Often asked as a child’s joke, the question ‘Why did the chicken cross the road?’ is about motive. We could rephrase it and ask: ‘What motivated the chicken to cross the road?’ So, let’s try and work it out…

What was on the other side of the road? Had the chicken ever crossed the road before? What sort of chicken was it? What dangers existed in crossing the road? What was happening on this side of the road? What choices did the chicken have? What did it cost the chicken to cross the road? Were there other chickens present? Does the chicken even recognize it as a road? We need a lot of information to accurately answer the question ‘why?’. And we also have to be able to see the world, through the mind of a chicken.

When it comes to working out the behaviour of our colleagues, friends customers and others we need to understand what drives human behaviour. It is not something that can be explained by a clever model or a not so clever mnemonic .

I have tried to take the science and make it easier to understand. We cannot expect to understand anyone else's behaviour when we probably don't really understand what is driving ours. Have a read - it might help you understand.

If you would like to get equip your staff with a better understanding of motives and motivation. Get in touch to discuss our training courses.