Are You “The Greatest" Motivator?

Are You “The Greatest" Motivator?

By

Eric M. Twiggs

“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”   Mohammed Ali

Recently we’ve experienced the loss of boxing legend Mohammed Ali.  It’s been said that he was “the greatest”.   As I watched the different accounts of his life, I wondered what was it about him that made people feel this way?  After all, there have been other fighters who have won more fights.  

There have been boxers who have retired with fewer losses. There have been others who have scored more knockouts.  The answer to my question was revealed as I watched the highlights of his 1964 fight against Sonny Liston.

Sonny Liston was the defending heavyweight champion and the most intimidating fighter of his day.  So much so that of the forty-six sports writers who were surveyed before the fight, forty-three picked Liston to win!  In spite of the overwhelming odds, Ali shocked the world by delivering a knockout victory! 

At the end of the fight, while being interviewed by a reporter Ali uttered four words that would forever change the landscape of boxing: “I am The Greatest!”

We say he’s the greatest because HE said it first.  When he first said it, there wasn’t any evidence to support his claim.  In 1964 he was an unproven twenty-two-year-old at the beginning of his career.   And then it hit me: The greatest motivators have the unique ability to say it BEFORE they see it.  Ali said this to motivate himself. 

Running a shop today is like fighting Sonny Liston, because It’s an intimidating task and your competition is looking to knock you out.  What you say to yourself and your team can make the difference between winning and losing.   So how can you leverage the principle of saying it before you see it?  Stay with me because I’m in your corner.

Start With Yourself

Imagine watching a boxing match where after the opening bell sounds, the fighter starts punching himself!  It sounds crazy, but I would argue that it’s just as insane to say things to and about yourself that don’t line up with your goals.

Every week I have a conversation with a client who makes one of the following statements: “I can’t charge what the matrix says to charge”; “You can’t find and hire good people in my area”; “I can’t afford to hire my replacement in the business”; When you make one of these statements, you lose the fight before your competition even takes a swing! 

As mentioned in the opening Ali quote, whatever you repeatedly say becomes a belief, and these beliefs are what makes things happen.  You will subconsciously look for evidence to support whatever you say.  For example, if you say “you can’t charge according to the matrix,” you will use the first price objection you get as confirmation that you were right, while ignoring the other instances where the customer approved the estimates.  The problem isn’t in the market, it’s in the mirror.

Would your business improve if you subconsciously looked for evidence to support a positive affirmation?  You would look for ways to make the matrix work, find good people, and to replace yourself in the shop.  Since you tend to get what you expect, making positive statements BEFORE you see the outcome, would motivate you to keep pressing forward.

Stop Harping On Weaknesses

In his book Bringing Out The Best In People, Aubrey Daniels introduces the idea of discretionary effort.  He defines it as the level of effort that’s not required, but could be given by employees if they were motivated to do so.    He makes mention of a workplace study which concluded that only 23% of employees are performing at full capacity.

Based on this math, if you have ten employees at your shop, only two are going above and beyond the minimum requirements!  He goes on to say that positive reinforcement is what motivates employees to give discretionary effort.

The key is to build on people’s strengths instead of harping on their weaknesses.  Since people tend to rise to the level of your expectations, your employees will do more of what you harp on.  If the only thing you talk to your tech about, is how he isn’t doing the courtesy checks, guess what you’ll continue to get?  It’s unlikely that he will feel motivated go above and beyond for you.  Applying what I refer to as “The three to one strategy” can help you to stop harping on weaknesses.

Here's how it works: For every corrective comment you make, provide three positive statements affirming what the employee does well.  I challenge you to try it for one week and see if you notice a difference in performance.  If you find yourself struggling to come up with three positives for one of your people, it’s a sign you’ve made a bad hire.   I’ve addressed the solution to this in a previous blog.

Summary

If you start with yourself and stop harping on weaknesses, you can become the champion of your market.  If you take on the challenge of becoming “the greatest” motivator, you will deliver a knockout blow to your competition.

Sincerely,

Eric M. Twiggs

The Accountability Coach

www.autotraining.net

PS.  I have a shop meeting template to help you deliver a meeting in such a way, that it will inspire your people to give discretionary effort.   Email etwiggs@autotraining.net and I will send it to you.