The Management Bible

Chapter 4. Motivating Employees

IT'S A NEW WORLD OUT THERE ...

Motivating employees and ...

• Understanding how to get the best from your employees—every day of the week.

• The world's greatest management principle.

• Understanding what motivates your employees.

• Getting creative with rewards and recognition.

• Putting together a system of low-cost rewards.

THE WORLD'S GREATEST MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLE

Wouldn't it be great if all your employees came to work—each and every day of the week—excited about being there, fully engaged, and giving their best efforts? Perhaps you're one of the lucky managers whose employees already fit this description. If so, then keep on doing whatever it is that you're doing. But, if for some reason your employees aren't as excited about their jobs as they could or should be or if they are not fully engaged and giving their best efforts, then you've got a problem. The good news is that this is a problem that you as a manager have a great deal of influence over.

Motivating employees is what it's all about, and, while you can't reach into someone's head and turn on his or her motivation switch, by using rewards and recognition, you can create the kinds of conditions that will result in motivated employees.

But before we get into all the details of rewards and recognition, we first need to let you in on a little secret: the world's greatest management principle. Now, you may think you already know what this principle is—something along the lines of "He who has the gold rules," ...