Friday, January 18, 2008

Motivating Yourself and Others


Not All Work
Originally uploaded by The Marmot
This past Wednesday I attended a class on "Motivating Yourself and Others." My boss strongly suggested that it would be better for the both of us if I did. It is true that my fervor for work has cooled off quit a bit. But , cynic that I am, I doubted that any class the job was paying for could actually give me a kick start.

Much to my surprise, the class was very good. We covered the challenges we face by having four generations in the workforce at one time. I am an "early boomer" and most of the people that I work with are, shall we say, quite seasoned. So it was interesting to see how the members of the "x" and "y" generations are motivated by things that might be anathema to many of us. This theory, of course, uses broad generalizations or stereotypes. So we also discussed personality types (I am a "High Achiever") and what was likely to motivate them.

Let it be known that I am not the type of guy who can be motivated by a pretty picture and a clever saying. However, I was excited when I left. Then after sleeping on it, the feeling passed.

I would like to note that the next day my boss was to attend. When she got to the junction of the 605 and the 60, she had a choice - continue straight to get to class or bear right and go home. She went home.

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