Final episode of a blogpost series on the InSites Consulting company values. 

You might have noticed that we’re fans of the word ‘forward’. After covering six of our seven company values in the previous blogposts (forward thinking, open, result-driven, we-oriented, adaptive, and respectful), it’s time to deal with our final value, ‘daring’, nicely forming the acronym FORWARD!

“The more you chase money, the harder it is to catch it.” – Mike Tatu

I love this Dan Pink video explaining what drives us as human beings. Contrary to what many believe, money is not a core driver of motivation and energy, at least not when it relates to applying cognitive skills needed for conceptual and creative thinking (as opposed to mechanical skills needed for simple, straightforward tasks). Following ample evidence from scientists around the world, people like doing what they do for three core reasons: they can work autonomously, they get better at something (mastery), and they act in line with a bigger purpose.

Mastery

A nice ‘mastery’ example is the Fun Theory, a Volkswagen initiative – they stimulate people to come up with ideas that are fun and at the same time change human behavior for the better. Kevin Richardson, winner of the Fun Theory award, wanted to get more people to obey the speed limit by making it fun to do. The idea was so good that Volkswagen, together with The Swedish National Society for Road Safety, actually made this innovative idea a reality in Stockholm, resulting in an average driving speed reduction of 22%. In general, the whole idea of ‘gamification’ (application of game thinking and game practices to non-gaming situations) is permeating our media, our entertainment, our education system, and the workplace, not to mention potentially changing the way we interact with life itself. Ever heard of Foldit? It is an online ‘puzzles for science’ platform, with players collaborating worldwide to fold protein molecules in three dimensions. Whereas scientists have spent 15 years trying to unlock the structure of an AIDS-related protein, Foldit players solved the puzzle in just 10 days!

Purpose

What is cool about the above-mentioned examples is that people are doing this just for fun: they create stuff for free and give it away rather than selling it.

Purpose is what separates great companies from good ones, making their work important instead of banal. Examples of great missions abound: Sony with “to be a company that inspires and fulfills your curiosity”, Apple with “to bring the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services”, Meta with “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together”, or   with “to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling”. But less ‘cool’ companies such as Procter & Gamble also attach a lot of importance to the idea of purpose, as stated by their now retired CEO Robert McDonald: “Purpose is what has made this company successful for 175 years.” Great leaders are dealers in hopes and dreams, passing on their enthusiasm to others.