Pile On Motivation

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Category: Motivational

  • Jack Welch’s evaluation criteria

    Simon Sinek’s book titled “The Infinite Game” makes frequent mention of how Jack Welch and his finite mindset mentality instilled a toxic work culture among GE employees.

    Jack Welch’s focus was always on “winning” with short term targets in order to outdo competition.Had it not been for the US government’s bail out in 2008 , GE would have become obsolete by now.

    Jack Welch’s evaluation criteria for an employee was on two parameters:

    1. Performance
    2. Potential – This is nothing but future performance

    As we can clearly see his evaluation criteria was solely based on performance with no focus on trust.This resulted in a “toxic” culture where employees were pitted against one another without feeling the need to collaborate.

    This is a very good case study to showcase the value of trust and collaboration in “trusting teams” which form the basis of infinite mindset nurtured by organizations led by visionaries.

  • Which is more important – Performance or Trust?

    Though both are equally important yet for surviving in an infinite game , organizations need to prioritize “trust” over “performance”.

    Performance relates to IQ whereas trust relates to EQ.

    A low trust environment spoils organization culture and should not be encouraged.Hence even though performance matters , yet since humans are social animals and work best as a group in trustworthy environment hence EQ i.e. trust ultimately dominates.

    Simon Sinek mentions about the same in hos book titled “The Infinite Game”.

  • What is meant by “Circle Of Safety”?

    Based on the foundation of trust , leaders with an infinite mindset create a “Circle of Safety” where the employees feel safe to the extent of being vulnerable to openly admit their weakness in the hope of collaboration.

    In such an environment where trust precedes performance , performance would automatically follow since the employees would feel motivated to give off their best , unconditionally.

    Simon Sinek brings out this point in his book titled “The Infinite Game”

  • Strategy for playing an infinite game

    Organizations with an intinite game mindset , whose goals are long term oriented always try to make their “will” and “resources” stronger to frustrate the “will” and exhaust “resources” of other players who employ a finite mindset consisting of short term goals.

    Simon Sinek brings out this point very aptly in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.

  • What are leaders responsible for?

    Highlighted below is an extract from Simon Sinek’s book titled “The Infinite Game” on modern day leadership responsibility.

    Leaders are not responsible for results, leaders are responsible for people who are in turn responsible for the results.

    Very thought provoking , practical and to me is a leadership masterclass.

  • Performance or Trust , which matters more to NAVY SEAL?

    Performance at work is more related to technical competence.Whereas trust is more related to the character of a person.

    With NAVY SEALs it has often been found that a person high on performance low on trust is regarded as “toxic” & hence often ostracized.This is simply because of the fact that such a person is more prone to 1) Blame others 2) Talk non-sense about others 3) can have a negative influence on other team members 4) exhibits narcissism

    Thus in situations where collaboration is of prime importance , trust is the most important need , even a low performance can be tolerated.

    Simon Sinek brings out this point in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.

  • SHELL URSA and role of trusting teams

    Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game” makes a mention of SHELL URSA and highlights  how as a result of having trusting team members the audacious project could turn into a grand success.

    Shell URSA initiative was to drill as deep as three thousand feet below ocean level to extract oil.Not only was this a very audacious initiative but equally dangerous for the members involved in this task.

    When the team members were taught the value of collaboration , made to feel safe in each other’s company they could express their vulnerabilities in the expectation that collaboration would save the day , come what may the situation.

    As a result of trusting teams , encouragement of collaborative environment by Rick Fox , the project ran at 99% up time and production was 43% more than industry standards.

  • Trusting teams

    Teams are building blocks of any organization.When there is trust among individuals in a team , people care for each other , collaborate with each other which ultimately leads to high performance.

    On the contrary when teams lack trust , results may be achieved at the expense of relationships and a healthy work culture.This may work out in the short term but in the long term may lead to disastrous consequences.

    Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game” , highlights the difference between “Trusting” teams and “transaction” oriented teams.

    The table below enlists some of the most importance differences to showcase the need to having “trusting teams” for playing an infinite game.

    Trusting Teams “Transaction” based Teams
    Trust based relationships make each of the member feel safe to express vulnerabilities. Relationships purely transaction oriented with no importance attached to trust.
    Collaborative environment since trust is a biological constant. Members “love” their jobs. Competitive environment where members are willing to fake, lie and be deceitful for hike, rewards etc. Members at best “like” their jobs.
    Nurtured by leaders with an infinite game mindset Mostly nurtured by leaders who are short term goal oriented e.g. having finite mindset
    Environment we associate with most of the iconic and high performance organizations e.g. Apple , COSTCO etc. Environment we associate with short term goal and result oriented organizations

  • “Will” or “Resources” which to prioritize?

    “Will” and “Resources” are the most important components in a game of business.

    Investing in “will” and prioritizing it over “resources” needs to be based on a “just cause” and not monetary benefits alone.This may not have immediate short term benefits but when done in the right manner can influence human behavior , lead to happy employees who “love” their jobs and in turn satisfy customers and shareholders.

    Since this path is difficult to traverse , finite mindset leaders often tend to prioritize “resources” by trying to motivate workers with short term monetary benefits in order to realize short term gains.This without realizing the long term harmful impact to the organization as a whole.

    These points have been very aptly highlighted by Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game”.

    Shown below are some of the notable differences between the two.

    Will

    		 Resources
    Deals with human elements such as motivation, inspiration, commitment etc. of employees. Is under the control of leadership and can be nurtured Deals with financial metrics. Macro and micro factors that influence resources cannot be controlled or predicted.
    Infinite and mostly long-term oriented. When influenced this can automatically take care of resources. Finite and mostly short term oriented
    Make this the first priority will always make employees “love” their jobs Making this the first priority will at most make employees “like” their jobs
    Cannot be motivated by “monetary benefits” alone Mostly influenced by focusing on “monetary rewards” & “rewards”.
    Always the first priority of infinite mindset leaders Always the first priority of finite mindset leaders for whom number dominate anything else

  • “Will” vs “Resources” striking the right balance

    In any game be it life or business “resources” & “will” are the two key components.

    “Resources” is tangible and is the sum total of all financial metrics that measure the health of an organization.

    “Will” is intangible and is sum total of all the human elements that measure the health of an organization.

    Needless to say a short sighted leader focuses on resources over will at the detriment of the overall organizational health.

    Resources cannot be ignored thought since this is what enables an organization to keep playing.

    The need in the modern day organization is to strike a balance between the two so that a focus on “will” empowers the people to generate the “resources” to keep the organization live and kicking.