What New Hires Really Want

Have you ever wondered what really motivates people at work? What really motivates your employees? I've interviewed close to 4,000 people for jobs at Mindvalley and I started noticing a pattern. These people would come from a variety of different countries. Here across Mindvalley we employ people from 54 different nations. And personally, out of 4,000 interviews, I notice that when I ask people, what do you want out of a job? And it would always fall in four categories. So I started this simple experiment. I would hold up an iPad and I would list the four categories. Now first let me explain what the four categories are. People take jobs, not four, contrary to popular belief, the salary or the title or what they're going to be doing. They think that's why they join a company. But really when you take a job, it is not a brain based decision, it's a heart based decision. So what does the human heart want? Right. Well, the first thing, as you can see from this diagram, is happiness. We want to wake up every day knowing that we're going to be working around people who light us up, that we're going to be doing things that we love doing. That we're going to be in a space that's inspiring. The second is growth. And growth means that we are becoming better and better at being human, at being ourselves. Not just in terms of skills but, but in terms of transformation. We're becoming healthier, we're becoming wiser, we're becoming more confident, we're becoming more connected. We are growing as individuals. The third big thing that people are looking for is abundance. Now abundance simply means that you want to be able to live a good life. You want an abundance of free time so you can travel the world. You want abundance of money so you're not living paycheck to paycheck. You can afford the apartment or the car you want, you can afford the clothes you want. And the final one is meaning you want to know that your life here matters. Now if you interview people all across the world, they have different preferences. People who are meaning driven, you might take a job for a non profit. People who are abundance minded, you might take a job working as a stockbroker, hundred hour weeks. You really are focused on that job, giving your life to that job. But you know, you could retire at 45. If you are happiness minded, you might work for Google or Facebook with their beautiful officers and the cool people that they hire. If you are growth minded, you might be an apprentice or a master. You may not earn the biggest paycheck, but you know you're growing every day, but the fact is, when people take a job, it falls within all four of these. So I hold up my iPad and I tell the person I'm interviewing, If you have 10 chips, how would you distribute these chips? And then based on how they distribute the chips, I know if they're going to be a fit for mindvalley. And I also know what drives them. I know whether if I want to attract this candidate, I should talk about our growth opportunities or Mindvalley's office culture if they are driven by happiness. Now, when you understand this, you understand that culture is not just about free food. Culture is not just about a beautiful office. Culture is about ensuring that the people who are joining your company are happy and are in an environment that lights them up, that they have a sense of meaning, that they are growing, and that they are living a life where they feel abundant. Now, the funny thing, though, is that of all four of these categories, the best people I've hired are the ones who put the highest number of their chips on growth. Growth is what drives them. And I think the reason they end up being the best people. I hired the people who rise to executive levels or leadership positions is because within months of joining the company, they are not the same person who joined. They are growing. And they're not just growing in their skill. They are growing in every dimension of being human. They're growing in terms of public speaking, in terms of leadership, in terms of confidence. They're growing in terms of health. They're getting fitter and taking care of their bodies. They engage in a meditation practice. These are the humans that tend to rise to the top. So all four are important, but growth has always been number one. Now, if you understand this job quadrant, you know how to bring people into your company. You get a clue on how to craft culture. And I'm going to be sharing a lot more of these ideas because my book with Penguin Random House is coming out in May and it discusses these topics. And you might want to check out mindvalley for business. Mindvalley is now taking all the incredible personal growth tools that we are building across our platform and bringing it into companies around the world. We are now training governments. We are speaking at companies like Microsoft and Google. It's been a really exciting ride, and it's all about creating a platform where people in companies can grow to become their best selves. So check it out.