Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Today on ZyncroBlog we have interviewed María Graciani García, author of the book “Motivulario”, which will be in the shops from April 23 (Empresa Activa).
María is a young journalist from Sevilla who has specialized in Human Resources with an important projection towards Recruitment, Training, Corporate Communication and Executive Coaching.
María wanted to share her thoughts on the importance of a positive vocabulary to motivate ourselves and infuse those around us with enthusiasm.
In her book and now also on her blog, you can find out more about this idea.
What is Motivulary and how did it come about?
It’s a word that I invented that means “Vocabulary of Motivation”. The idea of writing a book goes back to when I was 11, when I told myself “I’m going to be a writer”, but the idea of Motivulary is more recent, coming from my own professional experience in which motivation played a very important role.
What happened exactly?
I worked for 7 months as a HR manager in a mining company, and from those very first days, I started to do something that would have a very positive impact on the rest of the company. Every day I arrived an hour early to work and sent an email to my colleagues, which I called “Morning Happiness”, with a positive thought for the day.
Who received those emails?
At first, only 4 or 5 people, but soon the word started to spread and around 65 people received it each day, including the CEO. Even people started to send those mails to their friends and family. One day, a new intern joined the company and came directly to ask if I was responsible for the “Morning Happiness”. I soon heard that the company’s directors also read my email each Monday morning… before the other work emails.
Did that wave of positive thoughts have an impact on daily operations apart from those emails?
It wasn’t just emails… One Friday each month, I brought in some cake and called those “Sweet Fridays.” Everyone was invited to come by and get a “slice of sweet morning.” Around that cake, colleagues started to spontaneously chat, exchanging their impressions on various subjects, who maybe didn’t have much of an opportunity to talk directly during the day.
Did the work atmosphere also improve?
If before there were major ups-and-downs in the “energy” level of the employees, over time that level became higher and more stable thanks to the great atmosphere that it generated. I’d say that we went from fluctuations between 50% and 100% to a more stable 80%. It generated an atmosphere of trust, enthusiasm and continuity.
Zyncro has published the first “Manual on Best Practices in Enterprise Social Networking”. How do you see the relationship between “Motivulary” and the organizational change that Zyncro encourages through using enterprise social networks?
I’m convinced that positive vocabulary ends up seeping into everything and it always works, regardless of the means used. If using a private social network can favor communication and help to create those spontaneous conversations that took place on “Sweet Fridays” virtually, and if a positive vocabulary is used, it can have a knock-on effect on motivation and even on results indirectly.
Giving such freedom always involves a certain level of risk, but I believe the benefits easily outweigh the few risks that there could be. Dialog is always positive; it encourages empathy, brings people closer, etc.
In your book you propose a series of Spanish words that act as reminders, like Persona (Person), Reto (Challenge), Conde (Count)… What do they mean?
Persona means “Optimistic PERSpective by NAture”; Reto, “TOtal REsponsibility”; Conde means “CONqueror of Enthusiasm”… but there are more. Eco refers to what we were talking about before: “Enthusiasm, Confidence or trust, or Continuity”, Crecí (grow) is “CREate the CIrcumstances”, Toma (take) is “MAgical TOuch”. They are all expressions that help us to always remember those positive thoughts.
How could the concepts you explain in your book be transferred to an Enterprise Social Network?
Well, I believe it’s a good idea to create groups in that platform, like for example, a Club of Condes, or Retos, where people can transmit those positive thoughts and reinforce its members in a more constant way. It is also a good idea to create a group to show specific examples where Motivulary has been illustrated with its tangible use.
We’ll make a note of that! 
Want to create a great atmosphere in your organization?
Download our Manual on Best Practices in Enterprise Social Networking free and start to use Motivulary!
Well said Chris. I like the way you put Johm Maeda and Dan Ariely together. I have been thinking about this a lot in relationship to employee engagement and this was a very nice personal booster.