Question on The Fifth Discipline LO21134

Steve_Kelner@cqm.org
Fri, 2 Apr 1999 12:29:21 -0500

Replying to LO20804 --

John Gunkler wrote:

>William Auvin-Bray wonders:
>>There is a old Taoists thought about the usefulness
>>of the void or lack of space. For example a cup or bowl has no use or
>>function without the absence of space for food or fluids. The cart and
>>the wheel have no relationship without an axle,(or function),and without
>>a hole through the cart wheel, (the absences of space),the axle has no
>>place to seat in. It is the very lack of function that is the most
>>functional part!
>
>It seems quite clear, from both a psychological and a system dynamics
>perspective, that the "gap" [between desire and actuality] is the primary
>motivation for most human action. In human (and other animal) psychology,
>it is a perceived lack, or need, that motivates behavior. And, in
>organizational systems, it is a perceived gap or mismatch between stated
>goal performance and perceived actual performance that causes change to
>occur.
>
>As William says, quoting the Taoists, it is often the "missing" part that
>is most important for generating action.
>
>"John Gunkler" <jgunkler@sprintmail.com>

One must avoid the assumption of need-based motivation which was an
unnecessarily narrow understanding of motivation. Is the desire for more
the same as a perceived gap?

People as well as organizations respond to the perception of a gap, but
not any gap. In fact, a measured gap of moderate distance generates the
desire to close the gap and the energy to do so. Studies of motivation
going back to the 1920s (see, for example, Yerkes and Dodson) find that if
the gap is perceived too great, people are not motivated to close it
because of the overwhelming nature of the gap, and if the gap is perceived
as very small, people are not motivated to close it because there is no
urgency. In the absence of information, gaps tend to be perceived
unrealistically as too challenging or too easy--either direction moves it
out of the central zone that is optimal for motivated, energetic action.

For example: If I say you must write a 72,000-word book in a year, you
might balk. But that breaks down into:

6,000 words per month
200 words per day
which equals the length of my previous few paragraphs, from "One" to this
word.

(In fact, I suspect some of the contributors to this list have generated
rather more than 72,000 words in the past year! As a motivational
psychologist writing a book on motivating writers, I have had much food
for thought in this list!)

This information comes largely out of the study of the Achievement motive,
which found that the best approach to effective goal-setting included
setting a moderately challenging, measureable goal with clear targets and
dates. In a sense, you temporarily arouse your latent Achievement motive
in this way,and indeed I have run a simulation that is practically
guaranteed to raise Achievement motive to the point of total incompetence
due to overmotivation, no matter what your normal levels might be.

Organizations, however, seem to need a slightly more challenging
goal--something that sounds daring, or at least appears more daring than
it is, in order to overcome the larger inertia a larger body possesses.
When JFK announced the US would put a man on the moon, he was stating
something that was well within our capability and had been for some time,
but most Americans (at least) did not believe it. In 1950 80% of
Americans assumed we would have a cure for cancer by the end of the
century, but only 20% thought we would get to the moon. Surprise!
Organizations also need more comprehensive measures, since they may vary
from person to person, especially from top to bottom. Hence the use of
tools like Hoshin Planning, which develop those measures and work very
well.

Steve Kelner
Director, Educational and Advising Services
Center for Quality of Management

-- 

Steve_Kelner@cqm.org

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