Drive

The main objective of the very first human beings was to survive, or rather to ensure the survival of the species. They were driven by their animal instincts: to eat, to sleep, and to procreate at all costs. When our ancestors began to gather in tribes, then in villages, this aggressive, individualistic way of living no longer worked. You don’t steal food or women from your friends.

So that the community could develop, each individual had to play their part: their new incentives became obtaining rewards and avoiding punishment, according to a model that is known today as “the carrot-and-stick”.

As man evolved, so did the factors that motivated him, sometimes to an almost imperceptible degree. Since the last century, the complication of our financial structure has brought with it the demand for services that are increasingly difficult to perform, and, consequently, the factors that motivate people have changed dramatically. Professors and researchers such as Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor and Frederick Herzberg, all tried to guess the most effective way to encourage new generations to improve. Companies followed their studies and began to apply them to working practices: more recognition, increased autonomy and opportunities for growth became the new criteria for the management of human resources in a business. This is what we might call a 2.1 motivational model.

However, every paradigm has an expiration date and the time has come to renew our much loved 2.1.