Richard Denny has a great slideshare on what he sees as the Laws of Motivation…some interesting stuff here and I agree with most of it.  Take a look.

http://www.slideshare.net/abhishekshah/laws-of-motivation

However I do have some comments on these “Laws”…

The “Law” that I have the most problem with is his first one: “We have to be motivated to motivate.”  While there is merit in this, it sends the message that we need to be up and motivated everyday in order to motivate others.  I don’t believe this is true.  I think that we can put into place processes, systems, and create an environment that helps people feel motivated.  More importantly, I believe that motivation isn’t the responsibility of just one person – that it is an organizational requirement!  This is key…  If we delegate the responsibility of motivating to the manager, then we loose a great deal of opportunity and energy.

I want to leave on a high note (because I really do like this presentation) – rule number 3 “Motivation, once established, never lasts” is way too often overlooked.  While I mention above that we can put in processes and procedures to help create and build motivation – we also need to regularly check-in and update these.  People change.  Environments change.  We need to make sure we change with them.

One other point – a number of the laws pertain directly to the 4-Drives: Law #2) Motivation requires a goal, Law # 4) Motivation requires recognition, Law # 5) Participation motivates, Law # 7) Challenge only motivates if you can win and Law # 9) Belonging to a group motivates.  What is missing is the drive to Define and Defend…I would add my own Law # 10) We are motivated to defend our beliefs

Would love your thoughts.

Kurt