Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Suzanne Bates is an executive coach, author, speaker, entrepreneur, and former award-winning television news anchor. As president and CEO of Bates Communications, she shows leaders how to get business results through better communication.

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COMMUNICATE YOUR VISION—AND INSPIRE ACTION!

“How do you increase the forward momentum of your company? How do you get your people excited about helping you implement your vision? Learn how to Motivate Like a CEO. Suzanne Bates will help you discover how you can be the catalyst for your organization’s future success. What a great book.”-Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and The One Minute Entrepreneur

"Motivate Like a CEO tells you why, then how to motivate an organization. It is well written, clear and motivating both for the experienced CEO and the new leader."
-Robert Chappell, CEO, Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company

"If you're a leader who wants a high performance team, make this book your 'bible!'"
-Christine Comaford, Business Accelerator, Mighty Ventures and New York Times bestselling author of Rules for Renegades

“Suzanne Bates insightfully goes against the current models of business, based mainly on financial stimulus and behavioral response, and illustrates the importance of people rather than institutions. In a nutshell, this book is important, because it’s about people connecting.”
-Charles H. Green, co-author of The Trusted Advisor

“Motivate like a CEO is chock full of great ideas and strategies. Suzanne Bates has written a valuable guide that will not only help leaders to inspire others but also will help them get their own batteries recharged.”
-Diane Hessan, CEO, Communispace Corporation

"A 'must-read' for anyone who is, or aspires to be in a position of high leadership."
-Chuck Wright, former Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Agency and Marketing Officer, State Farm Insurance Companies

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MOTIVATE LIKE A CEO

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Contents

Chapter One

I want to put a ding in the universe.

—Steve Jobs

What motivates us as people? This is a fascinating question because we are all different! How can there be one answer to such a question?

Yet I believe there is. As human beings, we all want to have a purpose. We want our lives to matter. We want to do something in the short time we have here to make a difference in the world.

The pursuit of purpose is so important to us as human beings that if we ignore it, we are not happy or fulfilled. Purpose is what allows us to discover who we really are. When we find purpose and meaning in our work, and we pursue that larger purpose, we discover our talents, skills, and sources of genuine satisfaction. We are happiest when we have the opportunity to apply our talents and skills to something meaningful. Purpose is necessary, critical really, to a healthy, happy, and successful life.

Purpose is necessary, critical really, to a healthy, happy, and successful life.

In cultures where people live to be a hundred or more, research has found that individuals have a strong desire to fulfill their purpose. For example, in Costa Rica's "Blue Zone"—a place far from our business world—people live to a ripe old age; each individual creates a plan de vida. Costa Ricans believe that creating a plan for their lives is essential. They are taught that they must contribute to a greater good so they feel a compelling desire to be needed. And this drive for purpose that fulfills us isn't confined to any culture—it is universal. It is in all of us. We seek to find purpose and are happiest when we connect to a mission larger than ourselves.

Why begin a book on motivating people by talking about individual purpose? Because purpose is essential to motivation. Once we understand the role that purpose plays in our success and the success of our companies, we unlock the secret to achieving great things. As leaders, when we work with purpose and inspire others to purpose, we become a powerful force in the universe.

Regardless of where you are in your career, you can find purpose and meaning in your work. You can use this purpose to fuel your life and also become a great leader. When your work matters to you and you have a larger purpose that excites you, you inspire others. Making that kind of positive impact on the lives of other people, makes you an unstoppable force.

Your motivation and the motivation of your team will have a direct, undeniable impact on the bottom line of your business. A motivated, energized workforce is essential to accomplishing your goals. A good strategy and motivated people always accomplish amazing things. Motivated people will overcome the obstacles, defy the odds, and get more done.

Motivated people will overcome the obstacles, defy the odds, and accomplish more.

Connecting people with a larger purpose is an exciting, worthy personal goal. As a leader, you have an opportunity to make those connections. Can there be anything more rewarding than helping other people to realize their own potential? When you embrace a purpose, they can't wait to get on board and work toward that common goal. As they discover their own connection to purpose, they look for ways to use their talents and, in the process, go the extra mile. They grow as people and professionals and achieve their own, personal goals. Therefore, one of the most effective things you can do as leader is to connect people with purpose for the good of every individual as well as the enterprise.

The Oxford American Dictionary says that motivation is "giving motive or incentive; to stimulate the interest of, to inspire." The person who gives motive or incentive is, by definition, a leader. The leader takes the lead in communicating motive and in the process stimulates, develops, and nurtures the talents and skills of other people engaged in the pursuit of the goal. As you will see in the pages of this book, leaders who provide motive and incentive align organizations and move them rapidly toward their goals. This could be the highest definition of leadership.

To write this book, I gave quite a bit of thought to what it means to motivate like a CEO. I finally decided that what it comes down to is this: connecting people with purpose and passion toward a common goal. Leaders help people to achieve a common goal and, in the process, realize their own potential. To motivate like a CEO is to be driven by purpose and passion and to connect other people to that purpose.

Over the years, working with hundreds of executives, I've always admired those who are purpose-driven. In writing this book, I've had a unique opportunity to interview leaders who exemplify living and working with purpose and helping others connect with purpose, too. A common theme among these leaders is articulated well by Greg Case of Aon Corporation, who says that motivating a workforce means "to create that connection between the people and the company, the people and the message, the people and the strategy."

Leaders who connect people with the company, the message, and the strategy find it a far simpler task to accomplish their goals. They have an entire organization of people who are working not just for a paycheck, but to achieve their own potential. They are energized by the possibilities and are connected to each other through a common purpose. These leaders harness energy and talent and drive their organizations forward. This is essential because, as a leader, you cannot do it alone. You need everyone. "In a nutshell," says Case, "that is what it means to motivate like a CEO, to make a connection between every single person and the fundamental mission of the organization."

Making a Difference

People want to make a difference. When they believe that what they are doing matters, it motivates them and stimulates their passion and creativity. Keith Blakely, CEO of NanoDynamics, a clean energy technology company, says, "One thing that can motivate people is the idea that they can make a world of difference. That phrase is the company's tagline." From Nobel Prize–winning scientists to people on the production line, everyone is engaged by this mission. Blakely sees his role as getting "everyone in the boat pulling on the oars at the same time; to get them to understand where we are going and why."

People want to make a difference. When they believe that what they are doing matters, it motivates them and stimulates their passion and creativity.

This is such an important aspect of leadership that it cannot be emphasized enough. To motivate and inspire others, you must help people to see what a difference they can make in the world. This means that you must not only feel a strong sense of purpose but also be able to communicate it to others. Your job as a leader is simply to communicate your passion and connect your people to that larger purpose.

Research shows that people work for a paycheck, but they live for a purpose. A 2006 Gallup poll of 540 adults employed full or part time found that the top three things that made people happy were "doing what suits me best/fulfilling," "interacting with the public/helping people," and "freedom/flexibility to...