Our Identity via our smart phone and other complications of life....

I was attending a business event the other day and the topic of smart phones came up.   I was asked if I preferred Blackberry or iPhone.  Of course my answer was that I carry both.  I have a great answer why - I carry a Blackberry for business and iPhone for personal.  Who would have thought 10 years ago that I would have been debating the relative merits of the safari mobile browser versus the secure interface and better keyboard of the Blackberry.  The world is beginning to become divided between Apple users (of which I am a fanatic) and all of the others.  Where at one time one's identity was defined by possibly your career, hobby or sport, it now is becoming defined by the technology you choose.  Has my life become so complicated and digital that constant contact is necessary?   I sometimes think that we have made our lives too complicated.  I was reading a blog I follow called The Positivity Blog  and liked the thoughts he had and I thought I would add my own on how I would like to further simplify things:



Is this useful?  Often when I undertake an activity for work it appears useful at the beginning as there is motion and action involved.   I need to continue to press if this is the best use of my time.

What is the most important thing I can be doing right now?   The most urgent is not always the most important, people should always take precedence over function.

Am I keeping things extremely simple?   Humans have the unique ability to complicate things when it is not necessary, there is something in our genetic make-up that makes it essential to create a two pulley system for hanging a bird feeder from the tree in the back yard (guilty).

Is there anybody else on the planet having it worse then me right now?  Simple answer, complex thought.

So I decided to simplify my life and now carry only an iPhone.   I still have five e-mail addresses along with multiple social media platforms, but a least I am  only  carrying one device.   I have a long way to go with the rest of what I do, however identifying the need is a great start.

Motivation versus Incentive

As many of you are aware, I maintain what some would observe as a rather obsessive level of athletic activity.   This combined with a need to control my personal and professional schedule to the minute each and every day, make it appear that I am more motivated than others when it comes to being what some would describe as 'fit'.   I was pondering this thought the other day when I was at our local YMCA for a swim and weight room work out ( I also asked my swim mates why is it that my running watch, which shows my pace time, records a faster pace time through lower numbers, however when I stop is shows a pace time of 0:00s, we do have philosophical conversations between sets), and noticed that the change room had more elbow room then at the same time a few weeks ago.   Then I remembered that we have entered the time of year when  the clock stops on many individual's New Year's resolution and commitment to increased physical activity. I am personally facinated why people do things and of course I cannot understand why somebody would not want to exercise at least 2-3 times everyday.

This had me reflecting on motivation and some learnings I took our local leadership development group a few months ago.   One often thinks of motivation as something that can be manufactured through incentives, driving results rather than leading.  Daniel Pink has become quite famous in discussing motivation and the flaws that modern management has in attempting to motivate employees. I have spoken about this before, however I do feel that Mr. Pink has simplified the discussion a little bit too far.   He talks about the need for Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.   I do not disagree with these three principles, however where he misses the mark is on understanding that motivation is an internal set of characteristics as compared to something an outside authority (manager) can provide.   Here is a link to Daniel Pink's TED talk as it is worth listening to if you have not heard it.







I already stated that I do not disagree with Dan, I do feel both formal and informal leaders need to take this farther and understand motivation better.   Let's reflect back on exercise, most people who begin exercising as a result of a New Years resolution are not motivated through exercise, they have another goal or purpose.   Some people are motivated by exercise and therefore they go to the gym even when it is a holiday Monday or 'squeeze in a run' while travelling.   A person who is not motivated by fitness as an activity, however still has a goal of being fit or losing weight needs to understand what motivates them.   Are they somebody who needs a sense of order?   If so scheduling and planning will likely get them to the gym.  Are they somebody who likes beauty, if so then nice clothes and a gym that is estectically pleasing will motivate them.   You need to understand the key motivating factors for you to be successful in changing habits or obtaining a goal.  Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose as Dan Pink states do play a role, however they simplify the process of understanding motivation.  

This extends to that of the manager or leader.   Understanding the motivation of those who work with you is vitally important.   A classic example for me is that food is simply fuel that allows me to do the activities I want.  For many people food is a motivator and a well prepared meal is vital for their enjoyment of many social and business activities.  I need to understand this type of motivation when I am doing things such as scheduling meetings as not everybody will be satisfied with taking a 10 minute break to have a protein shake for lunch.   I susbscribe to the theories as presented by Dr. Steven Reiss who has developed the 16 basic desires of individuals:

(Reiss 2012)

I believe people in general and specifically leaders (or future leaders) should have a greater understanding of what motivation truly is and if you are interested there are some people doing some great work on it.   One place to start is to read Steven Reiss and his work on motivation as founded in the discoveries by Frankl just after the first world war.  Another great resource is to follow the blog from Reiss Profile Canada.  We can get just touch the surface or get as deep as you want to into the theoretical work as you want to, but what it really comes down to is making  an attempt to have a greater understanding of the person you are working with to understand what motivates them, allowing you to both format the work environment and actual work, rather than simply providing incentives for short-term 'motivation'.    Along with leading others this knowledge results in one knowing what motivates yourself as an individual so that you can self-motivate and monitor your mood based on motivating factors.

Okay, I am off to the gym now.....