Podcast about motivation
There is a lot of talk about motivation in the workplace these days. Both from managers complaining that their employees aren’t motivated and from employees complaining that their managers don’t know what makes them tick.
And frankly, it’s no wonder, because there are some fundamental misconceptions about motivation in the business world. There are four different kinds of motivation, only one of them works, and businesses and managers rely almost exclusively on the three that don’t.
That is the topic of my first podcast, which you can download here. It’s 23 minutes long and will take up 7 Mb on your computer.
Please let me know what you think. Is the sound OK? The content? What do you like about it? What can I do better? What great podcasts should I listen to, and get inspiration from? This is my first podcast, but all the cool kids have’em and I wanted one too :o)
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Jonas Antonsson Said,
October 25, 2006 @ 12:20 pm
The sound is fine but could use a little filtering or “noise” reduction to make it more “professional”. The content was interesting, although I kinda missed not having Powerpoint slides to go with it :-) It just felt like “that kind” of dialogue.
Over all I liked it. Enthusiastic, on topic and with a point. I would consider doing shorter segments, though. maybe 10-15 minutes at once? I would also consider inviting guests to talk to you. To use the podcast format for interaction with other happiness “experts”, workers and employers that have stories to tell. Just a thought.
J#
Adam Schwartz-Lowe Said,
October 25, 2006 @ 5:48 pm
Nice job on your first podcast. I really enjoyed it.
John Warren Said,
October 25, 2006 @ 8:22 pm
Sorry to say that I like your website, however I am hearing impaired, do you have a transcript for me to read what your podcast is being said.
Alexander Said,
October 25, 2006 @ 10:29 pm
Jonas: Those are some really useful tips, thanks!
Adam: Thank you very much, I’m glad you liked it.
John: I don’t have a transcript, but I will write it up as a traditional blogpost soon. After all, the topic of motivation is of some interest in the business world - and many people are doing it wrong :o)
Adam K Said,
October 26, 2006 @ 11:07 am
Really great job!!
Probably one the best “first time” podcasts I have ever heared. Your motivation for doing this podcast is really good, and that shows!
Great! I hope you will do more podcasts !
Lisa Said,
October 26, 2006 @ 5:59 pm
Your podcast will help me with my own motivation and to help me see better ways to motivate the people I work with (I am a psychologist) Thanks.
Paul Said,
October 27, 2006 @ 4:43 pm
Alexander– really enjoyed it! I like the four-square concept (extrinsic away, extrinsic toward, etc.) and the idea that focusing on the “intrinsic towards” square makes the most sense. I’d like to share a quote I’ve been using (for 26 years!) as a preface to discussing motivation:
“Let me be blunt. To say that the job of a leader is to motivate his followers is as ridiculous as to say the job of the Chairman of the Board of general Motors is to turn on the sun in the morning so that we may have light by which to work. Man is born motivated. We are motivated by our needs. when a need is satisfied, it is no longer a motivator of behavior… As long as we cling to the myth and magic implicit in the notion that the leader’s job is to motivate the followers, that the boss’s job is to motivate subordinates, that the job of development of people in our organization is a job of motivating them, we are wasting our time.”
I throw that quote to a bunch of managers/leaders, and ask them whether they agree or disagree. The debate that follows is amazing. Some violently disagree, others strongly agree, and others land somewhere in the middle, or are just plain confused.
I totally agree that people are motivated by their needs, and that if you understand their needs (intrinsic/towards as well as intrinsic/away) you can perhaps put them into situations and delegate work that will help them achieve those needs. So, question: does something (money, fame, responsibility, power, recognition, etc.) motivate someone? Answer: yes, if they need it!
Also liked your point about the fun factor… when we are doing something that taps into our natural talents, we are usually having fun.
And I strongly agree with you that if you want to offer someone something that will “motivate them” (i.e., help them achieve something they want/need), you need to understand what they want/need, and this requires a specific understanding of each individual you deal with.
Thanks for an extremely enjoyable 23 minutes. I look forward to your next podcast!
Paul
P.S. The quote is from John Paul Jones Sr.– not the naval guy, but a guy who was VP of Personal and Organizational Developmenyt at Federated Department Stores, Inc.
Steven Aitchison Said,
October 28, 2006 @ 7:10 am
Hi Alex
Congratulations on your first blogcast I really did enjoy listening to it. The subject was interesting, it wasn’t too long and your voice tone was good. I think this is a great blog and I look forward to reading and hearing more.
