Primed to Perform

1) Total Motivation (ToMo) drives high performance through adaptive behaviors 2) Play, purpose, and potential are direct motives that enhance performance 3) Emotional pressure, economic pressure, and inertia are indirect motives that hinder performance

"You can't escape it. If just one minute of priming can boost Steve and his group's performance, imagine the impact of a culture that has been systematically designed to maximize the performance of every person at every level." ToMo is the key to success. It's a measure of an individual's or organization's motivation based on six key factors: play, purpose, potential, emotional pressure, economic pressure, and inertia. High ToMo leads to increased adaptive performance, which is crucial in today's rapidly changing business environment. ToMo impacts various aspects of performance: Creativity and innovation Problem-solving abilities Persistence and resilience Customer satisfaction Employee retention Organizations with high ToMo, such as Southwest Airlines and Whole Foods, consistently outperform their competitors in customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and financial results.

"Play is what compels you to take up hobbies, from solving crossword puzzles to making scrapbooks to mixing music." Direct motives fuel intrinsic motivation. These motives are directly connected to the work itself and lead to higher levels of performance and job satisfaction. Play: Enjoying the work for its own sake, finding curiosity and experimentation in tasks Purpose: Believing in the impact and value of the work being done Potential: Seeing how the work contributes to personal growth and future goals Companies like Google and 3M leverage play by allowing employees to spend a portion of their time on self-directed projects. Organizations with strong missions, like Medtronic, tap into purpose by connecting employees directly with the patients they help. Potential is harnessed through robust career development programs and mentorship opportunities.

"When your motive to work is emotional pressure, your performance tends to suffer." Indirect motives can be detrimental. These motives are external to the work itself and often lead to decreased performance, creativity, and job satisfaction. Emotional pressure: Working due to fear, guilt, or shame Economic pressure: Working solely for rewards or to avoid punishment Inertia: Continuing to work without a clear reason or motivation Examples of harmful indirect motives include: Overly competitive performance rankings (e.g., Microsoft's former stack ranking system) Purely commission-based sales structures Rigid, bureaucratic work environments that stifle innovation To improve performance, organizations should focus on reducing these indirect motives while enhancing direct motives.

"The total motivation factor is the ultimate culture-building tool, the compass you've always needed to make sure your culture is heading in the right direction." Measuring culture is now possible. The ToMo factor provides a quantitative measure of an organization's culture strength, allowing leaders to identify areas for improvement and track progress over time. Key…