the science of motivating people - leadership in the 21st century

The Science of Motivating People Leadership in the 21st Century

Larry Port MILOFest 2014 October 23, 2014

We ALL have to lead & motivate

[email protected] / @larryport

We’ll take a look at the literature…


…and old friends along the way.


Motivation is a $50 Billion Industry


Fast forward six years and thousands of

law firms later…



…we are thriving and out-innovating billion-dollar

companies.

MOST IMPORTANT:

Make sure you have the right people on the


If you’re going to

grow, your people need to grow too.



Find the blockers,

and WEED THEM OUT.


“The best team attracts the best team, and winning often leads to more winning.” - Jack Welch

Core Idea: Extrinsic

rewards often don’t work or

negatively affect

performance


Core Idea: There is a business /

science mismatch


If-Then Rewards Don’t Work


The Candle Problem



The Blood Bank

Kids & Drawing


Encarta vs Wikipedia



Rewards work with largely routine tasks


What to do? Pay people fairly & get money off the

table.

People want INTRINSIC

rewards


Autonomy


1


20%

Q: How can you have a wicked cool cultures like

Google & 3M? A: Get the right people on

the bus!


Mastery


2

Mastery begins with

Flow


Grit: best

predictor of


It’s

ab

out h

ow

mu

ch y

ou c

an


TAKE and

KEEP

MOVING FORWARD


“I walk slowly, but I never walk

backwards.” - Abraham Lincoln

Purpose


3


“I think evolution has had a hand in selecting people

who had a sense of doing something

beyond themselves.”

- Mihaly Csikszentmihaly


Many executives thrash about with mission statements and vision statements. Unfortunately, most of those statements turn out to be a muddled stew of values, goals, purposes, philosophies, beliefs, aspirations, norms, strategies, practices, and descriptions. They are usually a boring, confusing, structurally unsound stream of words that evoke the response “True, but who cares?”

The core purpose is NOT your father’s mission statement.


Core Idea: Recognition is an accelerant that improves employee and

company performance


79% cite lack of

appreciation for leaving.


$1000 Anything shy = bupkis


The Carrot Culture is NOT your father’s recognition.



“Money is not as

powerful

a reward as people think.”


4 CRITICAL Areas of

Leadership1. Goal Setting 2. Communication 3. Trust 4. Accountability

Setting Clear Goals


Communicating Openly


Trust Openly


Accountability



“Rrrrrrr-ghghghghgh. Arghhtgggtaa

rrgr.” - Chewbacca

Core Idea: Multipliers access and

develop the intelligence of

their organizations


Core Idea: Multipliers

stand in contrast to

Diminishers, who inhibit

performance



Have you ever worked with

someone who made you feel

smarter?

Have you ever worked with a

tyrant?


Multipliers …believe people will figure

it out.


Diminishers


…are absorbed in their own

intelligence & have little faith in

others.

Multipliers …are genius watchers.


Diminishers


…put people in boxes & create “The

Walking Dead”

Multipliers …demand the best work

but in a positive way.



“My hunger is not for success, it is for

excellence. Because when you attain

excellence, success just naturally follows.”

- Coach K

Multipliers …restrain themselves & listen MOST of the time.


Multipliers …instill accountability


Multipliers …challenge people


Multipliers …encourage debate


Accidental Diminshers


Idea Guy Always On

Rescuer Pace Setter

Rapid Responder


I THOUGHT I WAS A MULTIPLIER

BUT I’M ACTUALLY A DIMINISHER

Leadership Hacking


No monkeys on desks.

LEADERSHIP HACK #1


When accepting praise, use

“WE.”

LEADERSHIP HACK #2


When accepting blame, use

“ME.”


“It’s amazing what you can

accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

- Harry Truman

Know your KPIs (key performance indicators).

LEADERSHIP HACK #3


Billable Time & Realization NPS (Net Promoter Score)

Quality of Life Survey


POSSIBLE KPI’s

Run (at least) annually and (ideally) quarterly planning

meetings with CLEAR OBJECTIVES as output.

LEADERSHIP HACK #4


Sample Quarterly Objectives


Begin “Using Clio causes Erectile Dysfunction” campaign !Play joke on MyCase where 10,000 ping pong balls fall from ceiling

Know your core purpose and core values.

LEADERSHIP HACK #5


Invest in continuous learning. Send people away once a year

for training.

LEADERSHIP HACK #6


Incorporate cyclical processes designed to facilitate feedback

and accountability.

LEADERSHIP HACK #7


Meeting 1: The Retrospective !

What should we START doing? What should we STOP doing?

What should we CONTINUE doing?


The Retrospective… …is quick - 30 minutes.

…is NOT a whine session. …needs to be written down.


The Retrospective will lay bare the negative change agents and stonewallers in the

organization.

ADDED BONUS!


Meeting 2: The Daily Standup !

What did you do YESTERDAY? What are you doing TODAY?

What is IN YOUR WAY?


Meeting 2: The Daily Standup… …is quick - 10 minutes max.

…stays on topic. …identifies dependencies.


The Daily Standup will reveal stuck projects and poor

performing employees.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!


1. Identify two techniques you are going to employ.

2. Discuss / understand how your leadership traits map to

those discussed.


Homework:

!

Let’s keep the conversation

going!


Larry Port [email protected]

@larryport www.legalproductivity.com

the science of motivating people - leadership in the 21st century

Business

core idea

multipliersbelieve people

right people onthe

carrotculture isnot

vision statements

andwinning oftenleads

unsound stream of wordsthat

hand inselecting peoplewho