Each person would share a story about a time in their life when they believed that they did something well, and which brought them satisfaction.
The story had to be about them taking action to achieve something. The stories could range from executing a family recipe perfectly to writing a good email or even a book.
Whether the accomplishment is big or small or impressive by anyone else’s standards, doesn’t matter at all.
80,000 stories/autobiographies later, Arthur Miller Jr. and the team of people that carried on his work (including his son, and now his grandson, my friend Josh) identified at least 29 key “motivational patterns” in the stories of the people they shepherded through this process.
The pattern emerges early in life and remains constant throughout life.
Regardless of the environment or circumstance, a person’s pattern will express itself. If one’s work does not permit its expression, the person will seek to fulfill their pattern outside of work.
Even if a job does not fully accommodate one’s pattern, the person will nonetheless attempt to perform the job in accordance with their MAP®.
For example, an innovator will try to innovate. A detail-oriented person will continue to focus on details. A person who seeks recognition will concentrate on what gets attention from others.
People never satisfy or exhaust their motivation in an ultimate, final way, regardless of how often they have a chance to express it.
Once you understand the pattern of a person, you are able to account for why they perform as they do: