Clifford Schorer: First of all I think the key to success obviously is putting together good people. There's no shortcut to that. More important than product, more important than anything else is being able to bring together people with a common idea. So I think in the early stage the most important thing is to look for like-minded people who have an entrepreneurial spirit, who are little longer-term thinkers, that they look for rewards over a longer period of time. If you want to compete with someone who wants to come in at a high salary and wants all the benefits and the key to the executive washroom, that's not the person for your entrepreneurial company because the reality of it is what they really- what you really need is somebody who's willing to roll up their sleeves, put in the hours, take part to help build something and take pride in it. So it's not about managing their career. Rather it's about being a part of something exciting.
Question: How can leaders incentivize employees to do good work?
Clifford Schorer: That's a great question and the reality of it is I think it very much depends on the individual because different people have different mindsets. Some are driven by utilitarian money in the bank and they're rewarded that way and they think that's great. Others have a heightened social consciousness so a lot of what they do will be driven by are they doing something good for society. So I think understanding the needs of the individual is the first step in creating incentive programs that make them work. So for some they'll be driven by stock options and the get rich dream and others will be- they'll be guided by the fact that gosh, I'm helping people; I'm working in an emergency medical center or I'm helping through genetics or I'm doing any number of things, that they go home at night saying, doing something meaningful. Teaching is a great example of that. Right? You're never going to be rich being a teacher but the rewards you can get from helping young people are phenomenal. So it depends a lot on what their social drivers are.
Recorded on: 5/13/08
Discuss
Amanda Stillwagon on June 4, 2009, 11:54 AM
Great points. You should look for someone who is not just looking at the perks of the job but is excited about being able to be a part of it. If they’re just counting their dollars, you’ll never get passion and dedication from them
Jason Hennessey on June 4, 2009, 1:13 PM
Jason Hennessey on June 4, 2009, 1:17 PM
I agree to the second point of understanding the needs of your people in order to motivate them to work at their best. This will be the basis of incentivizing achievements and excellent work done. If the needs of the people inside the organization is met then the workplace will be a good area to develop potentially good employees.
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