Napoleon famously said, “Good morale is worth 50,000 men.” That’s another way of saying, in modern business parlance, motivation accounts for roughly 40% of a project’s success. Without motivation, you’re basically running at half-tank.
Why?
Because:
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Values Mismatch. Your employees just don’t care enough for the project on a personal level.
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Lack of self-efficacy i.e. when employees lack the self-belief that they can get the project done.
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Disruptive emotions. Anger, anxiety, and depression.
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Attribution errors. When employees either can’t identify what when wrong or blame it on reasons they can’t control. A lack of *ownership*, as it were.
The truth is, no employee is so talented that they can’t be made into a bad employee. In fact, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. Just make them feel the wrong emotions for a couple of days and BAM! you’re well on your way.
I’m joking, of course. But I’m making a serious point here. Success in business comes down a lot to motivation, and motivation at scale is a culture issue, not an individual one.
So now you know.
