On the Road 81the atmosphere and the culture that goes with the job. I like
the story of Tandem computer, a firm recently acquired by
Compaq. If you went to them for a job, they would not tell
you the exact salary that went with it, only that the rate was
competitive for the industry at the time. They reckoned that
if you came for the money then you would leave for money
as well and they were more concerned about building a
culture than attracting people on the basis of salary. I would
propose that any company that thinks it can motivate and re-
tain staff purely through individual monetary incentive is
not paying nearly enough attention to its environment, val-
ues and culture. Ideally, you want prospective employees to
choose you over your competition who are offering an equal
salary package.
I know many people who passed up promotion to con-
tinue working with people they like and trust. We all invest
time and effort in activities that pay us nothing, ‘just’ be-
cause we enjoy them. This is no justification for paying
people poorly or less than they are worth, but it casts doubt
on purely financial incentives and bonuses. So, if we do not
use money as a reward, what shall we use instead?
Leadership is about inspiring people through a shared set
of values. Think back to your most satisfying, most creative
work. Why did you do it? How did you do it? Something
made it important and worthwhile – something you value
highly. Just as your values motivate you, so the way to moti-
vate others is through their values. So to be a leader, you
need to know what matters to your companions. The odds
are they will share some values with you anyway, but to find
out more, you need to ask questions like:
What’s important to you about this?
What do you value about this?
Why is this important to you?
What does that get for you that you value?
You may not be used to asking personal questions like this.
Maybe no one has ever asked you those sort of questions.