Small Business Quick Quiz
Question #15
Understanding human motivation is critical to business success. The three most important human motives are…
- a. Fear, laziness and greed
c. Relief, trust and happiness
d. Hope, faith and desire to obtain
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©1997 The Profit Clinic. All rights reserved. This page updated 7 January 2000.
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The Short Answers #15 |
The answers to the questions are listed here in short form. For more complete discussion of the issues raised, visit the linked resources. Better still, subscribe to Small Business Pro. newsletter and bizzbuzz discussion list.
15a. Fear, laziness and greed are not motives… they’re emotional states. In fact, laziness and greed are both manifestations of fear of loss — the reason why people don’t do things. (They fear losing what they already have, or missing out on what they don’t yet have.)
15b. Fear, desire and relief are not motives. They’re emotional states. They’re the underlying emotional conditions of conventional marketing… “identify a need and satisfy it”. An unmet need creates fear, because it’s lack of control. Desire is wanting something — a necessary precursor to action. And relief is what people feel when their unmet needs are satisfied. But none of them is a motive.
15c. Relief, trust and happiness are not motives — they’re emotional states. But at least they’re all positive! They’re the emotional conditions produced by the Three Criteria of Fulfilment.
15d. Hope and faith are both human motives. They move people from one emotional state or condition to another. In the case of hope, it moves the individual from fear to desire to obtain (want!). Faith moves the individual from desire to obtain to relief — satisfaction of their unmet need — because they take the necessary action (the “leap of faith”). But desire to obtain is an emotional state — not a motive. Two out of three ain’t bad — but it ain’t good enough, either!
15e. You’re right on the money! These are the three human motives (the ONLY human motives, in fact! Any others are just variations on these three.) They move people from one emotional state or condition to another. In the case of hope, it moves the individual from fear to desire to obtain (want!). Faith moves the individual from desire to obtain to relief — satisfaction of their unmet need — because they take the necessary action (the “leap of faith”). Once they realise that they’re in control — their need has been satisfied and their hopes and desires fulfilled — you can’t stop them wanting to share how they feel with others.
15f. Hope and faith are both human motives. But desire to retain is nothing more than fear of loss in disguise. (Why do you want to retain? Isn’t it because you fear that if you share it you’ll lose it? That there’s not enough to go around?) Read 15d and 15e. Once again, two out of three is pretty good — but not good enough. Sorry.
©1997 The Profit Clinic. All rights reserved. This page updated 7 January 2000.