Podcast about motivation

Podcast 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)

Comments

26 responses to “Podcast about motivation”

October 25, 2006

Jonas Antonsson

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#
October 25, 2006

John Warren

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.
October 25, 2006

Alexander

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)
October 26, 2006

Adam K

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 !
October 26, 2006

Lisa

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.
October 27, 2006

Paul

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.
October 28, 2006

Steven Aitchison

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.
November 1, 2006

Alexander

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!
November 1, 2006

Paul

Alexander… no problem! I think it would be great to include that quote in your book.
November 2, 2006

Alexander

Thanks Paul – I just stuck it in there!
November 4, 2006

Antonio Gould

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
November 20, 2006

Alexander

Antonio: Thanks for the kind words. With that kind of praise, you can expect the next one very soon :o)
December 19, 2006

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June 11, 2007

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June 13, 2007

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June 13, 2007

Terrence Seamon

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
June 14, 2007

pete

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
June 16, 2007

Natasha

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:
June 26, 2007

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September 21, 2007

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March 30, 2008

Por qu

[…] he hecho un podcast que explica las mismas ideas sobre motivaci
December 16, 2008

michy

hey… just stumble upon this site and happy that i did. just got promoted and it really is a bit difficult to motivate people to love what they’re supposed to do…
May 19, 2010

Thys

Hi there,
I found your article on motivation via Google but with an interesting twist: I was looking for motivation for hearing-impaired people in the business.

So, how about offering a text-based article (similar to your podcast) for your hearing-impaired readers?

Remember, there ARE a lot of deaf people out there trying to make a mark in their jobs, in their respective business sector. But with no proper means of documentation for motivating hearing-impaired or blind people for that matter, you will not get much search hits results?

Regards,
Thys
March 6, 2012

Finance_manager

Are there more of these? I enjoy listening to you while at work – it does help, better than picking through songs. I’m lucky to be in an environment that allows us to stick headphones in our ears while we work.

Thanks for sharing this with us for free. I enjoyed it, and recommend it.
September 5, 2014

Why "Motivation by Pizza" Doesn't Work | DATIS Blog

[…] I
January 20, 2015

Debbie Liles

Where is the podcast on motivation? I clicked on the download link and it says that nothing is there.