How To Increase Motivation & Meaning at Work
Anesh Jagtiani
YPO Certified Forum Facilitator | Executive Coaching and Leadership Development
Consider the history of cake mixes. Back in the 1940s, when most women worked at home, a company called P. Duff and Sons introduced boxed cake mixes.
The mixes were almost ready-made; housewives had only to add water, stir up the mix in a bowl, pour the batter into a cake pan, bake it at 350 degrees for half an hour, and voilà! They had a tasty dessert to serve to their family and friends.
But surprisingly, these mixes didn’t sell well. The reason had nothing to do with the taste. It had to do with the complexity of the process—but not in the way we usually think about complexity.
Duff discovered that the ’40s-era housewives felt that the just-add-water-cakes were a shade shy of buying ready-made from a store. Sure, the cakes emerged warm from the oven and the mix saved time, but the completed cakes did not feel like the housewives’ own creations.
There was simply too little effort involved to confer a sense of creation and meaningful ownership. To solve this problem, the company took the eggs and milk powder out of the mix and put the new, harder-to-use mix on supermarket shelves.
This time, when the housewives added fresh eggs, oil, and real milk, they felt like they’d participated in the making and were much happier with the end product.
When someone told them, “What a delicious cake you made!” they could smile and respond: “It’s an ancient family recipe.” They didn’t just accept the compliment; they believed they deserved it.
The Duff cake mix story offers a simple and clear example of the power of effort and ownership and how it relates to motivation.
It shows that when we work harder and spend a bit more time and effort, we feel a greater sense of ownership and thus enjoy more the fruits of our efforts.
Stop chasing other people’s formulas for success. Have the courage to experiment and learn from it. Have the courage to try new things, start a movement, launch a product, speak your mind and heart.
Ultimately, we all are going to die. You might as well rehearse the best version of yourself everyday.
Make it happen!