One of my favourite restaurants closed down recently.
For many years the place was so special that people would go there every night when they were in town.
It was run by a husband and wife team. Then they retired and their daughter took over. The food was just as good, but the whole experience didn’t feel as welcoming or enjoyable anymore. The daughter is a really lovely person, but her heart wasn’t in running a restaurant, and it showed. She handed it on to her brother. Sadly, things didn’t improve, because he didn’t really want to run it either.
It goes to show that our motivations are our strengths. If we don’t want to do something, it’s never going to be great. And the gap, between someone whose heart is in their work and someone whose isn’t, is always going to be obvious to customers.
If you’re running a business, make sure you select people based on their strengths and motivations – it could mean the difference between success and failure.
I was recently interviewed about strengths and The Strengths Book, the book I wrote to help everyone discover and apply their strengths, values and motivators in their work and in life. Take a look.
