1. Providing Motivation from Within (The Spirit of the Squirrel)
©Dr. B. C. Paul 2002

2. Spirit of the Squirrel
Squirrels hurry about with motivation to put away enough food for the winter.
Spirit of the Squirrel fulfills God’s plan for the forest
Summed up in the Idea “Worthwhile Work”
You must believe and treat everyone with the idea that their work is important
Everyone’s work and contribution is important

3. Worthwhile Work Your team members must understand why they are needed
Your team members must understand why their work makes the world a better place
Example of the College Dishwasher
“Ban Mining - Let the SOBs freeze in the dark”
My goal out of High School
More than a lecture - it’s a feeling you must plant inside

4. The Spirit of the Squirrel Fulfills God’s Plan for the Forest
A sense of place and purpose
A sense of how their contribution contributes to humanity
Not a production concept
Not a shareholder value concept
Need to see their work in terms of what it means to lives of their fellow men
Fills them with a sense of pride / purpose / caring
The work of every individual fills a purpose for the organization and all humankind

5. The 3 Pillars of the Spirit of the Squirrel
The individual must understand that their work is important
The work must lead to a well understood and shared goal
A basic framework of true values have to guide all plans, decisions, and actions

6. The Problem of Motivation
Much has been based on “the carrot and the stick”
Build up programs of incentives and bonuses for achieving some statistic
Incentive programs soon become entitlements + loose effect
We pack threats and power to make people latch onto plans as life preservers
motivation is a short lived as it is intense
True lasting motivation comes from an inner sense of mattering

7. Counting Production
We are trained to count production in tons/manshift / days without a lost time accident
Information gauges performance
Information is not the performance
Need to see things in human terms
how does my productivity help other people
coal is a black rock / Energy drives the life and vibrance of society
accidents aren’t statistics - they happen to real people

8. A Shared Vision and Goals
A manager can proclaim a goal - announce it at a meeting, print it in a report, post it on the board
The goal has to be shared - a part of peoples vision that creates motivation from within
If your team does not care about the goal - then the goal will not motivate them / nothing will change

9. Management Ego
Build a network of goals that will put them in control of the whole mine
Many don’t know the difference between shared awareness and a shared goal
People must buy into the goal
remember that fear and driving them to the goal as a life preserver will bring fleeting results