1. Those that want to achieve perfection.
2. Those that want to just do enough to be better than most.
3. Those that want to what it takes to get rewards and avoid those actions that get punished.

You need to recognize that there are these three types of people, and most people fall in group three. While the book is not about business, I want to address this idea in business terms. The rewards in business are money, promotions (power), honors (fame), and more interesting (and fun) jobs (roles).

What is group 1 and group 2?

Group 2 is those that want to just live better and improve their lot. Maybe they want to live better than their parents, or the peers they grew up with? Maybe they want to move out of their neighborhood? The idea is that they want to do some improvement that makes their lives better.

Group 1 is to improve the world through your actions. Do the best, and you achieve the goals of helping those customers. The rest will follow.

Are any of these groups right or wrong? No. Although you might think that group 1 is altruistic and when compared to groups two and three they are the only “right” group, the reality is that all these groups are okay. It is just what merely motivates people to do something. As a leader, you can recognize these motivations and use them to achieve your goals.

Your motivation can be very different from someone else. You might be group 3 and they are group 1. Or you are all group 2. When you have to motivate someone, think about what motivates them. There is nothing wrong with them if their motivation is different, but you do need to recognize it is different.

In the end though, everyone can achieve success and their goals. As a leader, the challenge is to find the motivation; but it does not stop there. You must help them focus and carry out their tasks. Just because their motivation is different does not excuse them or you from success. There are no excuses.