Page 26 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Introduction

instrument. The marketing person was already working on a
press release announcing the “New and Improved” version as
immediately available. Speechless, I walked out.
I e-mailed John and Mary from home and apologized for my
sudden departure. I reminded them of the importance of follow-
ing the research plan and asked them to reconsider their deci-
sion. No response. The next morning I arrived at work early and
typed my resignation letter. As soon as John arrived, I asked if
he and Mary had reconsidered. He said that they really appreci-
ated my hard work and were happy with the instrument as it
was. I told him that I was glad they were happy but that wasn’t
a substitute for empirical research and handed him my resig-
nation. I collected my things, watered the plants, wished them
good luck, and slid my circle to “Out.”

Birth of the RESPECT Model

Shortly after this experience, I was asked to give a two-hour pre-
sentation to an international group of plant managers on moti-
vating employees in the twenty-first century. I knew a lot about
motivation—it had been the topic of my doctoral dissertation.
My initial plan was to review in detail fifteen different theories
of motivation. Fortunately, I realized that not only would I put
my audience to sleep but, more important, my talk was strictly
academic and would be of little practical value. My goal became
to deliver a message that would make a difference. I decided
to start by identifying the most common factors among the
models. After three months of drawing arrows and combining
and recombining words on a giant whiteboard, only one factor
remained: respect.
I realized that the concept of respect perfectly explained how
in the span of two months I had gone from enthusiastic new hire