This Pyramid of Needs Stacks Up Business Motivation
From the physiological needs for food, water and sex upward to self-actualization, who hasn’t heard of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs? Hello, Intro to Psychology 101.
First published in 1943, Maslow’s hierarchy still provides us with a pattern of human motivation [1] and is so eloquent in communicating its purpose.
It recently occurred to me that there is no similar pyramid for companies. I tried to find one, even asking several experts, without luck.
I challenged myself to adapt this pyramid to the needs of companies. Explaining the hierarchal needs of companies helps us understand that companies operating in different spaces have different beliefs, needs and expectations.
What does a company pyramid look like?
From the top down, this pyramid includes:
• Self-actualization – (worldly purpose) long-term collaboration with employees, customers and suppliers
• Esteem – (strategy: 15+ years) recognized industry leader, respected by customers and suppliers
• Love/Belonging – (strategy: 4 to 15 years) community purpose, practices CSR
• Safety – (strategy: 1 to 3 years) near-term financial security, employees are financially and physically safe
• Physiological – (strategy: <1 year) barely able to pay obligations for payroll, stakeholders and bills
While I won’t name any companies operating at the bottom, there are two companies in the Austin area that by many accounts are doing a terrific job of operating at the top of the pyramid: Whole Foods and National Instruments.
I’ve seen and heard their CEOs, John Mackey and James Truchard, and both are incredibly modest but honorable individuals. They have helped mold their respective companies into operating in the top “self-actualization” part of the pyramid.
But does operating at the top of the pyramid translate to business success?
Can you name companies that are great examples of being at the top of the pyramid?
A future post will help you find out where your company fits in the pyramid and discuss how to move up the pyramid.
And, yes, I think Maslow would be very comfortable picking up a gallon of organic milk at the local Whole Foods.
Picture credit: J. Finkelstein (Wikimedia)
[1] Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Wikipedia
Way to go, Steve!
We share the admiration for Maslow´s genial insight.
In order to bring the needs to corporate level, I would rather equate them to organizational cultural values, rather than strategic avenues.
Another point. Instead of self actualization, I prefer self development, much broader, and in terms of the respective corporate values, I would include relative intensity of concern for the human race survival.Nowadays, I increasingly see private organizations at this level as the sole hope of solutions for our future troubles.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Fernando Machado, Brazil
Fernando, Thanks for your comments! Culture is certainly on my radar for deeper inclusion into the pyramid but my biggest concern is how to include cultural measurements, including intensity of concern for the human race survival, without making them perceptional by the person doing the observation, do you have any suggestions?
The length of the company’s strategic vision is an interesting measurement since I also perceive it as a component of the cure for some of the other listed problems. As I think about this concept more and hear the terrific feedback of from you and others, I’m considering making a second Maslow-style pyramid comprised solely of cures for the evidence/symptoms shown in the first pyramid (as described in my blog below). Another possibility is shifting over to adopt some of attachment theory’s relationships. What do you think?
Hi Steve
Without discounting valuable insights/reflections provided by Fernando, I personally see inherent issues with Marlow’s theory when it comes to practical application in corporate world especially in today’s globalized marketplace.
By that I want to draw another viewpoint; every individual, whether in a flat or an hierarchial structure in a firm, has level of IQ and EQ. These perceived needs in Marlow’s theory have totally ignored them (perhaps due to industrialization era when it was penned) and renders the theory irrelevant in a knowledge economy or otherwise.
For example, if you have an human asset with Higher IQ&EQ at the bottom of firm’s pyramid, his/her self-actualization level or commitment to firm’s vision would certainly be different than that of a low IQnEQ asset at a level higher.
I cite from ‘stories’ of Japanese shoe factory workers who produced only one shoe while striking for better pay during 1990s to ensure organization do not lose heavily and production at factory doesn’t halt. Citing Japan relates to Culture and #Hofstede’s theory on same as pointed out by Fernando.
Therefore, motivation may be impacted by the tacit and explicit knowledge, effective communication of firm’s strategy/vision and employees’ ability to grasp the same besides, Knowledge network/channels within organization to facilitate learning_unlearning_relearning.
Worth pondering?
Intriguing to compare a business with Maslow’s hierarchy. I completely see the relevance. Would be interesting to look at “successful” organizations with some history to see where they landed when they were at their best and where they landed when they were at their worst- and if they could turn it around. Clever.
Julie, Thanks for your support! I agree that a look at successful companies would be beneficial and I’ll be covering this in several different aspects in some upcoming posts. My intention is to also post on why some well-known companies chose to adopt this as their culture and whether this is paying off for them in the past, present and future. Naturally, there are potentially many examples of companies that remain on the bottom of the hierarchy and my immediate preference is to stay away from this topic. What do you think?
I would nominate Starbucks as a company at the self-actualization stage. It pays its employees well and provides them with health insurance. It also contributes to causes for saving the planet.
Oh, and it makes dynamite coffee as well!
Robert, Thanks for sharing your comments on StarBucks, they sound like a great company!
Well done. I used a similar approach several years ago when faced with budget cuts at state agency. The cuts were severe, so we cane up with the idea to use the Maslow Hierarchy as our base, assigned points to each level, adjusted the definitions a bit and went to self assessment, folliwed by a group consensus vote… and from their made the cuts. It got almost everyone on the same page and we did achieve a consensus on the cuts. Again, we’ll done articke and a good topic! Bill
Thanks, Bill! Maslow’s Pyramid is a bit long in the tooth but I think the simplicity and visuals behind it make it a terrific analog for many purposes.
Medtronic is a good example of such successful company. Now what translates to business success is native alignment of inhouse employees with a leadership that is in beat with everchanging market requirements and challenges and is truthful to its own employees to successfully steer the company in synch with its resources in order to undertake opportunities or avoid dangerous paths