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Top of Mind: July 15, 2019
July 15th, 2019
by Bill Boyajian

Three Ways to Motivate People to Improve

People are motivated to improve by different things.  Once you determine their hot buttons, you can use different techniques to get the most out of them and to help them improve.  Here are three techniques every leader should consider:

1. Tell them they can’t do something.  That’s right.  Some people are motivated by the challenge of proving you wrong.  It’s not that they’re negative.  Quite the opposite.  It’s that they need a serious challenge to get them fired up to improve.

2. Plant a seed and let it grow.  These people need to “own” an idea before they give it credence.  They need time to come to the notion by themselves.  Once they do, they’ll see success as if the concept originated from them.  This might not make you happy, but it will make them more successful.

3. Simply encourage them.  Some people have been beaten down and bruised so often that they just need positive affirmation to improve their performance.  It’s not that they are needy; it’s more like they thrive on encouragement to be properly motivated to improve.

These aren’t the only ways to get people to improve, but if you master them, they’ll make you a better leader and you’ll get better performance from people.

Here are a few Business & Life Tips to think about….

Business Tips:

  • Businesses remain fairly constant each year because leaders repeat the same practices. To improve and grow, you must innovate.
  • If you hire people who believe what you believe and why you believe it, you will have people who are motivated by the right things.
  • As a leader, if you aren’t challenging people to be better and motivating them to peak performance, you aren’t doing your job.

Life Tips:

  • When competition comes in, embrace it. Treat it as a challenge that will make you better. Continuous improvement is vital.
  • People wait until the new year to start something new or different. You don’t have to. Start doing what you know you need to do next month, or maybe today!
  • Care and credibility are critical to all meaningful relationships, and meaningful relationships are key to life and business success.


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“I needed help orchestrating a succession plan for our business. I had heard that Bill Boyajian specialized in assisting owners to transition their business to the next generation. He knows how to bridge the generation gap and deliver what each needs to hear. I would recommend Bill to any business owner who needs advice on succession planning from a trusted outside professional.”

–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

"Our family needed some guidance on business transition and succession planning. We asked Bill Boyajian to help us because we knew we could trust him to tell us what we needed to hear. Bill became a valuable resource for our company and our entire family. He has the ability to meet each of us where we’re at and it has served us very well."

–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

“We needed a plan to transition our business to a non-family member and we asked Bill Boyajian to help us. His experience in the area has really paid off, but we didn’t expect the added value of putting us together with a financial planner who helped organize our retirement needs. We now have the fundamentals to transition our business successfully, and we have Bill to thank for it.”

–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS