Storytelling can trigger feelings within peer groups, causing them to decide and act in the interest of a company. The question is, therefore, what significance a company has for the peer groups and which rewarding feelings it can trigger to drive the groups‘ actions? In other words, what are the feelings that ultimately determine the support of your internal and external peer groups?

Norbert Bischof is the father of the Zurich Model of Social Motivation (1989). A psychologist, Bischof names three basic motives that guide all humans through life: security, arousal, autonomy:

  • Security: People have an innate need for consistency, stability, security and equilibrium. They have a strong desire for attachment and care, home and tradition.
  • Arousal: People seek new stimulation, wish to be unique, break out of the ordinary and be active.
  • Autonomy: People wish to work their way up, perform, enjoy success and superiority, to prevail against others, expand their territory.

The foundations for these three basic motives are already present in childhood. Soon after birth, we already seek security and attachment to trusted persons. In the first few months of a baby’s life, closeness to the parents, comfort and protection from danger are of the utmost importance. Trust and attachment develop (security motive). As soon as the child can crawl and walk, it wishes to explore its environment with its own legs – it seeks out that which is new and different, including new and different people. It is curious, it wants to experience things for itself and experiment. At the same time, it puts more and more distance between itself and the parents, especially in comparison to its earlier attachment to the mother. Independence and autonomy increase (arousal motive). As adults, we still attach ourselves to other people. Yet we want to maintain the feeling of being independent when we do so. We want to make our own decisions, prevail and have things under control (autonomy motive).

These motives determine our entire lives and influence our choice of profession. Artists, for example, are more strongly driven by the arousal motive, controllers by autonomy and control, nurses and caregivers by the security motive. These motives also determine how people think. If they tend to be anxious, they seek security and pay closer attention to details. If they seek autonomy and superiority, they apply rules and wish to rule. The arousal motive widens a person’s scope of activity through unusual and creative thinking. The motivational system demonstrates that every person is driven by his or her own unique system and therefore, that we all evaluate differently. But we have to understand what each system means.

Each motivational system has a positive and a negative side; we seek the good and avoid the bad. Thus, the limbic system guides us through life. We avoid fear and insecurity and seek instead security and comfort. We avoid defeats, trouble, rage and dissatisfaction and seek instead superiority, triumph, praise. Instead of boredom, we seek enjoyment, thrill, fun, excitement and variety. Hans-Georg Häusel gives us an example of how the motivational system determines the procurement of a machine. The general manager examines whether the company will be stronger with the machine; the purchasing manager is more interested in the lowest price and the best cost-benefit ratio. The production manager wants the machine to work safely and smoothly. The manager of research and development pays attention to the degree of innovation (Häusel, 2004).

For the purposes of storytelling, the most important task is to associate the company with a positive feeling, such as the feeling of security and comfort, the promise of enjoyment, the thrill of the new and exciting, a feeling of status and superiority or the feeling of having everything under control. Companies have achieved this. Disney stands for family fun, Apple for individuality, Mercedes for status.

Here are some further thoughts on the fundamental motives based on the significance of these motives for storytelling:

Security

Security, attachment, care and closeness are important for creating communities and for supporting each other. Colleagues invest in friendly relationships, the hierarchy is flat and the distance between management and staff is small. Colleagues are on a first-name basis and work together a bit like a family. The opposite would be autonomy and distance, where the distance between management and staff is very large, there are many management levels and the tone is more formal, using surnames and titles.

  • Values that are associated with security: friendship, family, caring, attachment, warmth, sociability, home, nostalgia, loyalty, security, health, reliability.
  • Companies that speak to the security motive: Disney (traditional family values), Weleda (natural products), insurance companies, financial products, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers of traditional brands.
  • Brands that speak to the security motive:
  • Typical statements: „We are close to our customers,“ „I enjoy working in a team,“ „I am on a first-name basis with my employees,“ „My team is like a family,“ „Communication is important,“ „We are stronger together.“

 

Arousal

A person must evolve, or he will remain stationary. Change, development, discovery – every person has these characteristics, but to differing degrees. Leaders we associate with change and discovery include Rolf Fehlbaum of Vitra furnishings and Steve Jobs of Apple.

  • Values we associate with arousal and stimulation: curiosity, fun, creativity, individualism, variety, ease, fantasy, openness, sensuality, enjoyment, humour.
  • Companies that take up the arousal thread: „Discover the possibilities“ (IKEA), „Impossible is nothing“ (Toyota).
  • Brands that address the arousal motive such as Red Bull
  • Typical statements: „I will continue to present you with new attractions,“ „I will show you things you have never seen before,“ „I like to tackle projects with a new approach.“

 

Autonomy

Companies and services that embody autonomy and dominance demonstrate their outstanding performance, their top position, status and power. They want to prevail, work their way up, expand their territory. Consumers with a strong autonomy motive use brands with high prices, such as jewellery from Cartier, watches from Rolex and cigars from Davidoff.

  • Values associated with distance and dominance: triumph, battle, elite, power, achievement, assertion, pride, honour, status, fame, freedom, ambition, efficiency.
  • Companies that take up the need for autonomy and dominance: luxury car manufacturers, designer clothing labels, products that enhance performance.
  • Brands that address the autonomy motive, such as Jeep and L’Oreal
  • Typical statements: „I will give you an edge over the others,“ „I want to be better than the others,“ „I work very hard.“