219. Six Motivations, One Workplace: Who Are You at Work?

2025-07-29

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When communicating with their employees, most firms have no idea who they’re talking to.Good communication is about knowing your audience. But if your organization is only focused on knowing your customers, James Root says you're forgetting a whole other cohort: your employees.Root is a senior partner at Bain & Company, Chair of Bain Futures, and author of The Archetype Effect, in which he reveals a simple but overlooked truth: people want different things from their jobs. Despite this, most companies’ approach to employee motivation and reward is one...

When communicating with their employees, most firms have no idea who they’re talking to.

Good communication is about knowing your audience. But if your organization is only focused on knowing your customers, James Root says you're forgetting a whole other cohort: your employees.

Root is a senior partner at Bain & Company, Chair of Bain Futures, and author of The Archetype Effect, in which he reveals a simple but overlooked truth: people want different things from their jobs. Despite this, most companies’ approach to employee motivation and reward is one-size-fits-all. “Every aspect of the standard organization model is built around this idea of the average worker,” he says. The problem? No average worker exists. “What people want from work is highly varied,” he says, and while many organizations spend millions to learn what drives their customers, “The mystery is why haven't we applied that same thinking to our workers?"

In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Root and host Matt Abrahams explore how firms can transform organizational success by understanding their internal audience. Whether you're trying to attract new talent or encourage better performance from the team you already have, Root's research shows why it’s about knowing your audience — recognizing that different people are motivated by fundamentally different things at work.

Episode Reference Links:

James Root
James’ Book: The Archetype Effect
The Archetype Quiz
Ep.176 From Stereotypes to Synergy: Communicating Across Generations
Ep.104 How to Change: Building Better Habits and Behaviors (And Getting Out of Your Own Way)

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