Quirky: The Remarkable Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World

by Melissa A. Schilling

Inspiring grand ambitions. The powerful role of idealism highlights the value of cultivating grand goals in the organization that people find personally meaningful. For example, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a slogan referring to “extending and enhancing human life,” and its mission is “To discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases.” Google’s well-known mission is “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” These lofty goals, if well ingrained throughout the organization, can become an organizing principle that shapes employee behavior even without direct oversight or incentives. When those goals have a social component that employees embrace as being meaningful or intrinsically valuable (such as improving people’s quality of life), that intrinsic motivation can increase the amount of effort they invest in their activities. Similarly, nurturing idealism in children increases their likelihood of embracing a work ethic, living a purposeful life, and finding their accomplishments more meaningful and satisfying.