Dependency on external motivation by Seth Godin

One of the characteristics of the industrial age was the reliance on external motivation.

Go to work on time or the boss will be angry.

Work extra hard and the boss will give you a promotion.

If you get paid to work piecework, then your paycheck goes up when you work harder.

This mindset is captured by the Vince Lombardi/pro sports/college sports model of the coach as king. Of course we'll have our non-profit universitiess pay a football coach a million or more a year, of course we need these icons at the helm--how else will we get our players to perform at their best?

I was struck by a photo I saw of male fencers at Cornell who practice with the women's fencing team. Clearly, they're not allowed to compete in matches (though the university counts them for Title XIV). I got to thinking about what motivates these fencers. Are they doing it because they're afraid of the coach or getting cut? Would they fence better if they were?

The nature of our new economic system, that one that doesn't support predictable factory work, is that external motivation is far less useful. If you're looking for a big payday, you won't find it right away. If you're depending on cheers and thank yous from your Twitter followers, you're looking at a very bumpy ride.

In fact, the world is more and more aligned in favor of those who find motivation inside, who would do what they do even if it wasn't their job. As jobs turn into projects, the leaders we need are those that relish the project, that jump at the chance to push themselves harder than any coach ever could.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Comments

[Danny Jaynes]

One tee shirt I have always disliked is the one that reads "Jesus is coming...look busy" Someone gave me one once and I took a fabric paint and changed it to "GET BUSY". My mentor taught me that people will be governed from within or from without. Governed from within will always be more pleasant. Governed from without will be harsh and hard, but we will be governed. Liked your post. Thanks, Danny Jaynes

[Gary Rohrmayer]

I like that ... Jesus is coming ... Get Busy!!! Internal motivation is one the differences between leaders and followers