Success Is A Continuous Journey

There are some brilliant Ted Talks and this one from Richard St John is a very candid view on success.

What I find interesting is Richard’s view that he became successful doing things that he enjoyed doing, but that success meant he had to do things that he didn’t enjoy – his explanation is very much a task focus.  If you look at this from a motivation perspective, it is clear that Richard is motivated by autonomy rather than money, and certainly not operational management.

I’ve seen a very similar situation working with a local entrepreneur in Dorset.  When I explained their motivators to them (see Motivating Without Money) they suddenly realised why they weren’t enjoying their role like they used to.  Thankfully this happened in time for them to implement changes to the business rather than suffering the same pain that Richard went through.

Keeping the MD Fresh

How many senior leaders do you know who ‘complain’ about not having enough time, or working at evenings and weekends?  Recently I ran a team development workshop for a client, where the MD rarely complains about anything – that’s an inspiration in itself.

However, it took me by surprise when their team was concerned about the MD’s evening and weekend working, and could clearly see the risk to the business that could pose.