The hidden power of usefulness, necessity and pleasure

Lots of companies have growth as an ambition, but in everyday practice they have their work cut out for them. Production can’t deal with rising demand, machines regularly go on the blink and orders are no longer filled on time. The people are hard at work, but costs are rising all the time. So how can we work together to find the path to success and satisfied customers? How can we get the very best out of our company?

If you ask me, the crux lies in the conviction that everyone wants their work to be useful. That goes for both companies and individuals. Companies usually want financial continuity, and they also want to contribute to society. For those who work for companies, the monthly paycheck is important. But they also want to do work that is useful and that makes a difference, work that provides them with personal growth and pleasure.

Common drive

Business objectives and personal ambitions, in other words, can mesh perfectly as long as the common drive is to do something worth doing. As long as change, improvement and growth make a difference, everyone will literally want to share in that difference. Because no one enjoys broken-down machinery, unnecessarily large stocks, inefficient processes and unhappy customers. So the key is to rally people around a clearly formulated “why”. A clear structure, established routines and supportive leadership result in effective cooperation and progress. The energy and ideas that lie behind workaday reality are the major forces on the road to new successes.

Motor for improvement

By way of practical example: a man took a job at a factory that produced special baby food. It was a conscious choice on his part, because his little daughter was allergic for mother’s milk. The special baby food had helped her to get off to a healthy start after all. He realized that there was a useful task for him to perform here: he wanted to contribute to this product. His story saw to it that his colleagues were also able to make a link between their personal motivations and those of the company as a whole. A shared “why” was born, based on usefulness, necessity and pleasure. The motor for unity, improvement and successes.

Martijn Cazemier

‘Aiming to grow towards top achievements?
Start with the entrepreneurial and the personal “why”!