Alexander Said,
November 1, 2006 @ 4:48 pm
Adam K: Wow! Thanks!
Lisa: Thank you. I’m very happy you found it useful!
Paul: What a great quote, and I love your approach of throwing it out there and letting a conversation unfold. Would you mind terribly if I include that quote in my book in the section about motivation?
Steven: Thank you VERY much!
Paul Said,
November 1, 2006 @ 5:47 pm
Alexander… no problem! I think it would be great to include that quote in your book.
Alexander Said,
November 2, 2006 @ 10:06 am
Thanks Paul - I just stuck it in there!
Antonio Gould Said,
November 4, 2006 @ 2:09 pm
Hi Alex,
Fantastic podcast, I disagree that it needs to be shorter segments - you kept me interested the whole way through. I heard everything you said clearly too so there was no problem there.
Great content also - it’s given me quite a few ideas. I also appreciated your segmentation into the four part model - this is extremely easy to understand and makes a lot of sense.
When can we expect the next one?
Antonio
Alexander Said,
November 20, 2006 @ 12:49 pm
Antonio: Thanks for the kind words. With that kind of praise, you can expect the next one very soon :o)
Why “Motivation by Pizza” Doesn’t Work Said,
December 19, 2006 @ 12:43 am
[...] I’ve also made a podcast that explains the same points about motivation. You can find it here. [...]
Punishing by Rewards -- Motivational Techniques That Don't Work | I'd Rather Be Writing Said,
June 11, 2007 @ 5:03 am
[...] podcast from Alexander Kjerulf, called “Why ‘Motivation by Pizza’ Doesn’t Work,” gave me a major [...]
A motivational tip that actually works Said,
June 13, 2007 @ 10:54 am
[...] Johnson heard my podcast about motivation and wrote that: This podcast from Alexander Kjerulf, called “Why ‘Motivation by Pizza’ Doesn’t Work,” gave me a major epiphany about the reasons behind [...]
Terrence Seamon Said,
June 13, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
Excellent podcast! Very good content. You distilled a lot of theory (e.g. extrinsic/intrinsic) into a quite digestible program.
Keep em coming!
Regards,
Terry
pete Said,
June 14, 2007 @ 4:16 pm
Split your podcast into two contrasting segments/subjects with a break in between on a third subject: intro is 2 min; segment 1 is 10 mins; segment 2 is 5 mins; segment 3 - 10 minutes; wrapup - 3 mins
Natasha Said,
June 16, 2007 @ 12:27 pm
I am a Griffith University student from Brisbane, QLD, Australia and would like to thank-you for your great pod cast. I was drawn to your site because for one of my classes I have to explore: “The notion that teachers have to foster and employ either intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation is a false dilemma. It is not a question of either/or, it is a question of emphasis.” what are your thoughts?
Extrinsic motivation involves the application of rewards to encourage an individual to persist in an activity, which is not in itself rewarding or interesting to them. Therefore, I do agree that in a ‘perfect world’ people should be intrinsically motivated. What has been brought to my attention is the fact that people need money in this world to live. People need ‘food on their table’ (so to speak) therefore ‘pay day’ (being an extrinsic motivation technique) is a necessity that cannot be avoided. What are your thoughts here?
You also discussed celebrating results. But if an employee knew that they were going to get a celebration for their results wouldn’t this be extrinsic motivation?
Thanks again – I agree that there should be some visuals to cater for both aural and visual learners.
Sustainable Workplace Motivation « Userware Said,
June 26, 2007 @ 6:59 am
[...] by Tom Johnson in his IdRatherBeWriting blog: This podcast from Alexander Kjerulf, called “Why ‘Motivation by Pizza’ Doesn’t Work,” opened my eyes about the reasons behind [...]
Motivating speechies « A Cute Speechie Said,
September 21, 2007 @ 9:41 am
[...] by the Chief Happiness Officer. He also has a pleasing podcast about motivating employees here (and any speechies out there may be mThe challenge is to keep the motivation up to move these [...]
Por qué la motivación por pizza no funciona Said,
March 30, 2008 @ 10:05 pm
[...] he hecho un podcast que explica las mismas ideas sobre motivación. Lo pueden encontrar aquí. Difunde el mensaje: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]