The Wisdom of our Fathers

My father didn't tell me a lot about how to succeed in business. Maybe, he wanted me to learn on my own. Maybe, he didn't really know so he chose not to advise. Either way, when he did dispense advice it was rare. Perhaps, that is why I remember it all.

I was managing a Domino's Pizza store out of college. This was a great job. One that I wish everyone could have so they would understand what I'm talking about. Try to picture what it was like. I worked in the store from 3p till about 3a six days a week. The majority of that time was spent making pizzas and ensuring they were delivered within 30 minutes of the order being received. On my day off and during other available times, I was recruiting delivery drivers or meeting with my boss or going to training classes or doing some field-level marketing to goose the sales. I was responsible for every aspect of running the store with the exception of paying the bills. A finer business education was not available at any price and they were paying me!

The store was beginning to really hum. I won a couple of awards and sales were up. I imagine that the cockiness was apparent in my voice the next time I spoke to my Dad.

"So, you think you're a pretty good motivator, Timmy?" (My Dad is one of only two adults who ever called me Timmy once I was past the age of 15)

"Yes, I know I am."

"Well, how many people do you think you can motivate?"

"I'm not sure I follow you. How can I put a number on it?"

"I already know the number. I'm asking you what you think it is. Can you motivate ten people or a hundred or a thousand?"

"Dad, I am sure that I can motivate a roomful of people. Put me in a big enough room and I can motivate ten thousand people."

"Ten thousand?"

"You know what, Dad, get me on TV and I can motivate a million!"

"That would be pretty good if you could motivate a million people. But, the answer is exactly one."

"One. Which one? What are talking about?" (Listening back on this conversation, now, as I play it in my mind I imagine my voice as more than just a little irritated.)

"There is only one person that you can motivate and that person is yourself. You can not motivate anyone else to do anything."

"I see what you are saying, Dad. But, I don't agree. There is no question that every single day at work I am getting people pumped up to do their job better. I do this by setting a good example of what a hard worker looks like and by having a positive attitude. I am able to convey my positivity to the other workers and motivate them to do a good job."

"You are no doubt setting a good example and being positive is great but I am telling you that the only person that you are able to motivate is yourself."

I was in my early 20's at the time and probably couldn't be told too many things by too many people. After all, like yourself, I pretty much knew it all back then. Luckily, experience has a way of teaching us that there was more to learn and it was many years later that I learned the wisdom of what my father was saying.

Motivation comes from within. Individuals who want to achieve goals establish them for themselves and then they set a path to achieve those goals. When we witness people exhibiting behavior that is consistent with their goals, we say they are motivated. But, the goal that a person wants to achieve - one that he is motivated to achieve - is always determined by that individual. As a result, it is the owner of the goal that is able to motivate himself and no one else.

For sure, the sales manager may set a goal that is also consistent with the seller's own goal and the seller will be motivated to achieve that goal. But, the motivation did not come from the sales manager. Imagine a scenario where the seller wants to break the record for most sales in a month. The sales manager offers an incentive to the entire team. The seller who breaks the monthly sales record will earn an additional $1,000 and a day off! The sellers who already care about being the record holder will have an added incentive to achieve that goal. But, the sales manager didn't motivate them to become the record holder. The sales manager simply provided an incentive for the motivated sellers to marshall their efforts during a certain period of time. When someone breaks the record, the sales manager will ask which of the two incentives provided the necessary impetus for their amazing achievement.

The seller might say, "Well, I didn't really care about the day off since we are paid on commission."

The sales manager decides that a $1,000 award for breaking the record provided the necessary motivation and establishes a permanent incentive of $1,000 for anyone breaking a monthly sales record. The sales manager is surprised when the record isn't broken the next month or the month thereafter. After all, the first time the record was broken it was because of the $1,000, wasn't it?

Records are never broken by the unmotivated but they are broken all the time by those not incentived.

Of course, sales managers, coaches, teachers, parents, etc. have a role in motivation. Their job is to create an environment in which the motivated (seller, athlete, student, child, etc.) stays motivated.

While my Dad was technically correct about the number of people any of us can motivate. The truth is that the best sales managers are motivational. They foster positivity and they remove obstacles. The best sales managers are motivated to assist sellers in the achievement of their goals and for a great seller there is nothing more motivating than that.