Flipping the switch – a series in the fine art and skill of igniting the engine of productivity within others

48,570 results! Just 30 seconds ago I searched for books on motivation at Amazon and that’s how many results I got. Nearly 50,ooo.

Granted, many of them are about motivating one’s self to lose weight, exercise more, or reach for a brighter future. But many aren’t. A large number of them deal with what motivates us and others.

Why so many? Because all of us in leadership and management need to know how to get more productivity out of the people who work for us. When I worked for that major home improvement big box store, the sales goals were increased every year, recession or not. Everyone from the top guy down was expected to increase the company’s top and bottom lines.

But they weren’t very good at it. Really, really bad in some instances! Sales goals were often reached in spite of the work of managers not because of it. Motivation is a by-product, the result of a fine and often enigmatic set of conditions and circumstances that unlock and release productivity and enthusiasm in others.

This article is the first in a series on motivation; a summary of what I’ve seen and learned over the past decades in the corporate and non-profit worlds. For all the books that have been written…and I’ve read, many of the say the same things so I will try not to cover old territory.

Actually, the PRINCIPLES OF MOTIVATION are quite simple to understand, a little more complicated to practice. But not that much more. Just about anyone can be an effective motivator. Yes, you too!

Here’s what I will cover:

1. Motivation explained, debunked, and debugged
2. The 4 dangers to escape on the road to motivation
3. The 3 general conditions you need to know BEFORE you do anything
4. Why manipulators get more done than motivators do
5. Turning on the energy and productivity of your employees and associates
6. 10 never fail principles of motivation every effective leader understands and knows how to practice
7. And whatever else may present itself along the way.

I intend to publish both written article and videos so stay tuned, the series starts on Wednesday, October 16^th.