TOMO: THE UNIVERSAL SECRET TO HIGH-PERFORMING CULTURE
AT A GLANCE
More than a buzz term, corporate culture can determine not
just employee performance, but company performance too.
Such is its importance, research from Vega Factor reveals
that 90% of business leaders view high-performing corporate
culture as one of their most critical assets. Their research into
what differentiates the highest performing companies from
the rest, reveals six fundamental reasons why people work. If
these fundamentals are all factored into a company’s culture,
then “total motivation”, or “tomo” results – a phenomenon that
constitutes the key to growth and sustainability in any market.
WHY WE WORK:
THE SIX MOTIVES
Take a multibillion-dollar Middle Eastern telecommunications
company for example. It set out to raise the performance of
call center associates to the level of their better-performing
in-store peers. Like many, the leadership assumed that better
lifestyle and more money would do the trick, but our survey told
a different story. The call center reps were underperforming
because they felt less play and purpose in their work.
These outcomes were consistent with what researchers
found in almost 3,500 workers across seven languages
and nine countries. We observed the same pattern among
over 20,000 employees in a diverse set of industries, from
multinational Fortune 500 companies and startups to hospitals
and schools. Building on Edward Deci's and Richard Ryan’s
groundbreaking work on self-determination theory, we
identified six fundamental reasons people work.
The Six Fundamental Reasons People Work
Play, purpose, and potential are connected to the work itself,
and as a result, encourage creativity, resilience and other
performance-enhancing behaviors.
Emotional pressure, economic pressure and inertia on the
other hand, compel people to work for reasons unrelated to the
job, and as a result, distract them from creating their best work.
People are at play when they enjoy the work itself—not games
or perks. They must have the freedom to experiment with
different and potentially better ways of doing their work. One
study found that people from over ten countries, ranging from
Singapore to Brazil, valued self‑direction more than security,
tradition, achievement and, in fact, all but one other universal
value—benevolence.
Purpose is when we work because we value the outcome of
the work, and it is the second most powerful motivator.
86 Emerging Markets Business Summer 2016 • Issue No. 1