Why do you work? What gets you out of bed every morning? What pushes you to work through a bad attitude to create a good one? What is the core of your motivation?

Money is a reward but not a motivator. Sure, it pays the bills and fills your pockets. Yet money is actually a de-motivator. It doesn't provide you with satisfaction. It only is a measure that you may use to judge your success. Keeping money as a motivator puts most people in a mediocre mindset: "How little can I do to get enough money." Once anything goes wrong, you start looking at "What little can I do" instead of becoming remarkable by thinking "What value I can provide."

Let me introduce to you Ms Z, a brilliant woman with a bullet-proof work-ethic.

This particular client was a bureaucratic environment. It was a very large corporation that would always be funded. Promotions came only by a rigid time-oriented process. Merit raises were kept for the higher ups for the previous 5 years. The departments that supported her were ignorant: creating more work due to their incompetence. The people assigned to help her within her department had the attitude of "What least can I do to get paid."

In such a scenario, what would you do? Complain? Start taking more sick time? Show up to work late and leave early? Take your lunch even if deadlines loomed? Keep thinking, what is the least I can do for this ungrateful place? Go out and find a new job?

Ms Z has seen her share of prejudice. Yet, she rarely misses a day of work. She shows up early, stays late, and often eats lunch at her desk. Ms Z is always pleasant and rarely complains. Her manager appreciates her efforts but never compensates her for it. In fact, he continually gives her more work so he could do less.

So why doesn't Ms Z leave?

She believes in the value her position has on the customer. Her satisfaction is going home every night knowing she helped someone. She gives value to others (the customer and others that help the same customers) knowing her monetary returns will not come. A bad day to her is her inability to move one step closer to helping someone.

Ms Z has earned the respect of others. If she has a question, or needs a little help, others flock to her aid. Even if the work is mundane like making copies, creating spreadsheets, making phone calls; it doesn't matter. Others will find five minutes to help her help a customer. That includes people in her department, other departments, and other companies that have a business relationship with hers. They all want to help hard-working Ms Z.

How many people will drop everything to give you the assistance you need? Answer, not enough! How many times do you drop everything to help a Ms Z. Probably not. Instead, you surf the net to pass time.

If you feel unappreciated and thus unmotivated, it is time to decide why you go to work.

• If you don't believe in what value the company provides the customer, move on.
• If you don't believe that your position helps the customer, move on.
• If you don't believe that your effort makes a difference to the customer, move on.
• If you do believe in any of the above but you don't feel you are paid enough to make the effort, move on before the pink slip arrives.

If you want to feel better about going to work, look at yourself.

• If you are willing to focus on the customer, you will find ways to satisfy them.
• If you are willing to have a positive attitude, you will find a way to help the customer.
• If you are willing to be a heretic by being the best and do your best for the customer, others will help when you need them.
• If you do believe in the above three, find solace in satisfying the customer.

The secret of Ms Z's success is her focus on the customer...not herself.

1. She works hard every day to achieve the goal of helping a customer.
2. She will teach herself or find someone to teach her in order to improve on helping the customer.
3. Ms Z always shows gratitude for anyone that helps her.
4. She does not give up and will walk those incompetents towards doing what needs to be done to help others.
5. She will coach those with lazy attitudes, guilting them into doing some work that helps the customer.
6. She improves her own process by learning from mistakes and stressing what worked to help a customer.

What has been the result of her efforts? Well, for one, I've met her grown children. Both have achieved great career goals because of what they learned from their mother. They saw how hard she worked and did the same. They were noticed by upper management and moved quickly up the ranks because of basic lessons.

1. Don't worry about the current management. That will change...eventually. Instead, focus on providing value to the customer. It's more gratifying.
2. Working hard draws others to you and earns respect. If people see the difference you make, others want to join in and help. People yearn to make a positive difference.
3. Thank others for every effort they make towards helping you help the customer. Appreciated people come back and help when you need them.
4. Be positive. Positive minds see more opportunities to help customers and eventually help themselves. Negative minds are closed minds.

People like Ms Z are rare. They are not the 1:20 that are among the best employees. They aren't even the 1:100 best. People like Ms Z are 1:10000!

In my 30+ career, I've been fortunate to meet or coach others to be 1:20 or 1:100. Only once have I had the opportunity to meet and work with (or had the privilege to help) the 1:10000. Ms Z was it.

Ms Z's work-ethic has inspired me to do even more than I thought possible. She reinvigorated my faith when it was lagging in my basic belief that satisfaction is gained by helping the customer.

If you are a manager, you must find people like Ms Z. Not because they will work for peanuts, but because they are passionate about your customer. You should spend your time eliminating road blocks and reward them continually. Having one Ms Z will impact your entire organization. Their positive attitude is infectious...the kind that brings more customers.

How has the company benefited from her efforts? Well, to give you a conservative figure...Ms Z has brought into the organization about $600 million per year! Even in this economy! That thought alone puts a smile on her face every night when she takes the bus for her hour long trip home. Then she thinks about what else she can do to bring in more for the company.

Be motivated for the customer...get satisfaction from helping them.

SBDi speaks both Business and IT languages. Bring SBDi in to help communication between both organizations. Let us help you find the right flexible solution that will help business increase revenue.

Pat Ferdinandi, Chief Thought Translator