Page 47 - AVN July 2013

we attempt to foster a very collaborative environment. Not to make us sound all
warm and fuzzy (we certainly have our fair share of office screamers) but that’s because
we all have extremely high expectations of each other and that in itself brings with it
certain pressures. Luckily the mutual respect our employees have for one another turns
that pressure into a very powerful motivating factor.”
Motivation, no matter how strong, is only effective if it is accompanied by clear
direction and careful organization. “As a CEO, it’s your job to keep your team
motivated and productive, especially during the lull of the summer months,” said
Amar of PaperStreetCash and TeamSkeet.com. “A few important things we do: Stay
organized—it’s really easy for projects to fall through the cracks and staying organized
is the best weapon against that loss. Focus on the light at the end of the tunnel by
giving each person specific goals with a bonus tied to their accomplishments. Apply
the 90/10 rule by giving the team necessary assignments to work on while also setting
aside time for more creative things that they each want to accomplish. Of course,
when all else fails—Friday happy hours! Do things that will be appreciated, to help
your high-quality team unwind, even if it’s on company time!”
Reward Systems
Many things can serve as incentives, from nice weather to team socialization, but there
really is no substitute for tying financial compensation to a job well done. “For the
VideosZ team, having milestones is very important,” said Clement. “We use a system
of deadlines, goals and profit-based incentives to keep everyone working in the same
direction. One thing I have found is that if you make the bonuses big enough, you
never have a problem with getting people to work hard. If anything, our team has a
hard time leaving the office to go home and take time off. Our team is small,
intentionally, so everyone works together and relies on each other. That also helps to
motivate people because nobody wants to let anyone else down. Once you
communicate clear goals and objectives to a small, talented team with strong profit-
based incentives, the rest pretty much takes care of itself.”
With so many in this industry working remotely or solo without a large team in an
office all around them, we took a look at some more solitary factors as well. “In the
summer I will have my morning coffee outside while I start work,” said Lauren
MacEwen, CEO of social engagement powerhouse 7 Veils Media. “The crisp morning
air always puts me in a good mood and makes me feel like I can capture the opportu-
nities of the day. I am lucky that I can work wherever I am and so can my team. I
encourage them to work outside. Use the great weather to inspire your creativity. After
all a huge part of what we do in social media is reliant on creativity. The summer
weather gives us great things to talk about while refreshing the mind and body.”
Of course, the single most important factor of motivating any team is a leader with
the ability to self-motivate while showing by example and communicating the impor-
tance of staying on top of your game day in and day out. “For me, I need to be in
charge of what I do, for whom and when,” said Sean Holland of Hustler.com. “This is
my core motivation that I live by and it drives me. Also, I’ll do whatever I need to do
to get ahead. There is nothing worse to me than having a full plate or a full inbox, so
it doesn’t matter if it’s spring, summer or fall, I always try my best to get the job done
and fast. I’m a people person and I tend to bond strongly with my team. With that
bond I can easily help motivate and support their needs when they need it most. No
matter what you do, your job exists for a reason. Finding the human element, and of
course balance in what you do, is key to staying motivated all year round.”
If none of that helps you to keep your head in the game, you might want to consider
the fact that you are the most recent iteration in an evolutionary chain spanning all
the way back to the start of the universe itself. Somewhere in your own ancestral time-
line a caveman fought a bear with nothing but a stick—and won. The number of
permutations that all had to turn out exactly right for you to exist in the first place is
truly staggering. What you do with your brief time on this planet determines whether
or not the struggles of so many prior generations were worth it. So when someone
asks, “What did you do today?” you really ought to always have a good answer. ||
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