The Drive to Continue Learning
What words do you have with co-workers? Among ours are intrinsic, motivation and momentum.
Management and motivation have been on my mind recently. I have enjoyed several in-depth, highly-charged conversations with a friend on the subject of motivation (doing a job well simply because it would not occur to you to do otherwise).
Thinking about how to tap passion derived from what interests us (based upon how we are wired), it occurs to me that working well with others and exchanging ideas in physical and virtual spaces rely on the same foundational concepts: Play to, and with, your strengths. Learn to adapt, or compensate, for your weaknesses. We are who we are for the most part.
Out of these conversations came the loan of an excellent book which I am currently reading. Yep, the traditional method of pulp in hand, accompanied by that lovely tactile odor of ink on paperback quality paper! Since intrinsic is one of my favorite words, and I have used it with great fervor for many years, I was delighted to discover that one of the framing principles of Drive by Daniel H. Pink is intrinsic motivation. It describes the inner wiring of certain individuals to do their absolute best, with great passion and gusto, regardless of external reward. The quest for knowledge, or learning something new that interests you, is reward unto itself.
Reward and motivation are excellent words, too. Reading this book and pondering motivation got me thinking about the word momentum, as well, which leads me to Media Logic’s annual company meeting. Today marks the 24th I have participated in. We held our first in 1988 in the basement of the building we occupied then. That year’s theme was “Commmunicate.” Beauty, right? Still, communicate is another superb word.
All this reminiscing got me thinking about longevity, guiding principles and that lovely word intrinsic again. Our theme this year is “Go With The Mo.” It occurs to me that the case Daniel Pink is making may well support our theme: Do your utter, creative best to continue learning, seeking and weaving in the fast-changing landscape that business/marketing has become. Stay fresh. Stay at the forefront. Forge the way because it is interesting to do so, and because it is the best and right thing to do in the face of unprecedented global changes to that thing we all call “work.”
Like nearly everyone else, Media Logic has weathered its fair share of economic-induced upheaval, but we forged on because learning and leaning into the challenge is inherent in who we are. Driving ourselves to use change as fuel for a deeper creative quest, as well as leading the way in doing so, has always motivated this company intrinsically. Amidst the very difficult re-org the world has been undergoing, the past three years have been a revolutionary time, as well. Nearly all aspects of how the “collective we” does business here and abroad have been forever altered by the explosion of tools and social roadways that have evolved before our very eyes. No wonder new measurement tools and standards crop up frequently!
A recent article by Edward Bouches includes an interest graph that represents how your interests reveal who you are and attract others who will, in turn, learn who you are through your interests. Are these patterns of interest, motivation and engagement driven by the same factors that make us excel with certain skills?
Can what Pink speaks of in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards be applied to social environments as well? Are these rewards what motivate us to use Pinterest, Instagram and other creative, interest-based social tools? Do the social roadways of our new way of working create a different kind of influencer — one who is creatively wired? Have we entered an age where tapping creativity on a global scale develops new interests and new motivations and, consequently, new intrinsic assets? Does this, in turn, redefine who we are? (Shake. Repeat.)
For 25 years, the pride and passion I feel for this company have been primary influences in my life. Perhaps Pink’s concepts have drawn me in as much as they have because he has articulated that drive: “mastery – the desire to get better and better at something that matters.”
