Most Business Solutions lie in People Motivation
Businesses grow with their growing problems. TL;DR: At the root of most of the Business problem are People, and we want to solve the problem instead of just fixing those. That’s why most of the Business solutions lie in People motivation as People are the ongoing part of any Business.
Author: Bharati Koot Software Craftsperson at Nelkinda Software Craft Pvt Ltd
First Published:2018–10–03 by and at Nelkinda Software Craft Pvt Ltd
1 Who are People in this blog?
They call employee or resource, I call them People because they are! Any Business, any industry is built upon People and grows with their People’s growth. If People from a Business are not growing (don’t assume age-wise, as they will anyway), it means the Business is at a risk. It means that the Business is having some known or unknown factors affecting the People and hence the Business. How should we address the Business situation or Business problem then?
2 Where is the Problem? Are People the Problem?
There is a famous quote which says,
No matter how it looks at first, it’s always a people problem.
— Gerald Weinberg
I agree with this statement. To illustrate this let’s take a simple example. There is a company delivering Software solutions to their Customer. The Customer is complaining about the quality of the Software. So, in this scenario, what is the problem? Is it Quality? Is it the Software? No, it’s the People! People who are writing the Software. People who are testing the Software. People who are accepting the Software after checking the acceptance criteria. When they did the brainstorming, they found that there were no quality control checks and mechanisms established, there is not enough technical competence within the team, the newbies don’t even know how much quality matters to the Customer, some People don’t communicate well enough about the requirements. Again, who should be doing that? People, Right?
After doing the analysis, they found many People from different hierarchy are the Problem. Actually, we should phrase it as they are not the Problem, but the cause of the Problem. There is a set of People working closely in any Business and they should be aware of their roles and responsibilities. And they should be very keen on while executing own responsibilities. Because, no matter what is the problem, it’s always a People problem.
It was a simple scenario, with a simple illustration, but scenarios could be complex and chaotic than we could think of. But if we dig down, we will find at the root of any problem in any Business, there is one constant cause element which is People!
3 Are People Solutions?
What is the solution to the Business problems then? Let’s look what one of our greatest physicists said about problem-solving.
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
— Albert Einstein
It is indeed a wise statement, the world agrees to. Now, we saw in the previous section that People are the cause of the problem, then I would say People are also the solution to the problem. Because, we, the People, are going to find the ways, the tools, the Software etc. to solve the problem. Point to remember here is that, the solution can be achieved by thinking differently than the thinking which created the problem. But, why People will think differently? What is the motivation for them to think differently? Is there a purpose for which they will think differently? And here we come to the point that brings the actual solution to the Business problems.
Yes, after having worked with different People, hearing different Business problems, addressing different Business problems, I have realized that most of the Business solutions lie in People motivation.
4 What Motivates People?
What must be the motivation for this person who makes the best tea at a hilltop of the Nainital, India? Must be the People! Agree?
If People motivation is the solution to Business problems, we should also learn what motivates People. Is it the money? Is it a promotion? Is it some kind of gifts? Is it throwing a team dinner or a team outing? Well, that is not enough. I agree they are a few of the elements that motivate People, but those stand for short-term or temporary motivation. After a time gap, People will indirectly demand or need such elements to stay motivated, and this cycle continues. In this way, we are actually fixing the problem (temporarily) but not solving the problem. When I was finding an answer behind what motivates People, I asked my friend, who is a Director of a company and who is almost always loaded with things to do but is always equally energetic. And, what he answered was the motivation for me behind writing this blog. Yes, true, honestly!
He said, “it’s the People who always motivate me, it’s the People who help me doing better and growing, it’s the People who inspire me, and it’s always the People I learn from”.
Yes, it’s the People in the Business, it’s the People in the leadership, it’s the People we are working with, it’s the People in and around our workplace, it’s the People we meet are the key motivation to the People within any Business. If they are motivated by each other, a Business can overcome any problem by its own People. Highly motivated People do their best within as well as outside of the Business. People are the ongoing part of any Business, hence the motivation by People is a long-term motivation that we can get through.
How can we motivate each other at our workplace? By doing a simple thing: Leading by Example. We don’t need to have a top designation to do that, but we will get one if we start doing that.
And, if readers are reading up to this point, I am sure they do not need any illustration of People are motivation for People because this blog is an outcome of such kind of motivation.
5 Daniel Pink: About Motivation in his Book — Drive
He said, “if you don’t pay people enough, they won’t be motivated. You should pay enough to take the issue of money off the table. The three factors that lead to better performance and personal satisfaction are Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.” Watch [RSAAnimateDrive] video based on his book.
True, these are indeed important factors. Where do we see them? Within People, right? Ultimately, if we are Leading by Example with an Autonomy, aiming or striving for Mastery, and with a Purpose and giving a Purpose to others, we are actually, truly motivating others.
Yes, we, the People are the motivation for the People!
6 Sum up
- Businesses do encounter problems, problems are part and parcel of any Business
- People are causes behind the problems
- People are also the solution to the problems
- Most important: People Motivation is the key solution to those problems
- People are the motivation for People through Leading by Example
- And, yes, remember the significance of Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose
Author: Bharati Koot #BBK
Originally published at nelkinda.com.
