Why Money is not Enough

Are you in it for the money? In business, money may not be enough . . . Previously I wrote a post titled “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” which generated a lot of feedback.

In that post I said that I had attended a video lecture by Daniel Pink. One of the points in his lecture was that organizations are seeing the end of the profit motive. In other words, there is an almost spiritual shift occurring where people are no longer motivated by money. Instead, people want to be part of something bigger, and do what’s purposeful. I think this is part of a global transformation evidenced by the rise in the number of non-profit organizations, and also in the number of life coaches and spiritual healers.

Pink further elaborates about the three human drives (similar to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs), but for motivation:  1) The first drive is biological (hunger, thirst, etc.),  2) the second is a reward and punishment drive, and 3) the third is doing something we like to do, because it’s fun and interesting (I guess this could be called pleasure). The reward and punishment drive is simple to explain and to understand – if you want people to do certain things, you are more likely to get them to do it if you reward it (which explains all of the free gift offers if you sign up for someone’s mailing list – hey it works!).

The third drive is more complex. Humans do things because they contribute to the world, they are meaningful, and/or they make us part of something larger than ourselves as individuals. A few examples are charities, GIS technology = (see my previous post “For the Greater Good”), and “flash mobbing” – where people dance and move together in sync. People are doing this for a greater purpose. They want to connect, and be part of something larger.

So why are organizations seeing the end of the profit motive? Because money is not enough; success can’t be measured solely by money. Money in and of itself is not inherently motivating, especially in light of the third drive to do something larger than ourselves. Organizations are beginning to realize that enduring enterprises are driven by a purpose beyond money and success. They are beginning to ask themselves “How do we tap into that third human drive to perform at a higher level?” and the results, in terms of change, and a newfound corporate culture, are amazing. More to come.

Now I ask you:

What motivates you? (Money, power, desire to serve others, or something else?)

Which human drive do you most identify with?