Irritated Vs. Encouraged, A Business Dilemma.

"Motivation" is one of the difficult to describe words in Websters Dictionary.  Words can have more than one source of direction.  The word "motivation" is one of those words that can have more than one source of direction.  The two most common sources for "motivation" are to be irritated enough to do something versus to be encouraged enough to do something.  These two sources present the business owner with a tall dilemma.  Is the owner irritated enough to do something good or encouraged enough to do something good?  These forms of motivation come from completely different sources.  It is from these sources that determines how a business owner will be motivated.

Websters Dictionary  describes both of these sources as being a contributor to some form of motivation.  When a person gets irritated enough they can become motivated to react and behave in a particular fashion.  The same holds true for someone who gets encouraged enough to react and behave in a particular fashion.  I once had a business mentor tell me to stay mad long enough to do something about it.  He said being mad enough is more effect to cause change than feeling good about making a change.  I tend to agree.  I have proven that theory more often in my life than I care to admit.  When it comes to motivation, getting irritated is far more effective than feeling encouraged.

If that is the case, why do so many business owners run away from irritations?  Furthermore, why do so many business owners gravitate towards words of encouragement?  Let's take a deeper and more honest look at these two differences.  Business owners are leaders, correct?  If so, don't leaders examine truths and motivational opportunities?  Maybe, maybe not.

Motivation is a very fickle game.  The sources of motivation that move us to good decisions can come from a wide variety of unique forms.  Sometimes we get mad enough to do something better than what we were doing before.  Sometimes we get mad enough to ignore what we need to be doing.  Sometimes we get so tickled with ourselves that we become encouraged about who we are, keeping us away from doing something difficult that would help us become better leaders, with better results.  Yet again, sometimes we see something encouraging that moves us to do similar acts of courage as we change our direction in a positive way and the end result helps us to build a stronger business model.  As you can see, the sources of motivation can be significantly different to each person.  Similar motivational sources can produce completely different results.  Motivation can be a very fickle game.
I suspect the war between these two words, irritation and encouragement, has been a long impending detriment to business owners.  These two sources rule how an owner becomes motivated.  A lot of how a leader "feels" determines how they will respond to these two sources of motivation.  If an owner of a business "feels" frustrated when someone offers critical advice, the chance to become more irritated is higher than the chance for becoming encouraged.  If the irritation is strong enough, the business owner might retaliate and ignore the helpful suggestion.  In fact, the business owner might react in an "I'll show you" kind of fashion and completely arrange to do an opposing move to the irritating suggestion.  As a result, a great suggestion might go over the head of the owner passing by as if invisible.  Or it may invoke the owner to get ticked off enough to do something completely opposite in retaliation, crippling some possibilities for success.    In either case, an opportunity for favorable change is missed.  The owners "feelings" got in the way.  When this reaction occurs, the motivation goes south instead of north.  When it comes to irritation, motivation always occurs.  Depending upon the owners "feelings" it can cause the owner to move up, north...or down, south.  Moving up the scale of success is preferred.  Try to react to irritations, northward.

The same kind of failure responses can happen when we are faced with words of encouragement.  We can be right smack in the middle of a process of needed change when someone comes along and compliments how well we are doing.  Our ears get so tickled by the compliments that we get a warm and fuzzy "feeling" and stop the process for completing the needed change.  We get over-dressed with the words of encouragement and stop our work as if we have arrived.  Do not misunderstand this point.  Words of encouragement are essential.  Every business owner should be working overtime to find ways to share these kinds of efforts with their staff and associates.  It is vital to building healthy and growing business models.  If you are a leader of a business and this portion is missing from action, you are truly managing a struggling business.  However, encouragement can provide an owner some misleading forms of messages.  Many times an owner gets confused when someone learns how to tickle their ears with 'false' words of encouragement.  What appears to sound like healthy motivation can turn ugly with too much unnecessary butter applied to the bread.  Watch the levels of butter closely.  Control the "feelings" that are included in the deception.  The art of leadership has a lot to do with how an owner "feels."

Irritation versus encouragement.  Be wary of how these two words can motivate.  Managing these two words can present a business owner with some troubling dilemmas.  The trick to working these sources of motivation in the most favorable way is to learn how to manage your own "feelings."

The true business dilemma does not surround these two sources.  The words irritation and encouragement are separate sources of motivation, we see that.  We also see how these two words can interfere with a business owners judgment as to how they will react when these sources appear.  How the owner reacts is not determined by what words caused the motivation to surface.  How the owner reacts is caused by how the owner "feels."  The secret to making great decisions in your business model is to learn how to control what you see and "feel."  Control your "feelings" better so you can make better choices that will help you win more often.  Your business model was not designed to protect your "feelings."  It was designed to provide you with a healthy return on investment, regardless of how you "feel."  Sometimes we have lived in our ownership too long and eventually we have allowed the two to become blended into one.  They are not the same.  "Feelings" and business decisions must be kept in their own levels of respect.  They must be controlled separately, with a higher form of respect.  Great owners know and respect this difference.  If you find you are challenged with this dilemma, get some help on defining how you may learn to manage better control.  There are literally thousands of books written on this subject.  Are you reading any of them?

Leaders are readers.  As well as, readers are leaders.  Are you reading?  Are you trying to lead with all of the current information you already know?  Do you know everything there is to know about leadership?  Are you maxed out?  I suppose the real question should be, am I irritating you?

Until next time...