My Adam’s apple tumbled into the back of my throat, and my intestines knotted themselves into a figure eight.
It reminded me of the awkward feeling of running into an ex-girlfriend.
Except I hadn’t bumped into someone I’d dated in a Walgreens, I’d read a story about the company I left about a decade ago, before starting my consulting work and writing Meltdown.
I was reading my daily email from Matt Levine, a Bloomberg columnist, when I saw the news.
My former company made gobs and gobs of money last year.
I mean gobs.
They’re a high-powered Wall Street trading firm, so making money wasn’t unexpected.
But they made a TON of it—a firm of a thousand people made around eight billion dollars.
I took a moment to fantasize about the bonus check I would’ve gotten had I still worked there. About the Egyptian cotton sheets I would’ve purchased, the vacation home I’d be off to.
And then I took a deep breath. I remembered how to swallow and un-tied my intestines. And I went about my day.
Because what motivates me in life isn’t money.
Don’t get me wrong—money is great! I use it to fund interesting things at work and do fun things at home. My hair tonic doesn’t pay for itself, after all 😉.
If money drove me, I would have stayed on Wall Street.
But I connect with my work because it meets my need to have an impact. To make a difference. To make things better.
That’s what motivates some of my favorite clients, too.
When I help leaders guide transformational change in their organizations, they’re doing it for so much more than the cost savings or growth they’re going to create for their company.
Money is great—it’s what creates a trigger for action. I loved helping a client revamp how his manufacturing group cooperated, netting them ten million dollars in savings a year.
But most of my clients are in it to do meaningful work that delights their bosses, energizes their colleagues, and tickles their customers. To make things better.
What about you? What motivates you to do your most ambitious work?
Comment and let me know.
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