you do, enjoying what you do,
feeling like you’re learning and
improving. This is job fulfilment.
It became clear to me that my
motivation wasn’t for financial
reward. I realised I wanted to
build something significant. I
wanted to do something big
and something that would really
impact the world.
I took a pay-cut to help build an
investment bank away from the
big US and European banks, into
to an emerging market single
country bank. To me, it was
concentrating the risk. I felt there
was a gap in industry knowledge
of China and also China being
the world’s 2nd largest economy
didn’t have a global investment
bank. This was the closest thing
I could get to building my own
businesses or at least have my
stamp on something.
Fulfillment is unriavlled
It was closer to doing something
that mattered to me – but I
wasn’t there yet. The turning
point for me was the recognition
of what is essentially the 4th
industrial revolution or digital
age, which is accelerating change.
Technologies such as artificial
intelligence (AI), mobile platforms,
sensors, and social collaboration
have revolutionised the way we
live, work, and communicate.
This change can be witnessed
something that was closing that
gap. After probably one of my
best ever years, I was still not
feeling fulfilled, I found myself
only thinking more and more
about 30MHz and eventually,
made the move.
in technology adoption rates
increasing, its noted that only
12 percent of the Fortune 500
companies from 1955 are still in
business, and last year alone, 26
percent fell off the list.
The problem is the ever-
increasing gap between
technological sophistication and
the amount of work actually
performed. The result is income
inequality, wage stagnation, and
social and political unrest around
the world. Companies with low
productivity now lose quickly
to competitors, as most stock
market valuations are driven by
IP and services, not by physical or
capital goods.
“Making a difference
makes all the difference”
I looked at what caused the gap
and reasoned it was a lack of
technology diffusion, keeping up
with change is important and is
arguably driven by human capital
strategies in how businesses
organise, manage, develop, and
align people at work. I felt deeply
that the banking industry was
either blinkered to this change or
maybe in this sector, short-term
was more important. Simple ideas
like working flexibly stuck out –
how being in a central workplace
was designed for factory
managers to monitor worker
output, and seemed irrelevant
to many in today’s workplaces. It
displays trust and can generate
productivity – something that
my passion project and my day
job didn’t have in common. I
felt 30MHz was at least doing
Sean Parker (Napster founder)
said “Running a start-up is like
eating glass. You just start to like
the taste of your own blood,” I
think I agree with this analogy.
You no longer have the safety
nets of a large corporation. There
is a new kind of stress – but
not of negativity, stagnation or
frustration. It’s a positive stress,
of opportunity, focus, gaining
experience.
I finally feel I have found my
place. I truelly feel that the
work I do at 30MHz is making a
difference. Buisnesses, whatever
the sector need to recognise
money is not everything. Flexible
working, passion projects,
wellbeing – these are all incredibly
important for any employee and I
am testament to that.
www.incentiveandmotivation.com | 17