Most management techniques include motivation methods and mechanisms, proselytized by training gurus and motivational speakers who tell us that in order to get the most out of our staffs, and ourselves, we need to develop “motivators.” I don’t agree. We have all the “self-motivation” we need to perform well.

What we need is an environment absent of de-motivators and - what we really are referencing when talking of management motivation - support mechanisms to allow self-motivation to flourish. The mechanisms that management uses merely serve as “connectors,” or re-enforcement, to those things that already motivate us.

Think about it. When was the last time a motivational speaker, manager, or colleague was able to, truly, get you fired up about something that you weren’t fired up about already? It’s rare.

When we are hired to do a job – or hire someone to do a job – we (they) are already highly motivated to perform well. We all know the feeling of starting...

While there’s a good deal written about how to create a good value proposition, businesses’ embrace of the concept seems to be lukewarm at best. That’s probably because they overlook the total value behind developing and using the tool – which is what it is – throughout the organization; sales and product management just to name a few applicable (sub) process chains. There are several misconceptions that keep companies from realizing that value.

First (and the most written about), companies have a misconception about the definition of a value proposition and the guidance it provides to construct one. It’s mistaken to be, among other things, a list of company goals or some platitudinal statement about the company’s, for example, market position (“We lead the market in quality solutions.”).

But the most common misconception is it’s thought of as a list of products, product features or company core competencies (“We’re the leaders in service excellence!”)....

“Empowerment” is one business capability needed for successfully executing customer focused strategies. If properly defined and implemented, it enables company personnel to take customer focused action, feel a sense of ownership, take initiative, make better, timely decisions, and use their self-motivators creatively, all leading to better business performance.

Even though a lot of companies say they “empower” their employees, it seems there may be room for performance improvement or innovation. That’s why “empowerment” should be the subject of one the “non-product questions” used to find opportunities to improve or innovate the “small things” that companies do to complement and enhance the performance of their products and related services.

The conversation that such a question initiates could, at a minimum, identify the principles that, when followed, get the intended positive effects from of the empowerment capability. For example, empowered individuals: