A book recommendation from Dan Beaulieu

Make it Matter: How Managers Can Motivate by Creating Meaning

By Scott Mautz

Copyright 2015Amacom

Price $24.95

Pages: 250 with Index

Making it matter motivates people

Look it’s pretty straightforward isn’t it? People work harder and are much more passionate when they know that what they are doing has a purpose and a meaning and of yes what they are doing is important.

Author Scott Mautz has written a book that should be must reading for anyone in management. He works off of the principle that everyone in your organization has to know what they are working for. He tells the story of the great Physicist Richard Feynman finding himself in charge of a group of physicists and mathematicians who were lackadaisically working on some long mathematical problems. They were completely demotivated and making a lot of mistakes as a result of it. Feynman finally had enough so he went to his boss and urged to be allowed to tell his people what they were working on. His boss a fellow by the name of Oppenheimer agreed and everything changed when these scientist that they were working on the device that would ultimately end the war. Now they had a purpose, now their work had meaning and now they finally were passionate about what they were doing.

I don’t think Mautz could have used a better example of what his book is all about and how it works.

Okay we’ve got the idea now how to we implement a program “that makes it matter”? No problem, this book is chock full of plans and tools and strategies on how to effectively get that done.

From the chapter on motivating the people to fail…yes that’s right to fail. People who are not afraid to fail, succeed in the end because they will try. As opposed to who are literally paralyzed with fear about failing and thus do nothing.

He asks a series of questions that get to the heart of the matter by urging yourself and your people:

• If I knew that I wouldn’t fail would I try?

• What would take the business to another level?

• What missing accomplishment would cause me to label my life’s work incomplete?

• What can only I lead?

• What would I be proud to tell others I lead?

• What would competitors be afraid I was doing?

• What could I put in place that would outlast me

• Who do I admire for the difference they’ve made and what about then could I emulate?

A besides all of these tactics and strategies the last chapter is an actual implementation plan for making things matter in your company or organization.

This book makes a wallop. If you’re serious about taking your company to the next level and beyond pick this one up.