The Stimulus Factor

Citation

Mann, S. (2001), "The Stimulus Factor", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 139-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2001.22.3.139.5

“Most people have a deep‐rooted psychological need for stimulation” (p. 6). This sums up is the so‐called “stimulus factor” which business consultant David Freemantle believes can change the way we think about motivation. We need a stimulus to motivate us to do anything, whether to take a trip, buy a sandwich or do our jobs. Understanding the stimulus factor then, is the key to motivating your employees, your customers, but most importantly, yourself.

Throughout this very readable text, Freemantle is anxious to stress that motivation must come from within; “it is incredibly patronizing to assume that one human being can motivate another. One of the greatest myths propagated by management theorists is that the role of a leader or manager is to motivate people” (p. 50). As such, Freemantle is somewhat scathing of “traditional” motivation books and theories which aim to help the reader better motivate their staff. Sure enough, in accordance with this stance, the book leans rather more heavily towards developing the reader’s self‐motivation than it does towards motivating their employees. Consequently, any reader who was hoping for help with motivating their workforce will be sorely disappointed.

Having said that, the text, which is littered with examples of real‐life CEOs, managers and leaders (including Sir Richard Branson) who have used inspirational ways to motivate others, does offer many useful (and entertaining) insights. The key to motivation, whether it is self‐ or other‐directed, is to understand what stimulates us as people (workers, shoppers, etc). Freemantle presents his own model of 17 “clusters” of motivational stimuli that he believes govern what motivates us in everything we do. These include aspirational, learning, discovering, inspirational, emotional, social and altruistic stimuli. He came up with his extensive list by asking 1000 people – leaders, managers and employees – what really motivates them. Every stimulus, he claims, can be classified into one or other of these clusters. Whilst I found this idea novel and interesting, I could not immediately see how to use this model within my own experiences (other than in classifying for the sake of classifying) and the author does not help out – a wasted opportunity, perhaps, of what might have been developed into a valuable new motivational model.

Whilst I found the stimulus factor inspirational and entertaining, I would hesitate to recommend it to managers looking for quick‐fix ways to improve the motivation of their team. The ideas that Freemantle presents are better used to motivate yourself, rather than your staff (although they will presumably be so impressed by the new you that they will want to follow suit!), to transform whatever you do into something special.

For example, the author advises you to create works of art out of simple, mundane things (reports, presentations, etc.), to constantly look for fresh stimuli by changing your preferred newspaper or radio station, to search out people who are stimulating and to even turn the way you greet visitors to your office into a “work of art”!

Who then is this book aimed at? I puzzled over this question because it is not obvious. Not MBA students, nor transactional leaders with a bent towards motivational theory. Eventually, I decided that managers in customer service areas, as well as anyone looking for that extra something to motivate them to greater things, would find this book an inspirational read. It is not, admittedly, crammed with practical ideas to improve employee morale or customer loyalty, nor is it necessarily built on a sound theoretical basis. However, it does provide a rare insight into the minds of highly motivated staff and highly motivating leaders in such a way as to stimulate the reader to review their own motivational practices. I think few readers will fail to find something in this book to stimulate them to greater work success.