Motivation Theories

Motivation is a much-used word with theories galore about it, in management. I would like to add my two bits to the subject. Incidentally, this is triggered by a talk I sat through at IMT last week, by Sharu Rangnekar, one of the earliest management consultants that India saw. I first heard him in 1982 during my MBA orientation at IIMB. He was in his elements, and had his own take on Motivation. This is mine.

We all have motivation, or else we wouldn't be living. Even to eat, one requires motivation. But beyond the basics, what motivates someone to try and excel at his work, or hobby, or something else? Is it a quest for money? Yes, to an extent. But what after you reach your level of incompetence at earning it?

My theory is that leisure is a great motivator for some. Remember school days when we yearned for holidays? Probably that idea never gets out of our minds even after we grow up. We are always on the look out for something other than what we are doing/supposed to be doing.

New experiences are a great motivator, and the travel and tourism industry is based on that. I remember that the urge to travel westwards motivated me to apply for a PhD program in the US in the eighties.

Meeting friends is the third big motivator, I think. Of late, due to advancing age, I have been attending silver jubilee alumni get-togethers galore. But I find it is a great motivator, and I try and go out of my way to attend these, compared to marriages and the like.

Sport is a big motivator. I started playing golf at Kirloskar Institute, Harihar, because 'it was there'- an 18 hole wonder. I went last year to my first amateur tournament in Pattaya. I also managed to build a green at the IMT Nagpur campus so we could play a bit now and then, and teach students who were interested. That brings me to the last factor, in my reckoning. Teaching.

Teaching someone and seeing them use it (the second part is very important) is a big motivator, and keeps most teachers in the business of teaching. Amen.