A Simple

Story 
about

the4-Drive
Model
of Employee Motivation

Kurt Nelson

©2009 The Lantern Group

Meet our protagonist…

We’ll call him “The Manager”

Meet our protagonist…

Hi!

We’ll call him “The Manager”

The Manager works for a Company
The Manager works for a Company

We
make
stuff!
But there is a problem…
The workers aren’t motivated…
The workers aren’t motivated…

Break’s
over!
The workers aren’t motivated…

#%$#*!
The Manager needs to figure out how to
increase employee motivation
The Manager needs to figure out how to
increase employee motivation

But how?
He tried to get the workers excited!
He tried to get the workers excited!

Let’s go!
He tried to get the workers excited!

Get
motivated!
He put motivational quotes up around
the office
He tried to instill fear!
He tried to instill fear!

Get moving or
you’re fired!
He even tried to “entice” them

Salar y
$$$
He even tried to “entice” them

Big Bucks!
I got the
Big Bucks!

Salar y
$$$
These “fixes” all worked for a while…
But none of them seemed to work for long
 Ho Hum…

But none of them seemed to work for long

Then one day The Manager read a book
Called Driven, by Lawrence and Nohria
And it helped him figure out…what he
needed to do
And it helped him figure out…what he
needed to do
Eureeka!
He realized there are four main drives
that impact employee motivation
 Acquire,
Bond,
Challenge
and Defend

He realized there are four main drives

that impact employee motivation
And that he needed to work on all four of
these drives with his employees
And that he needed to work on all four of
these drives with his employeesAs Lawrence
and Nohria say,
“every job must
provide an
opportunity to
fulfill…all four
drives.”
The drive to Acquire is about an
employees need to acquire “stuff”
The drive to Acquire is about an
employees need to acquire “stuff”

[ like money, things,

awards, prestige ]

$$
They are motivated to Acquire this “stuff”

$$
And they’ll work hard to get it

$$
And they’ll work hard to get it…

$$
And they’ll work hard to get it…and keep it

$$
And they’ll work hard to get it…and keep it

$$
And they’ll work hard to get it…and keep it

Grrr!!!!

$$
So now The Manager knows the way to
structure pay and rewards to leverage the
drive to Acquire (not just as base pay)

Bonus Check
$$$
So now The Manager knows the way to
structure pay and rewards to leverage the
drive to Acquire (not just as base pay)

Utilize incentives to
drive performance
and create a culture
Bonus Check
of recognition and
$$$
reward
 Bonus Check
$$$

The Manager also knows that the Acquire

drive is relative
 Employees
will always
compare
themselves
to others…
the drive is
never fully
satisfied

Bonus Check
$$$

The Manager also knows that the Acquire

drive is relative
 Bonus Check
$$$

And you need to know what your

employees think
 Find out who your
employees compare
themselves too
(this is not always
obvious) and make
Bonus Check
$$$ sure that your pay
and perks are
comparable

And you need to know what your

employees think
And The Manager knows that the drive to
Acquire is about more than just money

Wendy is
NUMBER !
And The Manager knows that the drive to
Acquire is about more than just money

The drive to
Acquire is also
about prestige
and status
Wendy is
NUMBER !
And The Manager knows that the drive to
Acquire is about more than just money

Make sure
you give
credit and
promote your
employees
Wendy is
achievements NUMBER !
!
But employees also have a drive to Bond
But employees also have a drive to Bond
But employees also have a drive to Bond

[ form positive social

relationships with co-
workers ]
Bonding is an innate drive that helps
employees feel part of a group
They will go out of their way to help
people in their group
 Do you
need any
help?

They will go out of their way to help

people in their group
These bonds will help to instill loyalty and
engender positive emotions about the
company
These bonds will help to instill loyalty and
engender positive emotions about the
company What a great
place to work!
So The Manager now knows that he has to
foster bonding and create opportunities for
social interaction

Bee
rs
on
me
!
So The Manager now knows that he has to
foster bonding and create opportunities for
social interaction

Bee
rs
on
me
!
So The Manager now knows that he has to
foster bonding and create opportunities for
social interaction

Bee
rs
on
me
!
Which leads to the employees identifying
themselves as a team

Bee
rs
on
me
!
Which leads to the employees identifying
themselves as a team…

Bee
rs
on
me
!
Which leads to the employees identifying
themselves as a team…with more
motivation

Bee
rs
on
me
!
The Manager knows that teambuilding
sessions are about more than fun…
 Teambuilding
should provide
opportunities
for greater
bonding and
trust building

The Manager knows that teambuilding

sessions are about more than fun…
 And should
create a shared
experience that
helps build a
unique and
positive culture

The Manager knows that teambuilding

sessions are about more than fun…
And that celebrations actually have a
business impact
And that celebrations actually have a
business impact

Happy
Birthday!
Of course there is the drive to be Challenged
Of course there is the drive to be Challenged

[ be inspired to learn
and grow – face and
overcome challenges ]
Where regular employees can become…
Where regular employees can become…

SUPER HEROES!
And by creating variety, stretch goals, new
experiences, and opportunities to learn…
Companies create teams of super heroes!
Who come to work motivated and engaged!
Who come to work motivated and engaged!
Who come to work motivated and engaged!
The Manager knows that he has to ensure
that his employees are constantly
challenged and learning new things
The Manager knows that he has to ensure
that his employees are constantly
challenged and learning new things

We are
going
for that
The Manager knows that he has to ensure
that his employees are constantly
challenged and learning new things

We are
going
for that
And structure the jobs and the processes so
they don’t become routine and rote
And structure the jobs and the processes so
they don’t become routine and rote

I’m
bored
But instead they challenge the individual
 Set stretch
goals, assign
different types
of projects, job
sharing, have
contests,
expand duties…

But instead they challenge the individual

 Training classes,
job shadowing,
mentorships,
strategic
planning

And provide new learning opportunities

The last element is the drive to Defend

ME
AC
The last element is the drive to Defend

[ defend the company

and the ideals it stands
for ]

ME
AC
Where employees feel such pride and
attachment to the company that they are
motivated to defend it against all attacks

ME
AC
Where employees feel such pride and
attachment to the company that they are
motivated to defend it against all attacks
You
talkin’ to
me?
ME
AC
Competitive action

ME
AC co
mp
The Economy

ME
AC
Rumors and negative talk

AC
ME
Negative
information
and rumors
The Manager knows that to activate the
drive to Defend, employees must feel a
connection to the company
And feel pride about what the company does
and how it acts
This means that The Manager has to do and
act the right way as well
This means that The Manager has to do and
act the right way as well
I need to be
honest and
courteous – being
transparent about
how and what the
company is doing
This means that The Manager has to do and
act the right way as well
I need to
highlight the
good that we do
and constantly
focus on the big
picture!
This means that The Manager has to do and
act the right way as well

And I need to stick

up for my team
and walk the
walk…
So The Manager implemented these changes
and low and behold….
So The Manager implemented these changes
and low and behold….motivation improved
The Company prospered…
The Company prospered…
The Company prospered…
And The Manager got promoted!
And The Manager got promoted!
And The Manager got promoted!
And The Manager got promoted!

Yeah!
 To find out more about
the 4-Drive Model
Or contact us…
Read this…

Web: www.lanterngroup.com
Blog: http://thelanterngroup.wordpress.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/WhatMotivates
612-396-6392

©2009 The Lantern Group – use permitted with acknowledgement

 Bye!

©2009 The Lantern Group – use permitted with acknowledgement