Management is not rocket science, but people management is. Everything around us was created by people—people with their own goals, fears, and motivations. These factors drive their actions. Thousands of years ago, humans planned and worked together to hunt mammoths, and today, we’re creating prompts for ChatGPT. The underlying motivations are timeless.
Remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Motivation can be complex, and fear isn’t always negative. Just as goals aren’t always purely positive. People can be motivated by a fear of failure or losing their job, and this can sometimes be even more powerful than financial incentives. Those motivated by money might not maintain high productivity levels forever; if salary directly determined productivity, then companies like Apple would have all the best minds of the universe on their team.
However, people driven by fear are often the most motivated. They’re clear about what they don’t want to experience again, and they understand the costs of failure. For them, it’s not just about gain but also about avoiding a negative outcome.
To truly motivate a team, it’s essential to set clear goals. But this is about more than just SMART objectives; it’s about setting a vision—a final destination. How will it look when the work is done? It can be difficult to explain an end goal in simple terms. Consider how challenging it is to summarize a complex story like Game of Thrones in a single sentence—where noble families vie for ultimate power.
For instance, consider other examples:
- Breaking Bad
Teacher turns drug lord for survival. - Stranger Things
Kids uncover secrets of supernatural dimensions. - The Walking Dead
Survivors fight zombies and societal collapse. - Friends
Six friends navigate life and love.
This is a big picture, North Star goal—a broader, long-term vision. This should be the final piece of the puzzle that everyone works toward. Setting up a big picture could be challenging when you are operating on low level. I remember working on a huge commerce program. Every Monday was super stressful because we had to prepare reports and present updates to top management. The main stakeholder would always sit there silently, not saying a word. We couldn’t understand why he behaved this way, and it left us feeling confused. One day, the boss finally spoke up. He said, “Guys, I don’t care about the burn-down chart or how many story points you closed. I just want to see the overall progress. Are we on track with the deadline or not? Everything else doesn’t matter at all.” That moment was a turning point for me. It changed how I understood the importance of setting clear goals.
When I worked at a friend’s startup, one of our API engineers had printed Instagram profiles of our potential customers and placed them on his desk. He said, “When I’m unsure what to do, I look at these photos. It reminds me who I’m building this platform for, and then the solution just comes.” Recognizing that you’re working on something meaningful and tangible is a powerful motivator. Many wealthy people are unhappy because they’ve lost sight of their vision. Money provides only temporary motivation.
One more exercise. I always think about how I will describe the project I work with in the current time during the job interview. It doesn’t mean I am in the endless search of work. It does mean I think about the final destination and keep focusing on the results.å
People management is rocket science because you must decide what fuel your team will use. A rocket powered by cortisol (stress) may launch quickly, but it will burn out just as fast. Without a clear destination and a guiding North Star goal, your daily actions become nothing more than aimless activity. Your vision always dictates your decisions.