaningful reason for doing something. Purpose is acting with a noble intention – when your actions are infused with social significance.”
Now whether we “buy” that incentive plans and goals are miserable failures at driving performance (I do, in fact, buy that — they’re but cogs in a much bigger wheel), a key for us to approach this topic with an open mind is to make sure we have a clear definition of what a “peak performer” is. Are they simply the top performer? Are they the most consistent? Are they the least annoying? Are they the spotlight seeking, life of the party, extrovert that the clients really seem to love?
How we measure performance will go a long way toward helping us implement Susan Fowler’s principles for getting motivation “right.”
It’s a really good book. I hope you’ll agree that it makes a difference.
(More to come, buy the book and come along!)
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